As 2011 comes to a close, I can't help but look back at this year with a mix of frustration and pride.
On the more frustrating end, I was unable to follow through with the writing game plan I had set for myself and I barely made it past the 10,000 word mark in NaNoWriMo this year. I was so busy with my life outside of my creative pursuits that my writing suffered. I went through a creatively-depressed period that was so bad, I couldn't bare to even look at a copy of Writer's Digest for fear it would send me into a pit of self-hating guilt.
Okay, I'm being mellow dramatic, but I really couldn't read anything about the creative process without feeling poorly about myself.
But I'm happy and proud to report that I'm on a an up swing right now. I've been reevaluating my interests and have found that while writing stories isn't my primary driver in life - as I've always secretly wished it would be- it is something I still feel the need to do. I would be lost without my journal to pour myself into and board if I no longer told myself stories. What I'm working out now is what I want to write and share with others.
I think my primary misstep in 2011 -perhaps my greatest misstep about writing in general - was not sharing my work. By always being convinced that what I had was too rough or not of interest to others stunted whatever growth or motivation I could have gotten had I been more open about my work. I'm lucky enough to be a part of a great writing group, but have barely been a participant for the last year. That saddens me and I want it to change in 2012.
While I have many half written stories I could work on, what I'm most interest in pursuing at the moment is writing a personal essay about my experience with food. I love reading food writing, so I'm excited to try my hand at it. Admittedly, I'm not quite sure how to go about food writing or about personal essays, but I plan on just going for it!
2012 is a blank page that I'm looking forward to filling. There will be many challenges - I plan to start culinary school possibly as soon as March while still working a full time job - but I feel more confidant than ever that I will find the time and discipline to accomplish what I want in 2012.
Let's toast to the end of good ol' 2011 and raise our glasses to 2012! Cheers to you all and thanks for reading!
Showing posts with label writing life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing life. Show all posts
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Why Writing Groups Are Like High Pressure Systems
Today I would like to tell you all that I am grateful for my writing group. I know that I've expressed frustrations about being in this group and not always feeling it fit my needs, but today they were a bigger help than maybe they even realize.
For the past two months I've been trying to work on finishing up my winning NaNoWriMo story. While big changes at work didn't help me have time to write, I struggled with more than just the time crunch: I had hit a wall. It wasn't just the plot or characters, but suddenly anything I wrote sounded flat and left a stale, cardboard taste in my mouth. I was at a transitional, potentially pivotal, part of the story line and I couldn't get past it.
It was the perfect hurricane of doubt: insecurity and perfectionism spinning together with a few key, unanswered questions sitting idly in the eye of the storm right above my head. I wanted to swim away and break free, but the storm was so daunting that I didn't even know which way to go. So I gave in and floated there, stranded at sea.
Today was my first opportunity to attend writing group since the new year (can I just say again that my work schedule in Jan and Feb was horrendous?) and I finally confronted my hurricane of doubt. I started to explain my story to my group members and asked the questions that had been sitting in the eye of my own personal storm.
And you know what? My group had insights that ultimately lead to answers. It was as if they were a high pressure system moving in, lifting my spirits and sweeping my storm away. For the first time in two months, I thought, "I can do this. I can still write this story."
So the moral of today's story is don't be afraid to talk to other writer's about your frustrations. Thinking I wouldn't find the help I needed held me back for months and while I'm not foolish enough to think moving onwards will be any less challenging, I certainly am more clear headed and optimistic about it.
For the past two months I've been trying to work on finishing up my winning NaNoWriMo story. While big changes at work didn't help me have time to write, I struggled with more than just the time crunch: I had hit a wall. It wasn't just the plot or characters, but suddenly anything I wrote sounded flat and left a stale, cardboard taste in my mouth. I was at a transitional, potentially pivotal, part of the story line and I couldn't get past it.
It was the perfect hurricane of doubt: insecurity and perfectionism spinning together with a few key, unanswered questions sitting idly in the eye of the storm right above my head. I wanted to swim away and break free, but the storm was so daunting that I didn't even know which way to go. So I gave in and floated there, stranded at sea.
Today was my first opportunity to attend writing group since the new year (can I just say again that my work schedule in Jan and Feb was horrendous?) and I finally confronted my hurricane of doubt. I started to explain my story to my group members and asked the questions that had been sitting in the eye of my own personal storm.
And you know what? My group had insights that ultimately lead to answers. It was as if they were a high pressure system moving in, lifting my spirits and sweeping my storm away. For the first time in two months, I thought, "I can do this. I can still write this story."
So the moral of today's story is don't be afraid to talk to other writer's about your frustrations. Thinking I wouldn't find the help I needed held me back for months and while I'm not foolish enough to think moving onwards will be any less challenging, I certainly am more clear headed and optimistic about it.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Writer Seeking Writers
I don't know about you, but January was a blur of noise and emotion for me, some good and some bad. It moved so fast that I had a hard time keeping up with my life and any sort of writing.
February isn't looking to be any easier. I see a mountainous terrain in my near future, where the obstacles of my work life are steep slopes slicked with ice. However, this month I have pens in my hands and a net book strapped to my back. I'm ready to climb this mountain one journal entry and short writing assignment at a time. Maybe I'll get out of it more sane than I've left January.
And I might not be traveling alone. Though I'm already a member of a critique writing group, I've been struggling for the past few months to produce anything at a stage where it needs critique. If anything, I've been producing fragmented pieces that I haven't felt worth their time and effort to review (and maybe this has been my own fault and downfall). And let me tell you, there is little as unsatisfactory as being in a group and being the only one a) not turning anything in or b) not feeling motivated to turn anything in. That said, one of my major goals for this year is to find another writing group of some shape or form to support my writing.
Maybe that's what I've missed most from my current group: support. While the other members (two wonderfully funny and smart women) are great to work with, I don't feel like I'm being encouraged to produce anything new, nor are they asking me to motivate them. They are luckily motivated on their own. So, I'm working on expanding my writing social circle to find others who, like myself, need and give moral support and encouragement.
I've joined a few groups since January. The first was a motely crew of writers who I found through meetup.com, gathering together for the purpose of having shared writing time each week. While the location and purpose of the group were well within my needs and wants, I felt very little connection with the writers who showed up. My schedule has yet to allow me to go back, but maybe that's just fate telling me something.
The other group I've found seems more promising. The Reader-Writer Roundtable is for writers who read, or readers who write. What's more prefect than that? The first meeting was a mere one hour, but I greatly enjoyed the company I was in. The women were opinionated, but not fanatically so, and we all shared a love for the printed word. E-readers, "the classics", and the merit of graphic novels (of which I'm a fan) were up for discussion. Needless to say, I'll be going back and have optimism for this group's future.
I guess that's a good way to summarize my feelings towards February after a tumultuous January. I'm optimistic as a writer seeking other writers to join her in her climb over this winter's obstacles.
February isn't looking to be any easier. I see a mountainous terrain in my near future, where the obstacles of my work life are steep slopes slicked with ice. However, this month I have pens in my hands and a net book strapped to my back. I'm ready to climb this mountain one journal entry and short writing assignment at a time. Maybe I'll get out of it more sane than I've left January.
And I might not be traveling alone. Though I'm already a member of a critique writing group, I've been struggling for the past few months to produce anything at a stage where it needs critique. If anything, I've been producing fragmented pieces that I haven't felt worth their time and effort to review (and maybe this has been my own fault and downfall). And let me tell you, there is little as unsatisfactory as being in a group and being the only one a) not turning anything in or b) not feeling motivated to turn anything in. That said, one of my major goals for this year is to find another writing group of some shape or form to support my writing.
Maybe that's what I've missed most from my current group: support. While the other members (two wonderfully funny and smart women) are great to work with, I don't feel like I'm being encouraged to produce anything new, nor are they asking me to motivate them. They are luckily motivated on their own. So, I'm working on expanding my writing social circle to find others who, like myself, need and give moral support and encouragement.
I've joined a few groups since January. The first was a motely crew of writers who I found through meetup.com, gathering together for the purpose of having shared writing time each week. While the location and purpose of the group were well within my needs and wants, I felt very little connection with the writers who showed up. My schedule has yet to allow me to go back, but maybe that's just fate telling me something.
The other group I've found seems more promising. The Reader-Writer Roundtable is for writers who read, or readers who write. What's more prefect than that? The first meeting was a mere one hour, but I greatly enjoyed the company I was in. The women were opinionated, but not fanatically so, and we all shared a love for the printed word. E-readers, "the classics", and the merit of graphic novels (of which I'm a fan) were up for discussion. Needless to say, I'll be going back and have optimism for this group's future.
I guess that's a good way to summarize my feelings towards February after a tumultuous January. I'm optimistic as a writer seeking other writers to join her in her climb over this winter's obstacles.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Trucking
I'm writing to you from the week four trenches of NaNoWriMo and I am almost 4000 words behind with Thanksgiving and November 30th on the horizon. I don't love my story any less than I did from day one and watching it bloom from an idea into an 80+ page word document has been amazing (plot holes and all), but after almost a month of pure, unforgiving focus, this is what I have to say: I'm tired.
I'm all for discipline in writing, but is there a point at which one can say they are too focused, so much so that it is detrimental to the work at hand? I'm beginning to think so. This is only my second year doing NaNoWriMo and this is my second time reaching the end of the race and feeling everything pittle out of me. I'm running on empty, but I still want to keep going.
So, how can one recharge their writing battery? Here are a few things I'm trying out and finding some success in.
1) Read. There have been points where I'm writing and I think to myself, "Self, you've used this sentence structure so many times now it's boring me to tears. Why are we doing this to ourselves?!" I've found that reading a short story or chapter of a favorite book has been a good reminder of why I'm writing this silly "novel" in the first place. It's also a great way to pick up some pointers on how to flesh out your own sentences and pad that word count (or insert writing goal here).
2) Write something else. Something short and therapeutic. Like a random short scene or a blog post about how you can't write your story.
3) Keep on Trucking. You've hit a rough patch, but that doesn't mean it's the end of the road.
As always, please share your thoughts and motivational tips. See you in December! *HONK HONK*
Monday, July 26, 2010
Wall
Gosh, am I an irregular blogger or what? This is a spontanious update on my part, so please excuse my lack of a point besides letting you know I'm still alive and kicking.
I haven't been writing as much as I'd like to say I have. Consistency is one of my greatest advasaries as a writer. Part of that inconsistency is my own creation of barriers via pointless TV binging or internet surfing. Even now I am putting off facing a new story that has hit a wall of sorts.
The story is just not coming out in a way that feels, for lack of better words, good to me. I started out with some strong images and ideas I wanted to incorporate, but the way they've started to string together leaves me frustrated. The plot came from somewhere in me, but I can't identify with it. I feel like the small part of me that connected with this story has fallen out and I'm not quite sure how it put it back in.
So, yeah. Enough about me and my problems. How are you this week?
I haven't been writing as much as I'd like to say I have. Consistency is one of my greatest advasaries as a writer. Part of that inconsistency is my own creation of barriers via pointless TV binging or internet surfing. Even now I am putting off facing a new story that has hit a wall of sorts.
The story is just not coming out in a way that feels, for lack of better words, good to me. I started out with some strong images and ideas I wanted to incorporate, but the way they've started to string together leaves me frustrated. The plot came from somewhere in me, but I can't identify with it. I feel like the small part of me that connected with this story has fallen out and I'm not quite sure how it put it back in.
So, yeah. Enough about me and my problems. How are you this week?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)