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Or: resolution, not resignation
Somewhere along the way, I picked up the idea that I had to resign myself to trying to write short stories. Yes, I know, that sounds ridiculous when spelled out plainly like that. However, one gets these ideas, and they get stuck. As a corollary, when my short stories didn't work, I had to resign myself to the fact that I couldn't write short fiction.
Bollocks, as my Brit friends would put it.
Why is it so hard to convince my brain that I can write to whatever length I need to write to, and worry about finding a market for it afterwards? Granted, working on longer pieces doesn't give the same sense of short-term gratification (and this is why my novel edits laaaanguish like languishing poets), but if that's where the idea fits, why fight it? Fighting it is a waste of time and energy that could be put into writing.
Thus, a resolution to replace my resignation: I will write the ideas as they come to me, and worry about the saleability of them afterwards. If a brilliant short idea strikes me, then I will write it as a short (250 words from a dream netted me a sale to AE Micro; it *is* conceivable). Otherwise, I will continue collecting my meandering threads until they resolve into whatever form they are supposed to take. (SteampunkTO, I'm looking at you.)
I'm not trying to make a living as a fiction writer: I'm content to work as a Technical Writer for a regular pay cheque. I just want to get the stories that I have *written* so that they can be read. And if I'm constantly second-guessing myself about fitting a market, I'm not getting the words out. I'm impeding readability.
Goals, then:
- Finish 1st draft "Carnival" by end of November. Stop worrying about word count.
- Write whatever SteampunkTO bits strike me
- design that damn lace pattern/code to accompany it
- come up with a working title >.>
- gorram edits/rewrites to Node. Just do them already.
- Come up with an alternate name for Node book 1. Seriously. Enough with the 10 year long misnomer.
- Write some fanfic. Because. It is fluff and candy.
- Listen to Rawlins Cross more often. Because. It is both therapeutic and inspirational.
*Title from "A Sad Story" by Rawlins Cross, from the album "Living River". HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Somewhere along the way, I picked up the idea that I had to resign myself to trying to write short stories. Yes, I know, that sounds ridiculous when spelled out plainly like that. However, one gets these ideas, and they get stuck. As a corollary, when my short stories didn't work, I had to resign myself to the fact that I couldn't write short fiction.
Bollocks, as my Brit friends would put it.
Why is it so hard to convince my brain that I can write to whatever length I need to write to, and worry about finding a market for it afterwards? Granted, working on longer pieces doesn't give the same sense of short-term gratification (and this is why my novel edits laaaanguish like languishing poets), but if that's where the idea fits, why fight it? Fighting it is a waste of time and energy that could be put into writing.
Thus, a resolution to replace my resignation: I will write the ideas as they come to me, and worry about the saleability of them afterwards. If a brilliant short idea strikes me, then I will write it as a short (250 words from a dream netted me a sale to AE Micro; it *is* conceivable). Otherwise, I will continue collecting my meandering threads until they resolve into whatever form they are supposed to take. (SteampunkTO, I'm looking at you.)
I'm not trying to make a living as a fiction writer: I'm content to work as a Technical Writer for a regular pay cheque. I just want to get the stories that I have *written* so that they can be read. And if I'm constantly second-guessing myself about fitting a market, I'm not getting the words out. I'm impeding readability.
Goals, then:
- Finish 1st draft "Carnival" by end of November. Stop worrying about word count.
- Write whatever SteampunkTO bits strike me
- design that damn lace pattern/code to accompany it
- come up with a working title >.>
- gorram edits/rewrites to Node. Just do them already.
- Come up with an alternate name for Node book 1. Seriously. Enough with the 10 year long misnomer.
- Write some fanfic. Because. It is fluff and candy.
- Listen to Rawlins Cross more often. Because. It is both therapeutic and inspirational.
*Title from "A Sad Story" by Rawlins Cross, from the album "Living River". HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
