Still plugging away at Solutions for Writers by Sol Stein - but my mind keeps wandering off to other things. He's a good writer no doubt and his subject matter is relevant to me but the urge to skip a few pages is sometimes irresistible.
Perhaps it's because I'm not yet in the writing mindset? Or maybe, when he talks about good beginnings for example, I wonder about the decency of mine and start worrying a little?
The obvious solution to these heart flutters is to read my first draft already, jaysus, get your arse in gear woman. But that scares me too much at the moment. Having a job can be annoying but at least I'm putting off the day when I actually read what I've come out with.
I know I'm going to be flummoxed by how much work I have to do, whether it's rewriting whole scenes or tightening sloppy parts. There is at least one story that I'll have to dump and start again as it just doesn't fit.
I'm not a great reviewer. At college, research and writing was relatively painless. Reading over the bloody thing was torture. In exams I'd have to grip the sides of my desk to stop me from walking out too early.
Hopefully when the Big Edit day dawns my logical side will kick in and give me a good talking too about practice and patience - as I'll probably be frantically searching the job sites.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Flummoxed
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Oh gawd, it's hard, isn't it? It's so hard. I should probably go away and not leave my negative ramblings here. We will get back into the swing of things, won't we?
Good luck
JJx
JJ you are so right, and I just left a massive rambeling comment on your blog, hope it doesn't bring you down.
sol stein is excellent. i'm on a list serve that he is on. he's one smart dude. listen to what he says.
Hey Laurie, you're right, he's certainly impressed me so far. I'm definitely going to keep at it.
I do admire you for following your dream even if it is scaring you at the moment.
I always think the anticipation is the worst thing in these situations once you start I'm sure it will be less terrifying!
Good Luck
Alix you hit the nail on the head, I'll definitely feel better about everything when I finally tackle it. And thank you so much for being so supportive - I really appreciate it!
It is so hard, but starting is the worst part, so once you pass that hurdle you'll feel better. Just take it slowly one day at a time so you don't get overwhelmed by thinking of the novel as a whole. Good luck!
-Ang xx
Post a Comment