I can not, in all honesty, say I'm writing a novel. Novels have structure, novels have a plot. Though of course they allow for spontaneity, good novelists hold the big picture in mind when they sit down to write.
It would just be pretentious to say I'm writing a novel. More true is to say I'm sitting down every morning to write 1,666 words. So far, what I'm doing is stream of consciousness, more like automatic writing than anything else. As with automatic writing, I'm learning things about myself. Today I figured out I like dialogue, and I love describing the outfits of the characters, which is so weird as I am completely NON fashionable in every sense of the word. Weird yet fun.
Though I have, up till this moment, believed that blog posts were an act of spontaneity, I'm realizing I actually think about what I want to write here and on Chateau Seven, my other blog. By the time I put my fingers on the keyboard, I'm fairly clear what's going to come out. Sometimes I surprise myself, sometimes.
I don't spend a lot of time writing or editing here, even less with the "novel" I'm writing. If I look back on what I've written, I'm afraid I'll get stuck, self censor, or worse, become embarrassed by how bad it is. So I write, then turn to other things.
I'm going to carry on with NaNoWriMo, not in the hope that I'm suddenly going to become a novelist, holy cow no way, but as a process of self discovery. It isn't the worst way to approach this, right?
It's pretty fun, actually, knowing that even as long as I've been around (closing in on age 59), there are still so many things I can try. Why not?
9 comments:
Cheering you on, Reya! The photos are amazing, too...that first one, with all the cables, brought to mind Sir Walter Scott's "Oh what a tangled web we weave" line. You're spinning threads, now...keep spinning! In time you can weave them together, but for now, go with it. Yes, write each day...another rung up the ladder. Don't look down...don't worry about how many more rungs to go up, either...your ladder may not even be going "up" in the conventional sense.
I`m all with Michael - carry on and discover all your hidden threads, pulling them out and weave them into a new tapestry! You are so good with words, Reya, and with thoughts, new, unique thoughts, that I am waiting for the outcome. Be sure to follow the lines around the corner, don`t censure yourself. It will be fun, no matter where your plot and characters will lead you!
The more you do something the better you become at doing it... riding a bike, walking, singing, cleaning, writing, painting.... you know this from your camera work. Keep on trucking there, Reya!! xoxo
Writing -- and the sort of thinking we do when we write -- is a habit and a discipline more than anything else. I'm sadly out of shape . . . but it's heartening to know that are in full-flow!
I did really love the pics with this post.
you know that letting all those words free will leave a great empty space into which will flood your next necessity!! i say write like mad reya!! steven
Thank you for the blessing, Steven! LOVE your new profile pic!! Love you.
,,New things to try? absolutely,,,I signed up also. I think will will be a hoot. Are you going to post on Nano Website? and, are you shaing your "buddy name"? Mine is ,,Glen Rose,, if ye care to sneak a peek.
Glenn I DO care to take a peek. My buddy name is rmellicker.
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