Will you hear what I have to say or will you run away?
Will you stick around or abscond when your debt is paid? Will you rue the day or stand strong, and not afraid of what awaits you.
Will you defend the old or strike a cord for something new?
Will you run and hide or stand with pride when your death is due?
Will your friends and family say they knew ye well, or will they saw what the hell?
It can be a struggle to balance showing vs
telling in your work. Too much show and you’ll bore your readers; too much telling and your readers wont care about our characters. Ultimately it comes down to your choices when to deploy one or another and not to.
Right now I’m struggling with how much to show versus bogging down the story line and how much to tell to get the plot moving again. there’s an art to writing when it comes to balancing out things and in the end it comes down to your choices as an author.
For me one area I show too much is in dialogue. I love words and can write pages of back and forth exchanges between the characters. Now while I like them the reader wouldn’t necessarily like them, so I’m trying to rein in this tendency of my and summarize where appropriate to keep the flow going while building tension, characterization, and advancing the plot.
An area where I don’t show enough is in describing locations and what the characters are wearing. It usually slips my mind because I don’t care what someone is wearing, but what they’re doing or saying, but I know my readers care about these thing so I try to incorporate them when I remember to.
Another area I struggle with is in the passage of time. In my current WIP time has a way of slipping passed me. When I’m in the thick of it time becomes secondary to the plot until I come up for air so to speak. I know it will be something I have to deal with in the rewrite, but I’m not too concerned about it.
Ultimately it gets easier with practice to balance them but not without putting in daily writing goals.
What are your dreams as a writer? Do you want to be a New York Times Best seller, hook an agent, or land a contract with one of the big five publishers? The truth is you’ll have to work to turn your dreams into reality, no matter what they may be.
There are thousands of other writers out there you’re competing with and you have to be willing to sacrifice for your dreams. What are you going to do to separate yourself from the others out there?
Will you get up an hour earlier to write, or get in another hundred words before calling it a night? Are you willing to risk failure to reach greatness, or will you let your fears cause you to play it safe?
The truth is you could be the best writer in the world, but if no one reads your work then what’s the point. You have to be in it for the long haul. You have to write everyday to find your voice and build a platform for your work.
Yes rejection sucks, but it’s how you deal with it that determines what type of writer you are. You can either get all butt hurt, or let your ego go, develop a thick skin and move on.
It would be remiss if I didn’t kiss your clitoris.
I would abhor if you ignore my knock on your back door.
With a glance and wink I ask: do you think per chance
I may partake of your clambake?
Would you think it crass to mention
How I wanna tap that ass?
Would you be struck mute if I asked for a toot on the ole skin flute?
Would you deem it uncouth and give me the boot
If I asked to shoot above where you poop?
Would it make your head droop
Or knock you for loop to hear I like it rough?
If you’re so inclined, smack my behind.
Or is that out of line?
As I kiss my way up your spine
And listen to you huff and puff,
Don’t whine.
I know it’s not enough.
As I dine at your buffet
And drink another cup
of your muff
Know this:
You’re mine.
How many times have you started a piece but never finished it? If you’re like me then it’s probably a lot. It’s the fear of not being good enough that paralyzes us, but unless we risk failure we won’t reach new plateaus.
Writing like anything else takes practice. We must always push ourselves to new heights and go beyond our limits to reach greatness. It’s not simply good enough to do the bare minimum. We must shoot for perfection each time we write, and not get complacent in our work. That being said we mustn’t use this as an excuse so that we don’t write anything at all either.
Likewise we mustn’t let our quest for perfection sidetrack us from shipping our work. There comes a point when we must let the world see our work and this can be scary if we aren’t ready mentally for rejection. But we needn’t concern ourselves with what others think because that is outside of our control, so keep things in perspective.
We must experiment with new forms and genres, to grow our craft in new and exciting ways. To try new subject matters and write outside our knowledge base. We must be ready to approach these new topics in fun and unique ways. Sure we won’t succeed at everything we try, but that’s a risk we must take.
At times it will seem like a struggle but in the end it’s worth it when you create something that resonates with a lot of people. You must be willing to go outside your comfort zone and try new things with your work. You can’t let your preconceived notions cloud you from thinking in new and better ways.
We must be willing to take in the new and cast out the old where appropriate.
We must be willing to work our writing muscles in new ways to elevate our craft to the next level and the next beyond that. This means we must write everyday, no excuses, and try new things with words. If you normally write in first person point of view try third person, or vise versa.
If you generally write in one genre try another. If you write about one subject matter try a new angle, or a new subject all together. If you write mainly nonfiction try your hand at a short story, and if you usually write fiction switch to creative nonfiction. Only then can we be satisfied with our work.
Yes the hours will be long and the work hard, but this is the price we must pay for going beyond the average and making work that engages readers, and makes them question what it means to be human.
Your job as a writer is to add your verse to the poetry of life, and you can’t do that if you’re not going beyond the mediocre because you’re afraid of failing.We have to move beyond our fears and let the sky be our limit. Fear never goes away, it just gets easier to deal with in time, with practice.
What are your dreams as a writer? Do you want to be a New York Times Best Seller, hook an agent, or land a contract with one of the big five publishers? The truth is you’ll have to work to turn your dreams into reality, no matter what they may be.
There are thousands of other writers out there you’re competing with and you have to be willing to sacrifice for your dreams. What are you going to do to separate yourself from the others out there?
Will you get up an hour earlier to write, or get in another hundred words before calling it a night? Are you willing to risk failure to reach greatness, or will you let your fears cause you to play it safe?
The truth is you could be the best writer in the world, but if no one reads your work then what’s the point. You have to be in it for the long haul. You have to write everyday to find your voice and build a platform for your work.
Yes rejection sucks, but it’s how you deal with it that determines what type of writer you are. You can either get all butt hurt, or let your ego go, develop a thick skin and move on.
Excuse me if I don’t speak.
I was the kid who never spoke
In class and hoped to make through
One week without being called a freak.
Excuse me if I don’t speak
I’m busy wondering if I
Should run and hide.
Or if it’s you
I should seek?
Excuse me if I don’t speak.
I mean no offense but
I’m always on defense
Lest you think me meek.
Excuse me if I don’t speak.
But I never learned
The finer points of making a friend.
Too busy lost in my world of pretend
Where I never got sick or picked on again.
Where I was always strong, and never weak.
Excuse me if I don’t speak.
But I never know what to say.
This silence a prison: the walls a million sentences
Left unspoken, and bars a devouring fear. Will I go
Unheard again, or will you hear me loud and clear?
Sorry I didn’t mean to be so bleak.
Over the years this fear has given way and
When I go out I can hang and shout with the best the best of them.
And though the shy kid I used be is no more I still find myself
Retreating to this haven, this welcomed quiet.
So excuse me if I don’t speak.
I’m just catching up with an old friend.
It’s rare to be good at new things, but we must try anyways or we may never discover new talents. Take writing for example. I did well in English class, but never thought I could be a writer because I didn’t think I was good enough. Truth be told I did have some talent, but I was far from being a professional. It was only when I committed to writing everyday that I started to see an improvement.
I used to think I could only write when the mood was perfect and I was inspired, but I have since learned that you have to show up and produce regardless of how you feel because that’s the only things will get done. Like Stephen King said, the secret to writing is sitting in your chair and not getting up until you’ve written something, even if it’s terrible.
Where I was once stymied by the blank page I now relish the challenge because I focus on getting the words down and worry about getting them “perfect” in the rewrite. Like Chandler Bolt says, done is better than perfect.
The truth is I used to agonize over every word choice and sentence structure choice so much it stopped the flow of my thoughts. I’ve since learned you have to write without letting your inner editor get in the way. You have to get it in your head that not everything you write will be good. Accept this and move on, for that is the only way you’ll get better.
Moreover, I’ve also learned you have to risk failure if you want to shoot for greatness. With my current work in progress there is so much I want to say with the work and so many issues I want to cover that sometimes the pressure to “get it right” is overwhelming and I don’t write out of fear of failing. But I’m learning you have to let that fear go and write anyways.
If you let your fears win then you’ll never complete that blog post, book, or whatever you’re working on. I’m not going to lie, sometimes it will be hard to get the words out, but you have to try anyways, because it is only when we stop that we fail. So soldier on because no matter how bad a piece might be you can always make it better. Because the rewrite is where the magic happens.
Great writing, like anything else in life doesn’t come easy. You have to go beyond your limits to reach new ground. This means putting in hundreds of hours and still not getting it right if you’re shooting for greatness. It means rewriting and rewriting until you’ve come as close to perfection as you can.
Yes it’ll be hard work, but it’s worth it if you want to create something extraordinary. It’s easy to become complacent and just do the bare minimum. This is how mediocrity creeps in, and you must constantly be on guard against it.
Sure failure is an ever present danger, but you have to risk it if you want to create a lasting impact on the world. Even if it kills you. It’s all or nothing, there can be no in between. You have to write every day, especially when things get hard, otherwise you’ll stagnate.
At the beginning it will be a struggle to put words to the page, but you’ll get better at it in time. Give yourself permission to fail and then try again. For it is only through perseverance that you will achieve your goal.
One of the difficulties of being a QUILTBAG writer is that you’re writing for a community that encompasses a wide range of people. For this reason it can be hard to include everyone’s experiences and trials.
It can be overwhelming to get things right for every reader. If you have a sex scene one person will complain about too much sex, another will complain about there not being enough sex. Have a feminine gay character and you’ll get complaints of being stereotypical from one reader, and compliments from another.
You can drive yourself crazy trying to please everyone, or you can focus on one person while writing: your ideal reader. I’ve found once you define who your audience is it goes a long ways to alleviate these concerns. Yes be true to your readers’ experiences, but don’t pander to them.
Your job as a writer is not just to entertain, but to inspire. When people read your work you want them to leave ready to take on the world and know they matter.
Remember your primary job is to tell a good story.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Invictus by William Ernest Henley
It has been several months since I last posted to this blog. I’ve been putting off this post for some time. I’ve started this blog for the wrong reasons and now realize in order to resonate with others I have to first write for the love of writing and then for myself.
In order to grow I must change the them of this blog. I’ll try to post at least once a week from now and go from there. The focus of this blog will center on science and geek culture with and a QUILBAG point of view. I’ll still write the occasional political rant but that is not the overall theme going forward.
If you have any thoughts on how you’d like to see this blog change feel free to post your ideas in the comments section.
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What?! The plans you refer to will soon be back in our hands. In my experience, there is no such thing as luck. I’m trying not to, kid.
Don’t act so surprised, Your Highness. You weren’t on any mercy mission this time. Several transmissions were beamed to this ship by Rebel spies. I want to know what happened to the plans they sent you. Escape is not his plan. I must face him, alone. Hey, Luke! May the Force be with you. What!? As you wish. Look, I can take you as far as Anchorhead. You can get a transport there to Mos Eisley or wherever you’re going.
As you wish. I suggest you try it again, Luke. This time, let go your conscious self and act on instinct. He is here.
Obi-Wan is here. The Force is with him. Don’t underestimate the Force. Hey, Luke! May the Force be with you. Hey, Luke! May the Force be with you. I want to come with you to Alderaan. There’s nothing for me here now. I want to learn the ways of the Force and be a Jedi, like my father before me. What good is a reward if you ain’t around to use it? Besides, attacking that battle station ain’t my idea of courage. It’s more like…suicide.
I can’t get involved! I’ve got work to do! It’s not that I like the Empire, I hate it, but there’s nothing I can do about it right now. It’s such a long way from here. Don’t underestimate the Force. Don’t underestimate the Force.
Still, she’s got a lot of spirit. I don’t know, what do you think? Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid. As you wish. In my experience, there is no such thing as luck. Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him.
What?! The plans you refer to will soon be back in our hands. In my experience, there is no such thing as luck. I’m trying not to, kid.
Don’t act so surprised, Your Highness. You weren’t on any mercy mission this time. Several transmissions were beamed to this ship by Rebel spies. I want to know what happened to the plans they sent you. Escape is not his plan. I must face him, alone. Hey, Luke! May the Force be with you. What!? As you wish. Look, I can take you as far as Anchorhead. You can get a transport there to Mos Eisley or wherever you’re going.
As you wish. I suggest you try it again, Luke. This time, let go your conscious self and act on instinct. He is here.
Obi-Wan is here. The Force is with him. Don’t underestimate the Force. Hey, Luke! May the Force be with you. Hey, Luke! May the Force be with you. I want to come with you to Alderaan. There’s nothing for me here now. I want to learn the ways of the Force and be a Jedi, like my father before me. What good is a reward if you ain’t around to use it? Besides, attacking that battle station ain’t my idea of courage. It’s more like…suicide.
I can’t get involved! I’ve got work to do! It’s not that I like the Empire, I hate it, but there’s nothing I can do about it right now. It’s such a long way from here. Don’t underestimate the Force. Don’t underestimate the Force.
Still, she’s got a lot of spirit. I don’t know, what do you think? Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid. As you wish. In my experience, there is no such thing as luck. Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him.