The Writing Thing

[rusty_armour]

I'm sure people are sick of hearing about my original fiction project as I talk about it more than work on it, but I've got the day off and some extra time before going out (as I've put off doing my laundry until tonight). Anywaaaaaay, I think I'm truly back in the saddle with my original fiction project this time. I'll freely admit that I allowed myself to become distracted by fic writing during the summer as a pathetic and totally transparent ploy to avoid working on my original fiction project. Then, when I decided to knuckle down and return to what I was supposed to be working on, my confidence shattered into a million pieces after reading the opening of the first scene. It's horrible. We're talking absolute shit. Naturally, I started to think that everything I'd ever written was shit and became paralyzed by fear. I couldn't face writing at all. I couldn't even open my notebook. Instead, I threw myself into things like Christmas shopping, writing cards and letters, catching up on DVDs: pretty much anything that would get me out of writing. Ironically, on Tuesday night, my original fiction muse decided to pay me a visit.

I hadn't slept well the night before and joked to myself that it would be the perfect time to open the old notebook and pretend to do some plotting for the total rewrite of the first scene. Of course, that's when a couple of ideas popped into my head and I actually found myself plotting for real. Okay, it was in front of the TV, but it was a hell of a lot better than what I had been doing, namely nothing. I even did a bit of work on the dialogue that follows the shit opening, as I'll transfer it to what will probably be the second scene. In fact, I'm happy to say that I've been fiddling with that dialogue for the last three nights. I, uh, keep changing my mind and rewriting it, but that's because it hasn't been working and not because I was second-guessing myself. And I'm sure that doesn't seem like much, but I'd rather be doing several rewrites and engaged in the writing process than not writing at all. Of course, my notebook is a mess, but I think I've come up with an idea to organize the chaos: one that jackycomelately will heartily approve of, I'm sure. I'm going to use the second generation Touch she was generous enough to give me and type the bits that seem to be working on there using DocsToGo. It's the kind of thing I can work on when I'm staying with my parents over Christmas. Writing is often a challenge with my whole family around, but I think I can handle typing...when I'm not reading all the fic I've been storing on Stanza. *g*

Yikes! I'd better think about getting lunch soon. I'm meeting my mom in about an hour to see Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. :-)

Comments

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

MASSIVE PURPLE SPARKLY CLOUD OF YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so glad your original fic muse has returned.

Oooooh! Thank you so much for the MASSIVE PURPLE SPARKLY CLOUD OF YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!, fengirl88! :-D I'm also happy (and very relieved) that my original fic muse has returned.

also: to quote Ernest Hemingway as quoted by Chris Baty (he of NaNoWriMo), "the first draft of anything is shit". the point is to HAVE a first draft, because then the second draft can be better.

Well, there's shit and then there's what I have for my opening... *g* Seriously, though, Ernest and Chris are right -- and I don't know why I can't seem to get that drilled into my head. Unfortunately, I'm one of those people who will spend twenty minutes on one sentence trying to get it right, which probably explains why I'm such a slow writer. I think I'm getting better at accepting rough where this project is concerned, though. I've reached the conclusion that it has to be rough by necessity at this stage in the game.

*cheers you on*

Thanks again! I really appreciate it! :-D