What can I say this week?
Life is pretty hectic right now. Work, my sciatica is acting up, trying to get back into writing in preparation for Nano. That sort of stuff.
And the Pocatello Temple is open for viewing!
I managed to get a ticket for the first Saturday it was open.
The Temple is very beautiful.
I can’t wait for the dedication!
Until then I have so many other things to worry about, think about, and accomplish.
As it is, I haven’t done much writing the last several weeks, but I’ve done quite a bit of editing. Just haven’t come up with anything to add to any of my incomplete manuscripts.
Though for the first time in a very long while I opened up my Moose Creek files. Funny thing is, it's been so long, that it felt like I was reading someone else’s work, that it was the first time!
I even found myself laughing in a few places, and in others, I was on the verge of tears. The last time I reread these stories I got bored stiff.
This only goes to show, sometimes you need to set your work on the back burner for a while. However, I don’t think three or more years are needed.
The only problem with all this is that I know I should either be working on my sci-fi or working on an outline for my Nano project.
It is not like I don’t know what I want to do for Nano, or what I need to add to my sci-fi, its just that when I reread what I have on my sci-fi, I find myself getting so lost in what I’m reading, I forget I have to make some changes and when I set my mind to my Nano project, I end up writing a scene or two instead of an outline.
Yeah, my muse isn’t cooperating. But then when has a muse ever cooperated?
I’ve had ideas come to me while I’ll driving, or in my sleep, but when I sit down to my computer – total blank.
I believe that is called the blank screen or blank page effect. The thing is, I get this same problem when I start with editing! My mind is full of ideas when I am unable to do anything about it and a total blank when I can or need to do some writing.
I have even opened my laptop with ideas swirling around in my head, but by the time the file is open and I can get to work – nothing.
Maybe I need to work on doing streams of thought again.
Streams of thought are a very useful tool, because it requires no thinking, just writing down everything on your mind.
Just set a timer (I am used to ten minutes) and start writing everything and anything that comes to mind.
My old creative writing teacher, who taught me this method, said it didn’t matter if it was nonsense or if it was a simple “To-Do” list, as long as you remained writing for the entire time.
And no, it isn’t easy.
I remember the first one I ever did, in fact, I still have it, I spent the first few minutes writing that I had nothing to write, but after that, I wrote out a scene! I thought that was great, but it goes with a famous writing quote, “You can’t fix a blank page.”
You can’t, so just get writing. Write every single thing that comes to your mind, no matter how mundane, no matter how irrelevant, just write. Eventually, you won’t have a blank page anymore, and you’ll probably have something you can work with.
Give it a shot.
I know I need to get into the habit of doing it more often.
But then again, Nano is a sort of a stream of thought, it's just the time limit is an entire month, not just a few minutes. It's still the same precept. Just write everything in your head, get it all down on paper, fill up that blank page; you can edit it to your heart's content later. Or not.
It may be so mundane; editing won’t fix it.
Doesn’t matter.
The first step to writing is to simply write.
The second step is editing, and you shouldn’t mix the two.
For one thing, they require different sides of the brain.
Writing is creative; editing is logistics – making it work.
They are two different things and require different mindsets.
Creative free-thinking and logical intelligent thinking.
Those two rarely work together.
Anyway, happy writing everyone.
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