... don't come easy to me... <sigh>
Plodding away writing stuff that, hopefully, will become an editable romance novel. At the moment, however, it seems an impossible dream. The words are not playing nicely. I look at the screen, a blank one, and ponder. And then I ponder some more. I tell myself, quite forcefully (I can be quite scary you know), to just write! I wander off and clean the bathroom instead.
Words, stilted and awkward, did eventually assemble themselves in a readable fashion on to the page and the story has moved on a little. Quite messy and cringeworthy but it's words and words can be edited. So I keep telling myself. It is often said that a first draft is messy, but yikes, surely not this messy?
The inner editor has a lot to answer for. There it sits, on my shoulder, being picky about the words or a phrase that I choose. Always there, poking its nose in, deflating my confidence and halting the flow. But wait... come November it's gonna get a jackboot where the sun don't shine.
In fact, why wait until November... <exits stage left cackling hysterically>
Hi,
ReplyDeleteYou sound as if you are suffering from classic writer's syndrome! I have it too. I sit down to write and then notice that the carpet needs cleaning, the washing machine beeps at me or the windows need shining. The key is to find spaces to write. I write at my son's piano and swimming lessons and take myself off to a cafe for an hour at least twice a week. this seems to work. I don't know whether I will ever get published - I won a competition in 2004! I've had some poems on a website and self-published a poetry book with a friend. But then is that the point of it? Mx
I know that feeling well. Although I'm also quite good at procrastinating both the writing and the housework, and doing something ridiculous instead like playing Farmville while secretly hoping it'll all go away ...
ReplyDeleteYep, roll on November and Nano - it's going to be my first one, and I'm looking forward to it!
*whispers* the words are falling over themselves to hit the page this morning...
ReplyDelete@Morton: hope to have a bit of writing space soon. Attic conversion on-going at moment. Girls will have bedrooms upstairs and I shall get one of the spare ones downstairs. Can't wait, but have a feeling the kitchen table will still get a fair bit of use. ;o)
@Sophia: I've done Nano twice and it's good fun. Can be a bit stressful at times but mainly good fun.
I'm doing Nano this year for the first time. I'm hoping it will do what the New Voices contest did for me: give me an excuse to ignore the perfectionist inner editor and just write.
ReplyDeleteI know that feeling. I sometimes worry that what I am writing is utter crap and have I got my head in the clouds... but I'm going to keep going! I really want this ;-) So keep going too. Sometimes if the words can't come, go read or something. I class that as a writing related activity ;-)
ReplyDeleteHello
ReplyDeleteI've just worked out who you are! Thanks for the lovely comments you have left me, the nicest thing about NV has been the (mostly) supportive community of aspiring writers I have found.
I wish I could be a confident enough writer to live in a filthy house! My favourite children's writer Diana Wynne Jones was once so caught up in her writing she put a boot in the oven for her children's tea. She is my writing idol...
@Julia: good luck with Nano. Not long to go now. You'll enjoy it - it's fun.
ReplyDelete@Teresa: persistence is the key.
@Rose Red: glad you know who I am! I agree with you about NV. It's also given me the courage to start this Blog and to be less uptight about thinking of myself as a writer.