Tuesday 3 March 2015

Write well - WRONG! Just write.


Back in November I attempted NaNoWriMo. 50,000 words in one month. Did I make it? No. I got to around 30,000 BUT I was very happy with that. The reason being is my story contained lots of first attempts for me.
  • 1st time writing 2 POV.
  • 1st time writing from 3rd person POV.
  • 1st time writing a dystopian fiction.
  • 1st time writing with a male main character.
  • 1st time writing in the order of the story as it unfolds.

See - lots of firsts!

The thing I loved most about the experience is I gave myself permission to write. I gave my writing brain a pep talk and told myself it didn't have to be the best quality writing because that's why it's called a first draft. When I got stuck on the details or the storyline questions that were creeping in I reminded myself to just write. Each time I sat down to write I just picked up where I left off. I didn't allow myself to reread previous work, nor did I allow myself to edit as I went - except for incorrect spelling. I wasn't a spelling queen in Grade 6 for nothing!

At the end of the month I put the story away for another month. Then I went back and hesitantly read through the pages of first attempts.

SHOCK AND HORROR - it wasn't terrible! It was far from perfect but it had all the elements of a good read. I couldn't wait to keep working on it.

So again, I gave myself permission to keep writing, not well, just write!

What holds you back in your writing?



5 comments:

  1. Giving yourself permission to write is a huge step! I tiptoe around that a lot.

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    Replies
    1. You should give yourself for freedom as a writer. It can produce some surprising results!

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  2. It's a good test, Melissa when we come back to work and still like it. Great job! Good luck with your novel.

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  3. Someday I'll get past the irresistible urge to go back and edit as I write. Maybe. The first draft of my last chapter is usually tied to the 50th draft of my first one.

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