Friday, January 23, 2009

Perfectionism.

So i'm gonna buckle down and try to make some decent progress in my story today.

I guess since my break from it, i forgot MY KEY to writing.

I'm a goddamn perfectionist and if i can't get something absolutely perfect the first time, then i don't end up doing it. That's my problem. I focus too much on saying things the right way, rather than just getting them down on the screen!

So that's what i'm gonna try - just telling a story, rather than telling it in the best way.

I'm gonna have to come back when i'm finished with it (maybe in a year or so) and proofread the whole thing and fix up those mistakes anyway. I'll worry about that when i come to it. :P

So today if i can just keep writing, and start making some progress, then hopefully it'll all start to come back to me and i'll be writing like the good old days. ;)








Next one's unedited.

20 comments:

Seth said...

That second shot is amazing! And great awesome

(edit)

That second shot is amazing! And you've got amazing clarity...

:)

Aek said...

I really really like that last pic of your cat. ^_^

Anonymous said...

When they taught us perfectionists to right, way back in the day, they told us to "throw up" on the paper with our words and concepts, then come back and edit. It seems odd, but it actually works really well. And the stuff I would write would often end up being very good.

Also, dear, as you go along, you might consider (someone you trust) as a peer editor. That's what almost all authors do; they find it very useful.

Peter said...

oooh, pick me to be a peer editor.

*sarcastically

As you can see from Aj's chat box, I'm very good at editing things.

O_O

Seriously though, what you said in this post about just writing then going back and editing it is the best way to go.

I'm kinda doing the same thing with a 10 page paper I'm writing. At first I was so worried about just getting to the point of the paper I ended up being about 4 pages short in the end.

I've started over and am just writing everything I got from my research down, then I will go back and edit out things that don't belong and all that.

I guess it kinda works the same way with a fictional story and a historically accurate 10 page paper.

naturgesetz said...

Sounds as if you have a good approach, at least for now.

Thanks for the kittty pics.

cvn70 said...

Mboy

Good luck writing today just let your thoghts flow cause you can always organize them later

Take care and be safe

Bob

Col said...

Your cat looks so sad in the first picture, especially when it's enlarged :( and the second one is great too, you can even see your reflection in his/her eyes (I think) lol.

Peter said...

lol @ Col.

I look at eyes every time a new picture is posted hoping I can get a glimpse of Mboy, but I can never see him :(

Okay, that makes me sound like a creep

Mirrorboy said...

XD

Anonymous said...

@ Pete - LOL! Who says you're the only one? :P

Planetx_123 said...

The last pic of your cat is beautiful. Seriously, you realy have an eye for photography, you ever feel like doing that at university?

Steve

Peter said...

If that was you who said that "I have poop for a face" on AJ's chat box, I will get you back for that!!!

Well, better than the comeback that I already put in there.

Mirrorboy said...

No Peter. I'm much too intelligent to resort to poop jokes.

Lightning Baltimore said...

Yes, you definitely have a talent for photography and manipulation. I really enjoy your cat pics.

As for writing, when I write I do as James said, I just start and see where I end up, then I edit it for ages. That's why the long posts on my blog are much less frequent than the shorties.

Since it's been a coupla days since this post, I hope that means you're getting some writing done and, more importantly, are enjoying it.

Rob said...

Am I the only one that has worked out Mirrorboy is actually the cat? And the suburb he lives in, Twilight Zone.

*eerie

Peter said...

But which cat is he...or is he both o_O

Mirrorboy said...

How can i be 'the cat' if i have 2 cats? o_O

Peter said...

my point exactly

confirmation word is 'uloco'

'loco' is the spanish word for crazy and with the 'u' in front of it....

You crazy

Mr. Bill said...

Writers who write for a living write every day. A common goal is 1000 words a day, either on a current project, a stand-alone essay, character development exercises, scene development exercises, whatever, At any rate, it's a thousand words a day, every day, starting at a specific time, every day, in the same place, every day.

Eventually, you become accustomed to writing; you come to need to write, to express yourself through written words. You'll find, eventually, that working on your magnum opus comes easier and easier, as you make it a habit to open the taps on a daily basis. You'll start thinking about what you're writing, about how to compose it before you start writing. You'll have ideas after you finish one day, and mull them over until you write again on the next.

Try it for a month or two. If you're faithful to it, I daresay you won't be able to stop. And that's a good thing.

Anonymous said...

hi just came across your blogg today and got so engrossed that I went quite a bit back to where you give a synopsis on the main charecters / storyline. what initially slowed your progress was the upcoming war between the shadows and the allience and at least one of the lead chars was in prison (a bit of a misguided traitor by all accounts).
I also think some of the other posters suggestions have merit and would like to suggest roughing out the main scenes/chapters as if you were creating a storyboard or summary. you can then use this to refer too to keep the writing going and to make sure the characters get where they need to be to provide continuity for the sequal.