%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 Well, not so much fun and leisure as...get some damn writing done, you fool! |
|
A while ago, I attended a writers' workshop and the lady who hosted it told us all to go away with this bit of advice - to write for just ten minutes a day. I was determined to go ahead with it and I did...for two days. So today I remembered that I'd resolved to do so and I whipped out my journal and wrote for fifteen minutes. I'm typing out pretty much the same thing that I wrote earlier, with some differences. I find I can go a lot more in-depth when I'm typing than when I'm writing by hand. Writing by hand is such a chore! I've struggled with loneliness a lot throughout my twenty-nine years. I struggled with it when I was the only one home with my mum when I was a teen and everybody else had other places to be. I struggled with it after marriage and when we moved into our own house for the first time. I struggled with it after my son was born and I felt torn between pursuing my writing and being a good mum, because my culture seems to indicate that a woman has absolutely no chance of living her own life - or at least, she has no chance of attaining any goals she hasn't already attained - once she has children. I feel it occasionally still, even though I get so little time to myself nowadays that any alone time is simply awesome. I've tried to come to terms with the idea that being alone isn't a bad thing - and a lot of the time, it isn't. My friends don't live nearby so I don't get to see them often, and even when I do, I feel like there isn't much depth to our conversations. I'm surrounded by people who do not think like me, who do not share any of my interests and hobbies. I feel like I've become desensitised to isolation. Loneliness is my preferred way to be. I walked into my college cafeteria at lunch today and it was the usual hubbub of activity. Youngsters walking around, chatting animatedly, shouting across the room, laughing, eating, socialising. I could recall how that clamour wouldn't have bothered me ten-twelve years ago, when I would have been one of the youngsters talking excitedly with her friends. But, as this moment, I just found an out-of-the-way little table and sat down. I watched the crowds for a while, wondering why it was only at moments like these that the sense of isolation became so strong. In the middle of a crowd, I feel most alone. |
| 19:46 After watching some Stephen King videos which came up on my YouTube recs last night, I've decided I don't need to force myself to plan my story to a ridiculous degree before beginning the writing process. It doesn't feel natural to me. I do backstories either before things hit their stride, while the story is still in its infancy, or as I go along. For me, the process begins with the actual commencement of the story. I get that there are massive benefits to knowing exactly what is going to happen in your story but it just doesn't work for me. That's just not the kind of writer I am. Saying that, it'd be a shame to let all the material I've gathered here go to waste. So I'm giving myself a month. By 8th August 2019, I hope to have a very rough first draft. It'll be like NaNoWriMo - no edits, no planning beyond what I've done here, and no readbacks until I've finished. It's going to be tough but I know I can do it! Am I okay to post up first drafts and then upload later drafts as separate items? I guess I'll find out nearer the time! I'm getting a bit nervous now. I easily set myself deadlines but due to lack of motivation, I don't always meet them. It's an awful feeling. I did a Weekly Goals post some weeks back and then forgot about it the next day  But the feeling of having done it, though short-lived, is a wonderful one. NaNoWriMo itself is sufficient motivation to complete the task but this time, there's nothing. That's the hardest bit, knowing that I'm entirely alone in my writing. Nobody could give more of a shit if I do or do not do it. Ah, well. Let's leave it at that! No point opening up that old can of worms right now. 20:00 ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
)
