There may be some of you who are wondering how my journey to becoming the world's greatest novelist is coming. Of course, there is likely a larger number of you who couldn't give two shites about how my writing efforts are coming along. This post is for those of you who fall in the former category. For those of you in the latter category...shutup.
I'd like to say that things are going well and that I'm already writing wondrous bits of fiction so amazing that anyone who reads will instantly crap themselves. Honestly, I don't know why good writing should stir that kind of reaction in people. But, who am I to argue with science?
Anyway, as I was saying, I'd like to say that my writing is already so good that it is already producing the above-stated clinical reaction in my readers, but that would be a lie. Of course, that is to be expected. Talentless hacks don't become talented non-hacks in a matter of a couple weeks. I'm not writing here to express frustration, only to give updates to those that are interested.
Like I mentioned in my first post about my writing efforts, once I was convinced that I could be a novelist, I immediately started working on an idea that I'd been kicking around for quite a while. But, after several of days trying to put the idea onto paper, I came to the realization that it wouldn't work the way I'd imagined it. It had too many characters and too many subplots for a novice writer to try to weave together in anything that resembled something coherent and non-vomit-inducing. So, after a week or so, I more or less scrapped the idea. I still think it has potential, so maybe I'll give it a go when I don't suck as much as I do now.
In case you're wondering, I'm being intentionally vague here about the substance of my original story idea. I don't want to give the idea away only to have someone steal it and write their own novel and then have to sue them for the rights and take all their money. Every time I sue a person and break them financially, I die a little inside. It's just not fun for anyone.
Anyway, a few days after I decided to scrap that first idea, I came up with a different one. Again, it was something I'd been kicking around, but I found a twist on it that I think makes it work. This idea has the benefit of having only one protagonist and one central conflict, making the structuring and constructing of the narrative a much simpler endeavor.
I'm now about 5,000 words into the thing. That isn't much, but it's a start. So far, my writing is terrible, I'll be honest. But, the idea is still entertaining enough to me that I think there's a decent story in there somewhere. And, perhaps if I write a crappy novel, it'll take me further down the path toward writing one that isn't so crappy.
How's that for optimism?
1 comment:
"And, perhaps if I write a crappy novel, it'll take me further down the path toward writing one that isn't so crappy."
True words. Writing is re-writing. Drafting is a very important concept to understand.
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