*sends her minion out on an emergency cuddling mission*
Kyasha says: Kyaaaaaa... *petpetpet*
But seriously. *HUGS* I know how you are about failure, love; I'm the same way. Unfortunately, there's no real way to guarantee the success of something like that; you sort of just have to charge ahead and find out.
As to the writing... maybe there's a local writing group you could try to bond with? I don't think family members are usually great critics anyway; they fret about hurting one's feelings.
You absolutely don't suck. I envy you a little bit because you feel more compelled to write than I do, and sometimes I miss feeling that way. I know you can do it, both the tea shop and the books. *hearts;
Funny, my mom isn't at all afraid of hurting my feelings. But she's hardwired to be absolutely incapable of seeing the big picture, so instead of asking me about characters and plot, she's nitpicking about how one line of dialogue is phrased, and then I wonder why I wanted her to read it in the first place.
I did look up local writing groups. Problem is... me. Remember how I said there are certain situations where I turn into a complete introvert? That'd be one of them. So...yeah. I need to get over that, I know.
See, there's been a long while where I haven't felt compelled to write at all (and I suspect cfud has had a not-small influence on that aha), and I know that if I can get back into that headspace, then it'll come back. Because it's something I love, and that kind of love doesn't go away. It's more than just something I like to do -- it's almost like a sickness. It's a compulsion. I have to tell stories. Even if people don't like them! And I fell into a slump there, where I just... didn't write
( ... )
Niamh, this is something I figured out in grad school when one of my profs tried to get me to quit a class that I thought I was failing: If the failures and the quitters were playing baseball, the failures would win every time because the quitters wouldn't even show up
( ... )
You know, it's funny. I was thinking the exact same thing today, and came up with the exact same realization. The protagonists don't click. And they need to. They don't even meet for several chapters. I'm thinking about taking a week sometime soon and putting Darwin in doggy-daycare every day and taking that time and driving myself SOMEWHERE (a park a coffeeshop, the beach) and plunking myself down with a pen and notebook, and writing. I just need to let my mind unwind, because it's been wound TIGHT lately.
You're right, though -- about the shop. If nothing else, there'll be stories. I just have to figure out if I'm dedicated enough to own a retail establishment. Because at first I won't be able to afford employees, and I'll be doing everything myself, and free time will become a thing of the past. And I like my free time. I particularly like to spend my free time with my dog and my husband, and not always in that order.
So. I have some heavy thinking to do over the next few days/weeks/whatever, I think.
I've been pondering some more. That opening scene where Sesshou sees Teles for the first time really kicks out a few stops.
What I finally figured out is that the opening scene does more than just show us the sizzle between the two protagonists; it also highlights those characteristics of theirs that will change by the end of the story. Who is Sesshoumaru when the story starts? He's the all-absorbed Lord of the West. Who is Teles? She's the personally invincible goddess of the sirens. What personality traits do they have at the beginning? How will this change by the end?
So what's your lit teacher's journey and what does our dryad learn from him? Paint the negative space around whatever he's missing and chuck your chick in the middle.
Yeah, I agree. I like Anteros and Ianna a lot, but what's going on with them needs its own book. They've weasled their way into this story, and are slowly taking over. I think this happened because Liam and Diantha are kind of dragging. I need to change something -- maybe make Liam a arrogant, or less-established in his job, or SOMETHING. And Diantha needs to be less hands-off when it comes to the things she does. She doesn't get involved with anything, so it's almost impossible to make her get involved with anything. They also need to meet sooner. But mostly their characterizations need serious tweaking.
You are a wonderful writer, but we will always be our own worst critics - I think that's just human nature. You need a refresh, a break, and get yourself into a routine of doing a little bit each day. Even if the creative bug isn't biting, write anyway - a snippet of a story here, a notation or idea there, and soon the fear of not being able to write will ease.
I know this doesn't sound good, coming from someone who got over a, what, six-month creative slump? But the daily routine stuff? It's definitely helping me. Even if I'm not getting stupendous things out, I'm at least putting paper to pencil (or wacom tablet pen to virtual painter) and making a line, instead of trying to get over the fear of not being able to make a line.
There are also a lot of organizations out there to help people like you who want to start up small businesses - I would check with your network of friends/family to see if they know anyone first, or see if they would want to be a partner in financing you.
Actually, I think you and I are probably going through something similar as far as the inability to produce/fear of losing creativity is concerned. I need to be more disciplined with my time for starters -- this sounds funny, considering we're talking about being creative, but if I don't set aside time and MAKE myself be creative, the chances are good that I won't do it.
--You're right. The SBA is a huuuuuge cache of information. Mom showed me the website yesterday. I'm going to poke through it and see what I can see. :)
Comments 20
Kyasha says: Kyaaaaaa... *petpetpet*
But seriously. *HUGS* I know how you are about failure, love; I'm the same way. Unfortunately, there's no real way to guarantee the success of something like that; you sort of just have to charge ahead and find out.
As to the writing... maybe there's a local writing group you could try to bond with? I don't think family members are usually great critics anyway; they fret about hurting one's feelings.
You absolutely don't suck. I envy you a little bit because you feel more compelled to write than I do, and sometimes I miss feeling that way. I know you can do it, both the tea shop and the books. *hearts;
Reply
Funny, my mom isn't at all afraid of hurting my feelings. But she's hardwired to be absolutely incapable of seeing the big picture, so instead of asking me about characters and plot, she's nitpicking about how one line of dialogue is phrased, and then I wonder why I wanted her to read it in the first place.
I did look up local writing groups. Problem is... me. Remember how I said there are certain situations where I turn into a complete introvert? That'd be one of them. So...yeah. I need to get over that, I know.
See, there's been a long while where I haven't felt compelled to write at all (and I suspect cfud has had a not-small influence on that aha), and I know that if I can get back into that headspace, then it'll come back. Because it's something I love, and that kind of love doesn't go away. It's more than just something I like to do -- it's almost like a sickness. It's a compulsion. I have to tell stories. Even if people don't like them! And I fell into a slump there, where I just... didn't write ( ... )
Reply
Reply
You're right, though -- about the shop. If nothing else, there'll be stories. I just have to figure out if I'm dedicated enough to own a retail establishment. Because at first I won't be able to afford employees, and I'll be doing everything myself, and free time will become a thing of the past. And I like my free time. I particularly like to spend my free time with my dog and my husband, and not always in that order.
So. I have some heavy thinking to do over the next few days/weeks/whatever, I think.
Reply
What I finally figured out is that the opening scene does more than just show us the sizzle between the two protagonists; it also highlights those characteristics of theirs that will change by the end of the story. Who is Sesshoumaru when the story starts? He's the all-absorbed Lord of the West. Who is Teles? She's the personally invincible goddess of the sirens. What personality traits do they have at the beginning? How will this change by the end?
So what's your lit teacher's journey and what does our dryad learn from him? Paint the negative space around whatever he's missing and chuck your chick in the middle.
Reply
Reply
I know this doesn't sound good, coming from someone who got over a, what, six-month creative slump? But the daily routine stuff? It's definitely helping me. Even if I'm not getting stupendous things out, I'm at least putting paper to pencil (or wacom tablet pen to virtual painter) and making a line, instead of trying to get over the fear of not being able to make a line.
There are also a lot of organizations out there to help people like you who want to start up small businesses - I would check with your network of friends/family to see if they know anyone first, or see if they would want to be a partner in financing you.
Reply
Actually, I think you and I are probably going through something similar as far as the inability to produce/fear of losing creativity is concerned. I need to be more disciplined with my time for starters -- this sounds funny, considering we're talking about being creative, but if I don't set aside time and MAKE myself be creative, the chances are good that I won't do it.
--You're right. The SBA is a huuuuuge cache of information. Mom showed me the website yesterday. I'm going to poke through it and see what I can see. :)
Reply
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