I’ve had a piece of my process click today, Gentles. I know that writing some in my little notebook each day moves me forward, but I lose focus when writing a hundred words at a time, particularly when my notebook is full of cuts to other thoughts and notes. In particular, the story I’ve revealed a draft of to my Patrons was intercut in my notebook by an entire other short story before I returned to this one (it’s the one from the perspective of a magic user).
Today was the day that I finally felt I had enough written to show the kind folks supporting me that I do actually have things in the works—I fear January was a bit of a wan month where Adventures in Aryest is concerned. Part of the problem, though is that I’ve switched my methodology up, from one concurrent plotline to actually fleshing out the breadth of my world.
But a piece of my process clicked, as I said, and that’s what I’m here to talk about. In typing my story up, I saw very clearly where it’s headed, and what the beginning is lacking. Even now, as I write this, little pieces of dialogue that were impossible before my revelation are intruding on my thoughts for this article, which is very good news. In the past, I’ve gotten a good amount of the less interesting writing which is necessary to a project like this done during my shifts at the restaurant—handwritten in my little pocket notebook.
One of the biggest secrets to writing is the fact that no matter what you do, it’s always going to be rubbish when you first write it down. It’s a paralyzing frustration, but overcoming it is necessary to get anywhere. So, to circumvent this, I do my writing bit by bit at work, then transpose it into a Word document. This allows me to iron out the little inconsistencies or stylistic faux pas which inevitably riddle something’s first draft (which is why you must always proofread). Lately, I haven’t been able to summon the motivation to write at work, and it’s been frustrating me—I haven’t understood why.
With my “Initiation” short story typed up, I suddenly saw what it had been missing all along, and as I’ve said, now the story is positively oozing out my ears. Tomorrow, when I go in, I’ll be going back over what I have written and sprinkling in this missing element, then pressing forward with its plotline, which will be easy now that I see what it needed.
It is a bit unfortunate that I can’t spend the rest of my productive time today fleshing it out, but I’ve set this afternoon/evening aside for a streaming session on Twitch, where success is best achieved as a result of a consistent schedule. Rest assured that I’ll be back into the swing of things this week, and in an ideal world, I will be finished with this particular story soon. After that, I actually don’t have plans, but these days I find that exciting, not scary.
Umbrella Terms 