A comment a few posts down got me thinking about something I posted here shortly after I started this blog. I was working through the idea of writing what I felt passionate about writing, even though I am capable of telling any number of stories.
It was me fumbling my way to a recognition that others might throw opinions and reactions at me and that I needed to learn to sift through those, looking for any grain of truth and tossing the rest out the window because really, it is my writing.
My art.
My story to tell.
And I'm getting much, much better at telling anyone who thinks I should be doing something different to just go do it themselves.
Anyone interested in my earlier post, go here.
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Honestly, this is a post I never dreamed I'd write. My hands are shaky, and I'm frantically thinking through all the possible conseq...
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I've been sitting on this news for over a week, now. Remember last week when I said part of my May was WOW? This is the WOW, announced ... -
I first met Myra when she chased me down the hall at church and said "Hey! I heard you're a writer! I'm a writer too!" Th...
just going to continue what I was saying before here.
ReplyDeleteI have gotten new friends.
But my aunt is this inspirational writer and she got a reward when I was finally taking my writing seriously [grade 11, lol] and yeah... but we no longer talk about writing anymore. I think if my story makes you smile or forget your problems then its done a lot. A lot of 'inspirational' stories while good, sometimes make reality hit a little too hard when you've already had a hard day. I just have to remember that at times.
But I still haven't told any one else that I write, of if they ask me about an idea I'm like 'eh, you have to read it to get the full impact' to avoid explaining the idea. Because I might snap and stab someone if they say 'well...that's so verdone//cliche' The basis of every story has been done. Girl defeating obstacles thrown at her. Girl falling in love. Whatever, it's how you write it that makes it special. I've read a lot of stories where the only reason I kept reading was because there was such a huge possibility for it to be great, but there was just something off, or the author told us the story which kept pulling me out of it.
But I will definitely take your advice on the 'why don't you write it,' it's polite but at the same time not, lol.
And I posted a link in the other thread, and forgot to say why, lol. It's basically this thing where you challenge yourself to write a novel in seventy days, between 60K-100K. I think you can use an already started novel to do this as long as you're writing 60K additional words.
And I like the fact that you say it's your story to tell. I find that when you tell someone your idea they start to tell you how to write it, or what they think would make it better. It's one thing if they're telling you about grammar or inconsistencies or things they actually find annoying and think you should check over to see if it's unrealistic or your heroine is TSTL but I hate when they're like 'well, if your hero was blond he'd be more attractive and I wish you didn't drag out the relationship for so long, blahblah' if you don't build up your own opinion the story you were telling starts to change drastically until it doesn't resemble your story at all.
Joining a local writer's group in your area might be a huge help to you.
ReplyDeleteYou can look up a local chapter of the RWA at www.rwanational.org and see what they've got. A writer's group would give you people to connect with who have similar goals and understand where you're coming from.
And writers often know how to help brainstorm ideas with you without taking over your plot. Plus, the helpful feedback on your writing is always a plus!
Also, you can check out the book "Writing the Breakout Novel" (or is it breakthrough novel??) at your local bookstore for some very solid assistance in getting YOUR story written to the best of your ability.
But all of that means nothing if you lose faith in your own dreams. =) You are a writer with your own stories to tell. Your aunt has her stories to tell. You have yours. Take a look at the size of your local Borders and tell me there isn't enough room for both. ;)