That is everything from my Tumblr blog. My past. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to receive all the new followers, likes, and comments. I have a renewed view on my writing. I mean, it is one thing to hear “that’s a great piece” or “you have some real skill,” etc. but to see feedback as little as a like, it’s a big deal. At least to me.
I promise your reader feed will not be flooded with post from me. From here on I will try to post on a schedule. Weekly at least. So until then.
I learned so much. I now know my next story will have an outline. I learned where I can write. I learned to push through the hard parts. I learned to finish. I learned when I look over this story in a few months for the rewrite 95% of this story will be tossed and I’m fine with that.
The first draft is always shit. And mine was a big smelly one. But I can always say hell I did it! I did it for me.
After the two “not selected” resumes, I received my story’s rejection. Today has been a boxer type of day. Think it’s time to retire trying to publish this story. I don’t think I’ve got an exact count of how many, “have not chosen” this story has been dealt but today will be this story’s last. Maybe another short story needs to be created to find a place on the printed page.
I will write more this year. Finish writing novels no matter how poor the ending. Push past the fear of being bad. Even if it’s the worst.
Making mistakes and learning from them.
I read the books. So much writing advice all stuck in this head. I’ve used it all. And now I will talk about what has helped me and why I think some exercises have worked. No, I haven’t published any of my short stories (though I have tried) or a novel (in the process of one) but I have written over a hundred blog post so I hope that gives me some credit. I think it was easy to write short blurbs of information when it was for work. It’s work. Need to get things done or you don’t get paid. Even unpaid work. I was writing and strangers I never met were reading it. I wrote celebrity news, food news, and style news and I gained experience. I learned that when it was for work I could write. What I struggle with is writing creatively.
Practice With A Schedule.
I have waited for inspiration to strike and I have barely written a paragraph. By sitting down and forcing myself to write everyday I have noticed I write better and faster. Try to write at the same time everyday. Make a schedule. Everyday, every other, or three times a week. Writing is a muscle in the brain and it needs working out like any physical muscle. Train your brain to switch the creative juices on. Just write. Doesn’t have to be a story. Can be in a journal. Everyday tasks or delicious meals you had. I found by writing more often the Muse visited me more often.
Find your time.
Some have a belief it is better to write in the morning and others believe they write better at night. I say, at least you’re writing. I did find after trying different time periods throughout the day I am a better morning writer. Unconscious, one eye open writing keeps me from editing while I’m writing. Just too tired to care.
Bird By Bird.
I read this book by Anne Lamott titled Bird By Bird and one thing stuck with me. She talks about her brother at ten years old. He had three months to write a report on birds which was due the next day. Surrounded by a number of books, and papers on birds and overwhelmed there father sat down next to him and said, “Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.” I can get overwhelmed with everything I want to write. I don’t where to start, how to end, and jump ahead to just get everything down. Sometimes just the thought of 50,000 words stops me from writing completely. This book taught me to just slow down, take a deep breath and work on one idea or image at a time. Bird by bird equals moment by moment.
Procrastination.
In school I had no problem writing. With impending due dates I knew I had to finish a report/short story or not get a grade. Even then I was guilty of waiting until last minute. After I left school I had no one encouraging me to write. I had to learn to mentally kick myself into action, sit down, and write. Make myself feel guilty if I enjoyed a prize which I had no effort to show. Learn to encourage when I needed compassion. If you grew up with a great work ethic or someone encouraging you just realize how lucky you are.
Stop Being A Perfectionist.
“First draft of anything is shit.” Ernest Hemingway. All writers write shitty first drafts. I’ve had friends who want to read my work but I tell them, at least, not until the second draft. The first draft is where I pour all my ideas out onto a page. I don’t erase anything, write scenes out of order, and don’t correct my spelling or grammar mistakes.
Read.
Be inspired. Notice what you like reading and try your hand at that style. Also, when you read the use of language, vocabulary, and grammar are seeping into the brain. Of course, reading is fun!
Don’t know why I wrote this. Guess I read something that inspired me. Writing this helped me see how far I’ve come as a still struggling creative writer. Maybe, it can help you too.
Having trouble finding writing motivation today. Worried if I don’t write today and stick to my schedule it could all fall out from under me. I won’t open up the program and continue on. I can say this is me writing and it’s something, which is better than nothing but it could get me no where with my story.
I have written for thirty days straight. I have twittered my daily word count and a continual total word count. Even on Tumblr I have written of some of the stuggles I have discovered as I wrote. As I have said in the pass I have read that 21 days can break or make a habit. At the beginning of this project I decided thirty straight days should break my procrastination and difficulty I face just trying to sit down and write. Thirty days could make a habit where I didn’t just wait for inspiration but exercised my brain.
In these thirty days I found that writing everyday was harder then I expected. But I didn’t let event plans or hanging out stop me. Even when I wanted to let plans stop me. I told myself I had my reward before my work and I would get no where if I just kept going without the hard work it takes to be accomplished. I sometimes only wrote for half an hour but hey, I wrote even if I only produced over 400 or 500 words. At night I gave less time to my writing as it slowed and my bed called me to sleep. The best days was the full hour that seem to fly away as I typed away at my story. I learned I like writing in the morning or early afternoon better then at night. I liked walking around the rest of the day with the inner knowledge of what I accomplished. I am still amazed at all the times I broke 1,000 words in a section.
Twitter became another positive. I had a few people cheering me on and being inspired by me. (What?!) I was/am shocked by the new followers, all strangers, I have just because we share an interest. That inspired me.
I have ended this month with a story word total of 22,336 words. A story still in the process of it’s first draft. A first draft that sucks but I can finally say I’m okay with how horrible it is. A story I hope will improve with all the rewrites I plan to work on in future drafts.
So, what is next? I hope to make a writing schedule I will stick to. Maybe five days a week at least an hour a day. Work on this story. Maybe work on an outline to another story I have been thinking about. I’m still looking for a job but now I don’t feel I should apologized for ”slacking”. This month’s writing showed me so much more about myself I didn’t know I had in me. Maybe writing was always suppose to be the path I went down.
I have written for thirty days straight. I have twittered my daily word count and a continual total word count. Even on Tumblr I have written of some of the stuggles I have discovered as I wrote. As I have said in the pass I have read that 21 days can break or make a habit. At the beginning of this project I decided thirty straight days should break my procrastination and difficulty I face just trying to sit down and write. Thirty days could make a habit where I didn’t just wait for inspiration but exercised my brain.
In these thirty days I found that writing everyday was harder then I expected. But I didn’t let event plans or hanging out stop me. Even when I wanted to let plans stop me. I told myself I had my reward before my work and I would get no where if I just kept going without the hard work it takes to be accomplished. I sometimes only wrote for half an hour but hey, I wrote even if I only produced over 400 or 500 words. At night I gave less time to my writing as it slowed and my bed called me to sleep. The best days was the full hour that seem to fly away as I typed away at my story. I learned I like writing in the morning or early afternoon better then at night. I liked walking around the rest of the day with the inner knowledge of what I accomplished. I am still amazed at all the times I broke 1,000 words in a section.
Twitter became another positive. I had a few people cheering me on and being inspired by me. (What?!) I was/am shocked by the new followers, all strangers, I have just because we share an interest. That inspired me.
I have ended this month with a story word total of 22,336 words. A story still in the process of it’s first draft. A first draft that sucks but I can finally say I’m okay with how horrible it is. A story I hope will improve with all the rewrites I plan to work on in future drafts.
So, what is next? I hope to make a writing schedule I will stick to. Maybe five days a week at least an hour a day. Work on this story. Maybe work on an outline to another story I have been thinking about. I’m still looking for a job but now I don’t feel I should apologized for ”slacking”. This month’s writing showed me so much more about myself I didn’t know I had in me. Maybe writing was always suppose to be the path I went down.
Random Thoughts 
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