I made a lot of good progress on the novel this week, even though I wasn’t really in the right frame of mind when I started. It seems that when the subject matter turns difficult, a scene needs to come out, but is painful, it’s not writer’s block that stops me, it’s fear. I know that may sound strange, but honesty is hard for me, especially when it comes to writing. Maybe it’s the fear of rejection; not from publishers, but from family and friends who may not approve of what’s on paper. Perhaps it’s the fear of actually taking my writing to places I’ve never been and trying things I’ve never tried. Let’s face it; we all like our comfort zone. Some more than others, and even if it means our success is on the other side of the river, we’d just rather stay on the bank and dream. I’m really working on getting brave enough to cross over, and each day I push through the fear, I get one more toe wet. I know what most of you are thinking, but honest writing doesn’t always mean dealing with adult themes, throwing in the occasional gratuitous four-letter word or being as raw and edgy as possible. Honest writing is simply authentic writing. Children expect that, and since I’m writing for them, I have to give them that. So, sometimes when my writing seems too boring or tame for today’s audiences, even the youngest readers, I remind myself that I can’t change who I am and shouldn’t. Being authentic is essential, and telling my story from my perspective, the way I lived it and remember, is the most honest thing I can do. That’s what has to come through more than anything else. That was my goal this week, and I think I reached it at least a few times. The rest will eventually end up in the garbage in favor of new words, paragraphs and revisions, but the truest parts will stay. That is, after all, what we should want from ourselves in everything we do.
Archive for February, 2009
Honesty
Friday, February 27th, 2009You Can’t Get There From Here
Monday, February 23rd, 2009What I mean is, I can’t get anywhere if I don’t get busy. It’s not like there’s a road map to writing the next Great American Novel, but if I don’t get back to work, it just won’t happen. I’ll admit I’ve been distracted for the past couple of weeks. Life kicks in sometimes, kids are out of school, a few days out of town, helping in my daughter’s classroom and boom, it’s been two weeks and I haven’t written anything. The good news is that since my last post, I consider myself two-thirds through my first draft. So, even though the blog posts haven’t kept up with my progress on the book, I am just about where I wanted to be at this point. The only problem is, today it’s quiet in the house, the kids are back to school, there’s not too much that needs doing by way of housework, and I can’t get anything going on the computer today. The scenes that have been screaming to get out the last two week have fallen suddenly silent, and there is just no waking them up at this point. So, I’ve got a couple of options: (writing this blog post is my feeble attempt at getting the creative juices flowing again) I can sit here and wait for my muse to wake up, or I can get up and vacuum, hoping the noise will motivate her to get back to business. I’m thinking vacuuming might do the trick, since sitting here isn’t doing me or my writer’s fanny spread any good. No, I can’t get there from here, but maybe if I take a side path for just a little while, I’ll be able to find my way back to the main road and get closer to my final destination. I’ll let you know how it goes, unless I get lost along the way.
