I stumbled upon a few things in the past couple of weeks that have inspired me quite a bit to just get down to work and write. I was, for a long time, worried that I was running in circles with my writing. I feared that my voice wasn't developed, I didn't have enough creativity or individuality, and I was terrified that I had nowhere to go. All of those put together can make for some pretty goddamn stressful days, and I had these floating around for months on end. I have a serious problem with self-doubt. Have you ever received a ‘backwards’ compliment? You know the type. The person looks at you, up and down quickly and a little smile plays on their face and they say, "you look nice today." You could fill a pool with the sarcasm that drips so heavily off their every word. I have the bad habit of taking every compliment in that way, especially ones that I might give myself. My inner critic is never satisfied until it sees perfection. And the most ironic part is, it knows perfection is impossible, it just enjoys to push me to the limit. But I recently had some help getting over this. I have some people to thank for that as well as some videos and blogs that have let me take a good look at my writing and see what was the matter. I was able to focus in and see where I was reaching too far, or where I was being reluctant. I had the inspiration that purple prose is dreadful in fiction, especially fiction based in a reality much like our own. Why should I describe every leaf on the tree, the bark, its color, its size, its shape, when you could just as easily look out the window and see one? Just because it's not the exact tree that I see is moot. If you are engaged enough to keep reading and have the tree appear in your mind's eye, I'm doing a good job. This led me to realize that, ultimately, I have been running away from my problems in my writing. Believe it or not, running away isn't only possible in your actual life, you can do it in everything you do, and I've gotten pretty damn fast over the years. But I noticed this and I stopped myself just long enough for the new to catch up and reveal that it wasn't bad. Because everybody makes mistakes, it's only when we do not rectify them that they come to haunt us. The first thing that slowed me down was a blog post focusing on "The Perfect Scene." I was interested: a part of me wanted to scoff at the perfection, and the other half really wanted to see if it was true. Spoiler alert, it was true - mostly. I won't go into too much detail, I don't think I could do the article justice, but it was absolutely amazing to read and learn something new. That's something that hasn't happened in a while. The idea behind the blog though is that there are two pieces to every Scene, and these are subsequently broken down into three categories of things you should accomplish. It sounds awful at first, as though you're making an algorithm out of creativity, but ultimately for fiction, guidelines are necessary. If you want to make readable fiction you need to start with the basics. Hell, even if you want to write avant-garde and completely unique, break the rules fiction, you have to learn the rules before you can break them. I have the link here for your enjoyment if you choose to read it, I would highly, highly recommend it. I have also provided the link to Jay Greenstein’s blog that led me to it, as a way of thanks. Check him out too, he's got a bunch of great articles that might inspire you a bit too. Perfect Scene: http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/writing-the-perfect-scene/ Jay Greenstein: https://jaygreenstein.wordpress.com/category/the-craft-of-writing/ Now, those of you who are still here will remember I mentioned videos, and yes, I do intend to share! Just let me introduce them quickly first, I swear I'll be brief. The first is one I found a long time ago, but that is still really prevalent in my life and that I come back to now and again for some counseling. It's a graduation commencement speech made by Neil Gaiman that is really just great. Might be overused and sappy and blah blah blah but screw it, if it helps, it helps. Finally, to round this out, I have a little snipped of an interview with Steven King. This is one of over a thousand I’m sure, but I stumbled upon this one and it helped remind me that it’s okay to be writing short stories (WOW THAT’S THE TITLE). Novels are cool and all, but we all have to start somewhere. Short stories seem to be the place. Anyway, here’s his interview That’s it for now. I’m working on editing a short story that I actually am really excited about (you saw a bit of it earlier, though I think I’m scrapping the part I posted…sorry!) and I’m in the middle of drafting another. All told, I actually feel really good about what I’m creating for the first time in a while. Hopefully finals don’t kill my drive and you’ll see the stories soon enough.
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Eric FoxWhen I'm not writing or reading, you can find me playing games or in an existential crisis. When I'm not doing those, I'm probably checking my email, so don't hesitate to reach out. ArchivesCategories
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