yourwords

Writing is a journey that has no real destination. If you have a destination in mind, you’re crapped out of luck. Honestly, do you think that Lewis Carroll’s favorite part about writing was seeing his words in print? Or watching people (as a wandering ghost) get Cheshire cat tattoos ? No, it was the creation process, although I’m sure his specter is enjoying himself.

So, I put to new writers to evaluate their motives for writing. Do you want that epic trilogy hardbound, gold-leafed and on book shelves today? Ha ha ha. That’s the voice inside my head that I call the ‘castle chaser.’ It would be nice to pop out novels and receive global acclaim for your work. The paycheck and the Scottish castle wouldn’t hurt either.

Unfortunately, that kind of dreaming isn’t going to get us anywhere. Taking on the herculean task of writing your Pulitzer prize special is daunting when you sit to write your first page. Last year, I was in the depths of writing depression, and it was all due to the ‘castle chaser.’ My book, entitled ‘Escape from Reality’, was going to be my first grown up, hard-look-at-life novel, and every page in it would be pure gold to knock the socks off of my audience’s psyche. Then it came down to writing every page, and surprise, surprise I wrote and rewrote like a fickle tornado. The most prominent sign that I was castle chasing instead of writing was that in five years I only had 150 pages to show for it, not included the scribbled out pages in different abandoned notebooks.

Now I’m not saying that rewrites are the devil. Rewrites are fine in moderation, in fact they can be very liberating to a story or chapter or character (or poem or poet for that matter). Taking 5 years to write 150 pages isn’t bad either. The way I did it proved detrimental to my writing, however. Every word I wrote felt forced and alien. Maybe it was good as well, I’m not sure, all I know is that I wasn’t enjoying the journey.

And here’s why:

I’d lost track of why I’d begun on the project in the first place. There’s a little spark of life to a fledgling project. It may rely on the theme that you will be attempting to put across, perhaps it’s an exploration of human nature. Personally, I get pulled in by the romantic aspects. Whatever that initial spark is, that’s the reason that we write. If you lose that, and attempt to force your way in a new direction rather than find it naturally, that’s when the project dies. Momentarily. It can be revived with some elbow grease.

There’s two tips that I have for learning to enjoy the journey rather than concentrate on the destination. First of all, practice writing everyday. Practice makes perfect. You know that old line. This is honestly the universal solvent for any writing problem. If you write every day you’ll not be afraid of writing, and you will work through writer’s block. Notice I didn’t say force yourself to write everyday. Force is such a nasty word… I prefer to look at it as setting aside time to play with language. This may also mean setting daily goals. I read on Philip Pullman ’s blog that he goes into a garden shed every morning to write three pages before he lets himself do anything else. That’s not a bad idea, because he’s got this area that’s dedicated solely to writing, and accomplishing goals like that is good for self-esteem. Another idea is to have a set time limit, such as an hour or so, everyday at the same time. Try it. Have fun. :)

The second and last tip is a fairly simple tip that I’ve read in a textbook somewhere. Take your ‘castle chaser’ voice, and put a face to it. Mine looks like Draco Malfoy , and the lady in the book said her voice was a rat. Then, once the voice has an identity, put that identity in custody. The lady in the book put her figurative mouse in a literal jar that she twisted shut. When I go to write, I shut Malfoy out by shutting a door like he’s on the other side. You will feel silly… I promise… but it helps.

prompt #2

Make an identity for your negative and money grabber voice. Give it a face or a species that you detest. Don’t forget to name it. Once you have that character mapped out (wink wink. you can see what’s coming now, right?), put your Negative Nelly onto paper in one of the following ways…

• if you have any artistic skills, draw the little bastard. Several times in fact, from several different angles. Explore their shape, color, texture. Make them look the way you feel when you can’t write.
• write a journal from your Negative Nelly’s point of view. What do they complain about? What makes their day brighter? Why do they keep bugging you when you are trying to be free and creative? This can be done from an animal or a rain cloud’s perspective- remember! Your Negative Nelly does not have to be human, and it certainly doesn’t have to be anyone you know.

• write a scene where you confront your Nelly. Make it a nasty fight. Maybe it does come to bloody noses, or maybe you two work it out, but be assertive with both characters. (funny to call yourself a character huh?) Either write from first person or third person. If it’s third person play with what both characters are thinking but not saying.

Until tomorrow, adieu.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS