If you are a writer, I ask you, DID YOU WRITE? That is the real question. For this note, the answer should be about some time during the past week. Saying no, is not a problem. few of us actually write a whole lot. Trying to write at least some time each week is a start to a good habit. There are those of us who will go months without noting down our words and thoughts. We then write a whole bunch, only to let time pass before writing again. These are the type of writer this note is really about. It is good to hear from other authors who write regularly, but this note is to prompt the rest of us to think writing every week. Everybody knows this note is coming each week. AS the week catches up to us, we start thinking about how we are going to report that we did not write this week. We get off our duff and actually write, even if it is a few words or sentences, or a whole chapter, we force ourselves to write something so we have something to brag about. that is what this note is about.
As to what is writing, that is a matter of opinion. You have our permission to say something is writing, even if you really don't think so. We all have to stretch it sometimes to save face. All new writing, is writing. That is obvious. Editing, though, is also writing, even if it is someone else's. with editing, word count is not as important. We all have times where we will rip out entire passages and almost get to the same word count when we finish writing our changes. Poetry is writing. Blogging, writing assignments, articles, reports, are all writing. so is world and character creation. E-mails can also be writing if they are wordy and pertain to writing or story. There are others that can be writing. the only thing is that you must decide if it is writing. We are not picky.
As for me. I never opened any of my Waxy stories. I almost opened it today, but then realized I was a story idea behind because of Thursday. I wrote two story ideas today to catch up, rather than work on Waxy. I did, though write a short article. In my wood turning club, I was asked to write a description of how I carved flowers on the side of a vase. I wrote two pages of about 816 words, and included eleven pictures of the vase in process. I E-mailed it to the guy who will handle it for the club newsletter but he is on vacation so it won't be a week before he gets back to let me know what he things. I told him to edit it as he sees fit, since he might not have much room, or to let me know what changes there might be. The nice thing of sending something to someone who desperately needs to fill space, is that they are happy to get anything at all.
As mentioned above, I had to write two story ideas tonight to get caught up. Luckily, I had two easy story ideas to work with. Some story ideas are complex and require a lot of work to write, while others are stupidly simple. The worst thing is one never knows which it ends up being until done. I have had a super simple story idea go to four pages, and a really complex story idea become only one page. I have had a week where a lot of story ideas have come in. Many have been pretty good, though there are a few duds that I need to write before they sink too far into my compost pile. Including the two story ideas I wrote today, I have 51 story ideas. I love periods where I have story ideas coming at me every chance I can get. I have lost about five this past week because I was not in a position to write them down in time. That happens. The more the merrier. When you get more ideas than you can use, you have a better choice to work with.
I have spent the weekend getting ready for the art show. The art how is Sunday. I set up my display this weekend, twice, to see exactly what I have and how it might look. I spent most of the time fixing things. I had the problem where I don't have a table the right size so I have to add boards to make the tables wide enough. it is a challenge as things don't like to be on the edge of the boards, but the fake table helped on the layout. Last year, I mistook the day of the show. the show was on Sunday and I went there with my stuff on Saturday. Since the day was wrong, I took the time to set up my display as practice. It really helped. I made a lot of decisions then, that did not have to be made at the show setup. This year, I decided to set up well ahead of time and it has served me well. I see a pattern in my best work, which will hopefully guide my work from now on. My more "normal" wood turning work is uninspiring. I have a problem with getting a really good finish. My best work though, fall into two categories. they are unusual, such as wood turned to include the natural edge of the wood, or the decorated, where I carve the piece, or add stuff to the piece such as my bird bowls where I add heads and tails. I still have work to do to make sure my display is up to the level I want. I will pack pieces away in a way where I can set up faster, things grouped together so I can take them out and stack them. I carve during the show. I will get my wood ready to carve and also, as a tradition before every art show, I sharpen every knife I have to make sure they are sharp enough to slice wood and not fingers. Blades can get chipped during the day and it is easier to grab another knife than to sharpen one. Of course, I will have fresh BandAids in hopes I never need them. I also want to take pictures of my work and make a sheet that shows each piece and the prices. I can cross them off if anything sells. An easy way to tell what sold and for how much. I am where I was supposed to be at the beginning of the month. At least I have some time to get ready.
As to the question of the week. I will say YES, I WROTE
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Yes, I did. New material on DREAMER'S ROSE and some revisions on THE IGNORED PROPHECY. And two blog posts.
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I managed to write five hundred words on just one day, Saturday, down from my usual three days of production. I mentioned somewhere I've got a new time-waster---last Tuesday, I picked up Seasons One and two of "Star Trek: The Original Series," on Blu-Ray, and a lot of my time has been taken up going through them. (I haven't even opened Season Two yet.)
I do note, that in the thing I'm working on, I'm coming up on the part where I want to "say what I want to say"---the emotional climax of the story. Am I, now that I've decided what point the story has, uneasy and afraid of actually saying it?
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No, I did not. I was in airports and on planes, with very little sleep (and I couldn't sleep on the planes), so I slept. But, I'll be writing my @$$ today.
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I think that it has finally happened. After more than a year of returning to restuaraunt work and having no time to write( or eat, sleep and bath for that matter) I have returned to being a stay-at-home dad, so besides homeschooling my son, I have finally become a full-time writer. A Lot has changed. The way I look at the world, but mainly I am comming to terms with what it means to write full time. Things are starting to become more organised as I settle into being a writer.
Instead of daydreaming, I day-write. I have found ways to record my daydreams with pencil and notebook. I even have trained myself to daydream with direction. I can now focus my ideas in ways to develop them further. I am definately becoming more productice, so yes, I did write. I am writing now, and I will write a good deal more before the day is done.
My son caught a cold, (which he graciously gave to me) which caused him to sleep a little later each morning, which allowed me to write a little longer, and I was able to start and finish a short story in the past week.
Who knows if it's any good, I mean, I don't break any new ground, but it's a trip when a voice becomes so strong that I can't get it out of my head.
I didn't work on my novel, which is the real goal, but I'll take this type of interlude any day.
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For the first time in a LONG while I can say YES to this question. I wrote just over 11,000 words on my current novel project this weekend. I learned a lot and will take those lessons and hopefully learn to improve what I write.
Yes, I wrote every day, adding a couple thousand words to my novel draft (while deleting another thousand) and outlining three future short fantasies in 1,700 words.
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After I posted off my first ever submission last Monday I got caught in a funk, where (thanks to many hours of furious last minute editing) I don't want to even touch or think about that story again - yet after being so closely exposed to all its faults and, ergo, faults in my writing, I'm somehow afraid to write anything new and just commit the same mistakes all over again. I'd take hope from wikipedia and call it the Dunning-Kruger effect but I don't think I'm that good.
I'm currently trying to catch up on a deep sleep debt, hopefully I'll be a little more productive by the end of the week.
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NOTHING HAHAHAHAHAH Myeah, been lurking these forums, been watching American Dad, been attending faculty, but i haven't written ANYTHING. This is bad.
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I've eked out a couple of scenes on my WIP. This one is being difficult and I can't figure out if it's the story or if it's me.
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BenM, did you know that writers can experience something not unlike postpartum depression after sending a story off to a publisher? Especially if it's the very first time they've sent a story out?
Sounds to me like that's what's happened to you.
Give yourself a break, but don't wait too long before starting the next story.
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Thanks Kathleen. Yes I'd heard something like that, plus being a drama queen / emotional rollercoaster type I'm prone to a few ups and downs anyways, especially when I'm behind on sleep (no time for the free association that feeds my creativity). And I'm not really lamenting the situation I suppose - I'm happy to make time to live life - but after a good run of writing, critting and editing, I really had to confess this week that no, I did not write Posts: 921 | Registered: Nov 2008
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I worked on an outline, and I dreamed about outlining the other night. I have a couple of chapters that need serious reworking. Well, one just needs to be written, and I need to re-outline the other.
I also think I'm going to put together a submission packet for one book and send that out, not having tried to write the whole thing. I mean, seriously, I'm a writer. I want to work. I don't need to spend my whole life getting something perfect that someone might want some day. I can spend a month on a few good chapters and throw that out, and if something catches someone's eye, great. Otherwise, not. But I guess non-fiction is a bit different.
I was looking at jobs on Craigslist and just realized I should be paying myself to seriously write if I'm even thinking about writing full time.
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I wrote a flash and another six or seven hundred words as I furiously try to get a story ready for a very late WotF entry.
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But, I'll be writing my @$$ today.
