Tuesday, March 22, 2011

So Not Like Riding A Bike

Every time I start a new project, I can't remember for the life of me how I managed to finish the last. It's not really fair, is it? It's not like jumping on a bike and riding though you haven't in years.

Even when I am writing consistently, it can be overwhelming. So many elements to string together. Characters to figure out. Surprises to discover. Mistakes to make. Right now I'm heading into the dreaded middle, and I'm sitting here thinking, "How did I do this twelve times? Seriously. How did I even write one book?"

Well, maybe because half of those were pretty bad, but even so, you'd think after so many books it would be easy. At least easier. But no, it's still as hard as ever.

And yet, in a way I think that's why I keep coming back to writing. It's certainly never boring. It's always a challenge. I'm always learning and pushing and experiencing something new. How blah would it be if I could pick it up and put it down like a bike and it never changed?

I can tell you one thing—I don't much care for bike riding.

16 comments:

  1. *hugs* Hang in there! Think of success!
    (My word verification is ingst. Don't get angsty!)

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  2. Haha, well at least it's not boring, right? Better than spending your days doing data entry!

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  3. You are so right! A couple of weeks ago, I recall you writing about first drafts -- looking at all the plot elements you've flung out there and wondering when they will all tie together into one cohesive plot. You compared it to herding cats.

    Yeah, that's where I am.

    I keep thinking fondly of my two completed projects ... wondering if they'd like me to revise them some more. Because revising is so much easier than drafting a new project ...

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  4. Oh, I so needed this post today. Thank you, Natalie.

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  5. It's that dreaded middle that always stops me in my tracks longer than it should. But I've also realized that if I take a break and focus on some short stories, it helps recharge the creative battery.

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  6. I think this post is kind of funny in that coincidental way, because I just happened to take up bike riding again a few days ago and, having not rode since early childhood, I had to learn all over again.

    In relation to writing though, I find I'm the complete opposite. Whenever I start a project, I already have a fully formed idea of just about everything that's going to happen. I just write and then a couple weeks or months later it's done.

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  7. Stories are like babies. No matter how many we have they're all unique and have their individual challenges. And they don't come with instruction manuals either. One thing may work for one kid but not the other. Same with stories. Keeps us on our toes, eh?

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  8. Thank you Natalie. Although we are oceans apart in both the number of books (me - 1 full & 3 half baked) and land space occupied (me - Australia) right now I feel like I have stumbled upon a kindred spirit. At last I have been granted the time and freedom to just write - but I just can't!!! What the? I feel guilty about my first MS, like I am abandoning it by starting on the next. But the voices in my head, my new characters, are demanding my attention. Reading that you have 12 under your belt is surprisingly motivational. I can do it, I can!

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  9. I'm heading into another round of revisions/possibly rewriting on my WIP and I'm like GAHHH HOW DOES ANYBODY EVER DO THIS?? HOW DID I DO IT SO MANY TIMES BEFORE??

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  10. I always find the start so hard to get right. Endings I love. Coming up with endings is great fun. If I could get paid to come up with endings I'd be so very happy.

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  11. Even though I have a few "completed" novels in my drawer I keep wondering if they really are...completed, that is. I feel like there is always more to come back to and change. Arg!!

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  12. I’m much the same. The annoying thing is that every book is different. I would love to be cocky and say that the next one will be a breeze because I’ve written five now and so why should the sixth be any different but I know it will be and I’ll wonder why the hell I bothered and I’ll go through a slump believing that I’ve wasted my time and I’ll never finish it and then after about three years I will and, much like after the birth of a child (so I’m told), I won’t be able to remember how miserable the work was most of the time because I’ll have a new novel and maybe then I’ll feel like a real novelist although I doubt that.

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  13. Yeah...I'm a notorious bike crasher. Probably story crasher too. But when I crash a story I don't usually end up with road rash you can see. It's more like I've scraped away brain cells.

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  14. Totally agree. Everytime I start a book I feel overwhelmed... and then I get over it and everything works out. And the next time, it is just the same. Maybe it isn't as worth it if we don't have to work for it.

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  15. Those mucky middles! So hard to ride through whether for a 70,000 word novel, or an 800 word essay. Good luck~

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  16. I'm glad writing isn't like riding a bike. I rather despise that analogy, since despite being 14 years of age, I still don't know how to ride a bike, though most people my age learned when they were about 4.

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