The Novel Diary: Week 1
Word counts: 1,890 (Chapter 1); 5,852 (total).
I should have written this Monday since that was technically the end of Week 1 of my current novel writing venture. But whatever. I am watching the Iowa-Ohio State game and need something to keep me loyally distracted. (I will say it again: the Hawks are not in the same league right now.)
After a lackluster 301-word effort Monday night, I returned last night with an inspired 542 words, the highest one-night total thus far.
It has been a long time since I sat down and wrote something of substance, so I have slowly eased back into the creative process this week. At a certain point in college, I turned into the personification of the stereotypical writer: the guy sitting at a typewriter, a garbage basket filled with balled pieces of paper at my side, and a blank piece ready in the feed. (If it were not for computers and word processors, I would have killed entire forests by now.) For me, writing is hard work, especially since I cannot resist the urge to instantly edit everything I write. Somewhere in the virtual world is a mountain of words and letters I have sacrificed for the sake of syntax, subtly, and story. (Literary foresight is no doubt something I learned from workshops, which I am an ardent believer in.) However, on rare occasions I strike creative gold out of nowhere and it actually fits what I want to do. Such was the case last night: a left-field inspiration, an almost meaningless thought from my main character, gave me some good material to run with — at least for a couple hundred words.
The creative process always seems to tap into some kind of subconscious train of thought. It amazes me how often unintended imagery and metaphors find their way into text. Despite your best intentions to steer a piece in a certain way, the story almost wills itself in another direction. You begin writing about this, but end up writing about that. I can already see this happening to my novel, at least in the prologue. Is that a good thing? Right now I think it is, but if not it is something I need to correct through another painful and slow process: revision. However, I need to focus on getting the first draft written before I even consider rewriting.
I should have written this Monday since that was technically the end of Week 1 of my current novel writing venture. But whatever. I am watching the Iowa-Ohio State game and need something to keep me loyally distracted. (I will say it again: the Hawks are not in the same league right now.)
After a lackluster 301-word effort Monday night, I returned last night with an inspired 542 words, the highest one-night total thus far.
It has been a long time since I sat down and wrote something of substance, so I have slowly eased back into the creative process this week. At a certain point in college, I turned into the personification of the stereotypical writer: the guy sitting at a typewriter, a garbage basket filled with balled pieces of paper at my side, and a blank piece ready in the feed. (If it were not for computers and word processors, I would have killed entire forests by now.) For me, writing is hard work, especially since I cannot resist the urge to instantly edit everything I write. Somewhere in the virtual world is a mountain of words and letters I have sacrificed for the sake of syntax, subtly, and story. (Literary foresight is no doubt something I learned from workshops, which I am an ardent believer in.) However, on rare occasions I strike creative gold out of nowhere and it actually fits what I want to do. Such was the case last night: a left-field inspiration, an almost meaningless thought from my main character, gave me some good material to run with — at least for a couple hundred words.
The creative process always seems to tap into some kind of subconscious train of thought. It amazes me how often unintended imagery and metaphors find their way into text. Despite your best intentions to steer a piece in a certain way, the story almost wills itself in another direction. You begin writing about this, but end up writing about that. I can already see this happening to my novel, at least in the prologue. Is that a good thing? Right now I think it is, but if not it is something I need to correct through another painful and slow process: revision. However, I need to focus on getting the first draft written before I even consider rewriting.
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