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In which we find Arcie lamenting about the forces of evil interrupting the creation of a masterpiece (or at least into something consisting of pixels shaped into characters, in turn being shaped into words, then sentences, then paragraphs...).
For me, the most difficult part of writing any story is getting started. Not coming up with an idea, plot, and characters, but writing that first block of text, opening the door into my mind.
As a high risk jumping activity (which one must admit writing can be) I wish it was more like sky-diving than jumping over things with a ramp. In the first case, when you fling yourself from the airplane and there is no turning back, you have started and it is all downhill until the end.
But when starting a jump with a ramp, you still have time to back out, at least until you fly off the top of the ramp. This is my problem, I so often find myself peddling as hard as I can then suddenly realizing that the jump is not going to work, causing me to stop and gently roll backwards to the ground. Then I sit there wondering what is wrong; were the wheels of my tricycle slipping, maybe I need to peddle faster, possibly the ramp is too high, the wheels too small, or I should have the ramp leading towards a drainage ditch, not a canyon. It can take some time, but after determining a new approach I try again, often finding myself coasting once more to the bottom.
Finally, I make it all the way to the top of the ramp and woosh I am airborne. It really is rather excellent, the moment that happens. And though I may not land the way I planned, I am going to finish.
Well right now, the wheels of my trike our slipping and I just can't get the speed to have confidence that I can make the jump for any of the stories screaming to get out of my head. So if anybody happens to see my muse, probably passed out in some alley, can you let her know that I need a push?
Comments
Style
It's understandable. You can have your plotlines and characters all sorted out in your head, or even written down on a physical or virtual piece of paper, but there are still a million different ways to tell the same story. It's only once you start writing that you're actually locked into a specific narrative style.
False starts
Usually I have to try a couple of times before I get the beginning right. Sometimes I write two or three chapters before I realize it's not working.
The only thing I can do is treat what I wrote as "notes" and start from zero again.
Once I hit the right approach, it goes very easily.
I don't regard it as a problem, though: there are times when you have to write some junk to sort of clear the pipe.
Hey, this is the story of my life
Start, stop, restart, stop and repeat.
I do save what I have done as it can be useful elsewhere in a story, sometimes not where I expected it would fit, or give me a clue of where I want to go and how not to get there.
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa