"The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit."
- Moliere
Okay, so you can really apply that to any aspect of your life. But I find particular comfort in applying it to my writing. Because let me tell you - it is extremely slow growing!
My first book was easy. I wrote most of it in a three month block. It was exciting to see it all show up on the screen. It was a learning experience. It was Terrible!
Really. But it's okay.
I moved on to my second book. The idea was fun. I dove right in. And nearly drowned in the tide.
It proved to hold many more challenges than the first book I wrote.
Historical fiction's kind of like that.
I loved doing the research, but it was still hard to get myself to do it.
Then I put it aside so I could focus on my writing planners.
Now I'm in limbo. I think the slowest thing to develop in my writing is actually deciding what genre to write! I feel like that just comes naturally to most writers. But I'm really struggling with it. The more I read, and the more I learn about what I actually like, the more I wonder.
I'm not giving up on my current historical fiction, but it may take a vacation on my bookshelf while I explore a new idea I've got, in a new genre.
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Today's writing quote was taken from The Write Planner, my day planner designed for writers. To learn more about The Write Planner, click here
4 comments:
I know exactly how you feel. It's writer's block that happens so early that you haven't even started yet.
In one of my playwriting classes at BYU my professor addressed this concern briefly in class. He said that whenever he gets writer's block it's because he's trying to force the play/book/work in a direction that it does not want to go. He said that as writers we try so hard to push our works in the direction that we want to go in we forget the identities of the characters. We forget that in many ways we are only recording their experiences, while also creating their lives. It's an interesting balance, which he talked about, being creators and recorders. Anyway, I hope that everything works out for you.
David
Oh, and if your looking for some writing inspiration read Anne Lamont's "Bird by Bird". It's a wonderful guide for tackling big projects.
Thanks David, I'll check out Bird by Bird.
I've enjoyed seeing you go down the different paths and look forward to this new one! Good luck!
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