Being True to Your Story and to Yourself
HEY!
I know I've been MIA for a little while, dealing with family stuff and all that. I read an interesting post today at one of my favorite blogs, *Headdesk*. It was about being true to your story. You can read the post here.
It got me thinking about some things... mainly a thing called truth.
Not only is it important to be true to your story, but an author needs to be true to him or herself, as well. What I mean by this is to write the way you write. Write the way that makes you happy. If you enjoy barfing out a sloppy first draft and then rewriting the whole thing, go for it. If you must have a detailed outline, do it.
Me? I've been hung up on following the steps I learned at the Writer's Boot Camp I attended in March. The steps are hard. They make you think. But they've also kept me from writing my story. They've kept me from being true to myself.
I like to barf out a sloppy first draft. It's a way to get my ideas down. That's why I love NaNoWriMo. I love taking that slop and shaping it into something great. That's how I work. I don't like outlining. It takes the magic out of discovering the story and who the characters are.
I'm a person who likes to see what other people are doing. I like to try out different techniques to approaching a new idea. But ultimately, I know how I work. I know that if something takes the fun out of writing, steals my passion, or sends my muse scampering away to hide somewhere with a note that says "don't call me I'll call you", I know I'm doing it wrong. I'm not being true to myself.
I finally have a series of great ideas and I'm stalled out on the first step I learned in the boot camp. I even left my computer at home today because I knew I wouldn't write on my lunch break. I havent' been writing. Remember my 3 pages a day goal? Didn't last. I was thinking too much and not writing enough. I wasn't letting my muse's essence channel through my fingertips into the keys. I wasn't being true to myself.
I'm giving myself freedom today. I'm giving myself the permission to barf (I love that word) out a sloppy first draft. I'm giving myself the freedom to use pure creativity in my first draft. I'm not going to worry about what color someone's hair is or if it changes from the first chapter to the fifth. I'm not going to worry about chronology. If I have a great idea that should have happened earlier, I'll make note of it and move on. I'm going to get this story written.
In the words of Nora Roberts and Jodi Picoult: "You can't edit a blank page."
Here's another good one:
“Inasmuch as you can do so without harming others – your only job in this life is to be true to yourself.”- Curt Bradner
_________________________________
Are you being true to yourself?
_________________________________
Keeping my head above the water,
Claire L. Fishback
I know I've been MIA for a little while, dealing with family stuff and all that. I read an interesting post today at one of my favorite blogs, *Headdesk*. It was about being true to your story. You can read the post here.
It got me thinking about some things... mainly a thing called truth.
Not only is it important to be true to your story, but an author needs to be true to him or herself, as well. What I mean by this is to write the way you write. Write the way that makes you happy. If you enjoy barfing out a sloppy first draft and then rewriting the whole thing, go for it. If you must have a detailed outline, do it.
Me? I've been hung up on following the steps I learned at the Writer's Boot Camp I attended in March. The steps are hard. They make you think. But they've also kept me from writing my story. They've kept me from being true to myself.
I like to barf out a sloppy first draft. It's a way to get my ideas down. That's why I love NaNoWriMo. I love taking that slop and shaping it into something great. That's how I work. I don't like outlining. It takes the magic out of discovering the story and who the characters are.
I'm a person who likes to see what other people are doing. I like to try out different techniques to approaching a new idea. But ultimately, I know how I work. I know that if something takes the fun out of writing, steals my passion, or sends my muse scampering away to hide somewhere with a note that says "don't call me I'll call you", I know I'm doing it wrong. I'm not being true to myself.
I finally have a series of great ideas and I'm stalled out on the first step I learned in the boot camp. I even left my computer at home today because I knew I wouldn't write on my lunch break. I havent' been writing. Remember my 3 pages a day goal? Didn't last. I was thinking too much and not writing enough. I wasn't letting my muse's essence channel through my fingertips into the keys. I wasn't being true to myself.
I'm giving myself freedom today. I'm giving myself the permission to barf (I love that word) out a sloppy first draft. I'm giving myself the freedom to use pure creativity in my first draft. I'm not going to worry about what color someone's hair is or if it changes from the first chapter to the fifth. I'm not going to worry about chronology. If I have a great idea that should have happened earlier, I'll make note of it and move on. I'm going to get this story written.
In the words of Nora Roberts and Jodi Picoult: "You can't edit a blank page."
Here's another good one:
“Inasmuch as you can do so without harming others – your only job in this life is to be true to yourself.”- Curt Bradner
_________________________________
Are you being true to yourself?
_________________________________
Keeping my head above the water,
Claire L. Fishback
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