posted
Usually I work out my writing doubts in my journal, through long dialogues with an invented Me who writes in italics and always quotes wise words from writing articles and published authors. I don’t want to choke the forum with predicaments I can solve for myself.
Nevertheless, I haven’t been able to find the answers to a few questions that popped up a week ago. I had finished a new draft and I wanted to start a new one right away but I wasn’t sure what was going to be the point of the story or its ending (I need to know the ending first).
I thought “Who cares?” Chew over the few pieces you have, stir, add tension, develop characters and burn down your keyboard. Have fun. I know it isn’t going to turn out perfect, I know there’s a distinct possibility it lacks some major element but I still want to write it because at this moment, it’s the most developed story I have and I don’t want to stop writing. Do not lose momentum.
However, shouldn’t I stop writing?
Should I keep writing new stories before the old ones pass muster in Fragments&Feedback? Before another human being tells me ‘no, you didn’t do this and that but you did that other thing right’? Or, ‘honey, I hope you have a good day job’?
Don’t I run the risk of committing the same mistakes in more than one story? What if I’m wasting my time writing stories that share a common flaw when I could write one, revise it, post it and wait to see if I’m dropping the ball plot-wise or character-wise or whatever-wise?
posted
I answer that very question in a workshop I'm doing in October.
There isn't a clear, simple answer, but I think in your cas eyou've already answered your own question: STOP!!!!
As many times as you send a story out for critique, that is how many times people will suggest that you rewrite it. You will never pleas everybody and the HARDEST person to pleas is YOURSELF!
I feel that writers do not learn or grow by rewriting the same piece over and over again. I find that true growth as a writer comes over multiple stories. Give yourself some new challenges. Get creative. If, in a year or ten, you feel inspired to go back to this one then you can but at THAT point you will be armed with truly more skill than you have now.
posted
Good writing has very little to do with everything we teach and learn here.
We can teach and learn how to properly present the story--tell you how to word things better, and that's important, but not the most important.
Most important is finding that story worth telling and worth reading. The more you keep writing the better you get at finding those worthy stories.
Use workshops to hone your skills so that when you present your worthy stories, they shine. But the story itself, the underlying tale, is the real meat and the hardest part to get right.
Along the way you will find characters, places you like to write about. You'll get to know these better, and find more stories, be able to express their distinctness better.
posted
I think there are a lot of worthwhile things to learn in workshops and forums and such. I also think that they're all pretty much useless until you are able to internalize them.
You cannot write an effective story entirely through analysis and theory. You have to learn these things so well that you can apply them without having to be aware of it. The best way to write is still simply discovering something you want to say and then saying it.
Take the time to workshop your stuff a bit. Edit your story when you first finish it and again after it's had some time to rest. Read books, articles and such and study how to write well. Intersperse study time and writing time. But learning will only help if it is internalized - incorporated into your writing process. The best way to do this is to constantly write.
Don't neglect one aspect or the other, but you can be certain that writing constantly *will* help you improve as a writer. With all the analysis, we sometimes forget that our best work has a mysterious aspect to it: it comes from a place inside us that we don't entirely understand. Every time we write, we nurture that thing inside and our work becomes a little stronger.
posted
I think I'm reading your question differently than Christine did, maybe I'm wrong. Are you saying that you keep writing NEW stories before waiting on feedback from previous ones?
If so, I say go for it. If you are just retelling the same tale over and over, that's when stopping is necessary, but every new story you tell will have its own set of strengths and weaknesses.
What's wrong with doing both things? Finish a story. Get feedback. Whilst waiting for said feedback, finish another story.
You grow as a writer by how much you write. If you are writing a lot, and quickly, it's possible you are learning quickly as well. If you think you are in a rut and just repeating the same errors over and over, that's a horse of a different color. In which case, step outside your comfort zone. Force yourself to write something you would never write normally, and deliberately make it as different as possible from previous stories. That actually can't hurt to do no matter what; even if you are learning and growing with each new story, that could still teach you a lot about yourself and your writing style.
quote:You do not need to write to obtain God's love.
lol
quote:I feel that writers do not learn or grow by rewriting the same piece over and over again. I find that true growth as a writer comes over multiple stories. Give yourself some new challenges.
I couldn't agree more with you, Christine. Maybe I didn’t express myself clearly but my problem isn’t that I rewrite or revise a story over and over. My problem is that I don’t know if I should stop giving myself new challenges (writing new stories) before see if I passed the ones I've given myself so far.
Best of luck with your workshop, btw : )
quote:Are you saying that you keep writing NEW stories before waiting on feedback from previous ones?
Exactly that, autumnmuse.
Why don’t I get feedback and write at the same time? Simple: time. By the time I finish revising one story I already have 2 or 3 new drafts (which can contain the same mistakes I made in draft #1, now revised and hypothetically posted in F&F). But the thing is I work better if I let the first draft sit for a week before printing it out and start revising or rewriting. The one thing I’ve read over and over is: DO NOT STOP WRITING. I have that branded in my brain.
quote:You cannot write an effective story entirely through analysis and theory.
And that’s what I finally wrapped my head around last year, you can’t improve by reading more articles about how to write. But you’ve made me think, am I rushing things? Am I really learning?
I think I’ll keep writing, I’m afraid of what will happen if I stop. I don’t want to go back to the word draught of last year. Ah, sweet fear, what would writers do without it?
Thank you all for your help, you’re great!
Nicole
[This message has been edited by Nicole (edited August 19, 2006).]
[This message has been edited by Nicole (edited August 19, 2006).]
You might send a mail to mikemunsil, about coming to Liberty Hall. There's a weekly flash fiction contest, and you get feedback, and since you only get 90 minutes to complete the story, you should have time for both!
Printer-friendly view of this topic
