Almost positive

[katiefoolery]

I’ve been reading through Black Fiddle in a desperate attempt to inspire myself to get started on that demmed elusive second draft... and it’s not that bad. Whenever I’m distanced from the manuscript, I always manage to convince myself that it’s horrible, that I’ll never have a chance of salvaging anything I’ve written because of its pure and unmitigated crapitude.

But I’m wrong.

Yes, the first section is pretty much expendable, but the later bits are a great deal better. Both Jeannie and Cianan keep saying things that make me laugh out loud, or snigger at the very least. And even the rubbishy bits aren’t as depressing as they should be, because I can see how they can be improved. The most cheering part of the whole process is seeing that much of what I’ve written can actually stay!

For the most part, I’m just glad to see that I still love this story and the characters within it. Their stories are every bit as important to me now as they were back when I first wrote the draft. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the re-read is that I know things now that I didn’t know when I was first writing characters such as Sheilagh and Fergal. And now that I know what I didn’t know but needed to know, well, I know a lot more. And that’s good to know.

I’m almost feeling positive about actually making a start on the second draft.

Comments

[the-kaytinator.livejournal.com]

Huzzah for positivity!!!

I'm glad you're feeling better about Black Fiddle. Good luck with the rewrite. Get started now while you're still enthused.

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Thank-you muchly! I suppose I should start - I don't really have any other major projects to work on at present.

[flippyfrog.livejournal.com]

*Tosses baked goods into the air*

FANTASTIC! You keep that happy outlook, or i swear i'm coming down there with sharp pointy sticks! Just you wait... :P

It's fantastic you're feeling so good about it! I love it when that happens, when you realise you're not completely shit (which i could have told you)Well, you need to finish it, get it published, so i can run down to the bookstore and buy it and then gush to all my friends and random people on the bus that you're my friend and look how bloody brilliant you are. :P Simply conformation of a fact already known.

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Awwww! I'm going to blush now.

*does so*

The best bit is that I'm actually looking forward to reading it. That's definitely a good thing.

[morbane.livejournal.com]

Hurrah! I'm glad you surprised yourself. I hope your husband takes the hint and brings out the stick he uses to beat you into a higher wordcount.

(And SSar sets marital relations back by about 200 years.)

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Ack! Don't mention the stick!

[frohike.livejournal.com]

I can't seem to get inspired to write anymore. I don't have ideas anymore either. I think that all my old ideas were stupid. It makes me think that writing is just this crazy dream I had where I had skills and stuff. It makes me really depressed that I can't seem to do anything to further this goal. Whats worse is that it wasn't my idea originally to write, my sister was writing and I thought 'wow, I wanna be cool like her' so I started writing, and now she asks me for writing advice. The whole situation is getting me down.
If you or anyone else have something to say on this, positive or otherwose, I'd appreciate it.

[morbane.livejournal.com]

I feel similar. Although I still have ideas I like, I seem to lack the motivation and skills to craft them.

Currently, there is still one thing that inspires me, and that's reading the work of other people online. Sometimes when I read something really good, I think "I could do that - but in a slightly different way," or, "This is why it's good to write; this is what makes writing for fun worthwhile."

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Well, firstly: *hugs*, because sometimes a writer just needs them.

Secondly, I want to assure you that you're not alone. Every writer feels like this from time to time. One minute, you can be writing a story that you feel is the most fantastic thing you've ever created... and the next minute, you can feel as you do now: that it was pointless, that you can't write and that you should give up. I know. I've felt like that. There was a point about two years ago when I came incredibly close to giving up on writing altogether. In fact, I did - for an entire day. And then I just felt annoyed at myself for giving up on a dream I've worked towards since I was five.

I think the important thing is not to force it. If you don't have any ideas at the moment, then think about editing. If editing your older stuff makes you feel blue, then maybe you should turn to reading instead. I did that a month or so ago: I had a pile of books and I churned my way through them. It did amazing things for my imagination. :)

I also think that as we start taking our writing more seriously, we realise that it's actually a lot of hard work. Yes, it's still fun but it can be work as well.

You said that you started writing because your sister started, but there must be something more to that, especially if you kept writing. Maybe you could think about why you kept writing and how you would feel if you gave it up. Remembering what you love about writing is often a good way to inspire yourself to get back into it.

[flippyfrog.livejournal.com]

Take a break from 'writing', in that, take a break from thinking that you should be writing instead of sitting there with a blank page and a pen that's getting chewed to the point of splitting its plastic covering. Read more. Go down to your local second hand bookstore and buy some books. The cheaper and the more terrible, the better. I thought a while ago that i could never be a writer, then i read this terrible young adult book dragonfly and felt so disgusted with the author and how she had been published. I felt it was just something i had to do, write a story and prove that young adults shouldn't be treated like idiots who have no idea about plot or structure, or even decent common sense.

Reading classic fairy stories help me too, and then practising with how to make them longer. I have one i always go back to, simply because it was the story as a child i was obsessed about and so know it back to front, so i try to extend it, and see if i could make it into a novel. I don't think i'll ever get anywhere with it, but it is good practise.

Lastly, writing nothing. Finding some time to sit and describe what's happening about you. Write about your study, your living room where ever you are. And then toss a character into the situation and see where it takes you.

Long bus trips and having random conversations with characters in my head help me heaps. Also sketching if you do that kind of thing. When i take a break, i start sketching, and see if i can get a story that way.

I hope that gives you some ideas. Don't give up. Every writer/author i have ever met talks about dark times when they feel shit and think the joke is on them. Just keep going, the stories will come, they just sometimes need to take a break as well.

[snarkymonkey.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm glad you're enjoying your editing process in this way. It's heartening, really. =3 Nothing worse than finding out that you actually don't like characters in a piece you've written. *grins* I can't wait to see this finished piece, my friend. ^___^

By the way, I want to thank you for what you said earlier in my journal. It really made my day which was progressing to Downright Horrible before I read that. *hugs*

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

You're welcome, lovely Karen! Any time you need some cheering up in the writing department, just call on me. :) (It helps that I mean everything I say when it comes to your writing.)

I'm actually thinking of posting some snippets from Black Fiddle, just so people can get an idea of what it's about.

[rigel-7.livejournal.com]

*snuggles*
especially for the Scarlet Pimpernel reference :P

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Huzzah! You noticed!

*snuggles back*

[gwyndolin.livejournal.com]

Woohoo! There's no better feeling than re-reading your work and discovering it isn't as bad as you remember it being.

I wonder if Stephen King and Neal Stephenson still go through that same thing.

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

It is indeed a lovely feeling!

I wonder that sort of thing, too. Is it possible to get to a stage when you know that what you're writing is good? I do hope so.

[naelany.livejournal.com]

good luck and have fun!

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I shall try. :)