I have no idea what to write here, or if I’m making any sense but I’m the idiot that signed up for it this week.
One thing I learnt over the break is the way I need to approach my writing. I have two main projects I’m working on, one being for YA and the other for Novel. My novel project has been around much longer yet I’ve done less on it. Why? Because I’ve been writing whatever scene popped into my head and nothing was sequential. While I do have my basic outline that was getting covered everything was all over the place and I began to dread working on it because I had no idea where to go next.
During the month off I focused on my YA. I decided I would write a chapter every time I worked on it, and writing the chapters in the order they fit. Much easier to follow, and I found myself wanting to get back to it more often.
So what’s next – I’ve given up on what I’ve got and am planning to rewrite from the beginning, sure I’ll probably use quite a bit of what I already have but it still feels like I have a blank page in front of me, I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing.
Two other things are motivation and confidence. There are just so many other things I’d rather be doing, and right now I’m sick and can’t be bothered doing anything whatsoever. The only reason I’m writing this right now is because I have to face Tracey next week (hi Tracey!) I’d much rather be sleeping, but if I don’t do it now then it won’t get done.
Then there’s having to subject your work to everyone, knowing it’s going to be picked apart and having to remember that’s it’s not a judgement of you as a person.
I hate workshopping, talking about my work with anyone outside one or two close friends (who smile and nod) but I want my work to improve.
What both of these come down to is getting it down on paper and putting it out there – what’s the point otherwise?
And that’s what you get from my scrambled brain, here’s hoping it’s coherent.
Kathryn
Interesting post, Kathryn. One of the things you have to find as a writer is the process that works best for you. It seems like you’re benefiting more from writing sequentially — have you thought of having a go at doing this with the novel you’re writing for my class? I must admit, I find it hard to work on more than one novel at a time, mainly because I carry that novel in my head and obsess about it — surely one of the great pleasures of novel writing. I don’t have the headspace to do this with two big projects — in fact, I can’t even work on short stories at the same time without great reason for doing so. Perhaps this is part of the problem for you too. However, because you do have to do both, I’d suggest you try the sequential approach in both novels and see whether this works better for you or not.
It is hard writing two things at once, Kathryn, which is why we try to warn you at the beginning of the year!
I think what you’ve discovered with your YA novel – writing chapters sequentially according to the plan you have – is what works for you. Writing bits that don’t link together plot-wise (cause and effect) means you never feel like you have control over the story.
You have pointed out the essential dilemma with workshopping – how can we get better without feedback? Even well-published writers often have at least one person they can get honest, constructive critiques from. I remember reading ages ago a comment from a famous writer who said if he’d been in a critique group when he first started, it would have saved him ten years of slogging away on his own.
Don’t forget that you learn as much, if not more, from workshopping other people’s stuff in the initial stages. It’s all a learning process.