Taking a Break
My book is frustrating me at the moment! I've been writing for an hour, and I haven't added anything; I'm just editing, trying to make it all flow reasonably together, which is a disaster. There's so much to tell, and yet so much I don't think I need to tell, and there's always the little editor in my head telling me "don't add this, elaborate on that," and it's driving me insane!
Still, it's wonderful to have a concrete project to be working on again, and this time it's really something meaningful. Thank goodness I have this story, and thank goodness it happened to me, otherwise I would have gone on forever writing little fiction pieces that never got published, living at the government's mercy, thinking that was all I was good for.
I just have to keep reminding myself tenaciously that I am strong enough to write my story; it's not going to kill me to put it all together and relive the hard parts. It might hurt a little, and it might annoy the Hell out of me if nothing else, but it will be worth it, and I can do it.
In all the years of talking to writers, taking classes about memoir writing, and thinking I knew what I was doing, no one ever mentioned the frustrating part of writing your story. Didn't it occur to some one to add, "and sometimes there will be real challenges to carrying on with what you've been writing"? Apparently not. But that's okay. Most of my life has been trial by fire anyway; I've learned as I went, drudging through the hardest parts the hard way, rather than with any previous knowledge or tools to bypass the pitfalls.
The secret is taking lots of breaks, thinking about other things, and then you'll hopefully figure out through the course of relaxing how you should tackle the knot in your writing. At least that's what works for me. It helps to let your brain relax; that's why most people's brains kick into high gear when they lie down to go to sleep! I know that happens to me.
Another part of my process is taking time out from a project to do personal writing, which helps me hone my skills and remember my grammar; it always has. That's why I'm taking a moment to scribble out this inconsequential blog; to help clear the decks of my mind so I can pick up my writing again with a much less congested mind:)
Still, it's wonderful to have a concrete project to be working on again, and this time it's really something meaningful. Thank goodness I have this story, and thank goodness it happened to me, otherwise I would have gone on forever writing little fiction pieces that never got published, living at the government's mercy, thinking that was all I was good for.
I just have to keep reminding myself tenaciously that I am strong enough to write my story; it's not going to kill me to put it all together and relive the hard parts. It might hurt a little, and it might annoy the Hell out of me if nothing else, but it will be worth it, and I can do it.
In all the years of talking to writers, taking classes about memoir writing, and thinking I knew what I was doing, no one ever mentioned the frustrating part of writing your story. Didn't it occur to some one to add, "and sometimes there will be real challenges to carrying on with what you've been writing"? Apparently not. But that's okay. Most of my life has been trial by fire anyway; I've learned as I went, drudging through the hardest parts the hard way, rather than with any previous knowledge or tools to bypass the pitfalls.
The secret is taking lots of breaks, thinking about other things, and then you'll hopefully figure out through the course of relaxing how you should tackle the knot in your writing. At least that's what works for me. It helps to let your brain relax; that's why most people's brains kick into high gear when they lie down to go to sleep! I know that happens to me.
Another part of my process is taking time out from a project to do personal writing, which helps me hone my skills and remember my grammar; it always has. That's why I'm taking a moment to scribble out this inconsequential blog; to help clear the decks of my mind so I can pick up my writing again with a much less congested mind:)
Comments