These days, I'm struggling with the idea that everything I write is not destined to be the ultimate best-seller. I'm still at the beginning of my learning process and I need to write plenty of imperfect sketches before I get the proportions right. I need hours of practise before I can even reproduce a melody, let alone create one. This is the step where I usually abandon my creative attempts because it's hard and I suck. I've seen it happen with drawing, with singing and playing the guitar, with circus arts and calligraphy. I also ditched horse-riding after the first fall.
Drama and English were the subjects I stuck with and they were the ones I got decent at. It helps me a lot that I truly believe talent is a mix of imagination, experience and hard work. Very hard work. And then more very hard work. And while I have a sneaking suspicion I won't be too good about going to the gym three times a week, I really want to keep training on my writing.
So I'm planning big projects, like the revision of my Nano 09 novel, the same one that despaired me so much last week. I've thought about it a lot, and decided to keep the first 20,000 words or so, because they make sense and I actually like them, surprisingly enough. There's a story and a half in there, so I'll work on making it two different short stories whose main characters are close relatives and I'll shoot for about 20k each. After that, there's two more stories I can write, again with characters related to the first two.
This project terrifies me because it's huge and historical, but I think it'd help me learn a great deal. Right now, I'm mainly writing very short pieces and blog posts for here or LiveJournal . I'm trying to keep myself writing in the time I would otherwise have used berating myself for not writing.
I can do this. Right?
Yes you can. Of course you can... it's year of the eph after all, and you've got to set yourself big projects, and challenges. It's only in being challenged that we can stretch ourselves.
ReplyDeleteThe best words of your post? These: "talent is a mix of imagination, experience and hard work" - I'm with you on that. Bukowski said that writing was a craft, not an art, which you have to work at, using your hands. You have to get a bit dirty and hone a good idea from something unpolished to something functional and beautiful combined. So keep trucking, because, if I may humbly say so, you're on the right track...
I have big projects, a plan to improve in my craft and an EPH sound in my middle name, so Year of the Eph, here I come :P
ReplyDeleteI guess this whole challenging and stretching ourselves business comes down to the all important gym motto 'No pain, no gain'. Although risk taking is safer in writing than sports, in some ways. The hard work thing is double-edged, it means you can always do it, but if you don't, the responsability lies with you. Thank you for the morale boost, it really helps.
Worry not, audience, this Snotty French Girl is too stubborn to quit anyways :)