To jump off the other end of Tara’s topic last week: one way to insulate yourself from rejection or, I suppose revision, is never to finish what you’re working on. I resemble that whether we’re talking projects at home (finish my kintsugi of that poor favorite mug) or that (cough, cough) dissertation (which shall remain perpetually ABD).
I’ve mostly been a dabbler, and right now writing is high on the wheel of my ADHD interests, and I’d like to do what I can to make it a more permanent part of my life instead of just a passing fancy. (Cycles!) Jewelry-making is right out (does anyone need any supplies?). Knitting is on the outs too. I’ve shaken up my kitchen routines lately (sourdough crackers are in! tortillas are out!). But writing, writing is fun (at least for now), and I’m eyeing those million words SenSho always talks about. Between some fan fiction, Write On exercises, and a few small projects of my own, I’d say I’m nearing 300-400K words. I have illusions or delusions of ambition. Perhaps mirages?
But, the dabbling means I start things, and they don’t get finished. Gets obnoxious after a while. Kind of uninspiring. After a whole year of uninspiring staying at home, (ripping out sweaters I had worked really hard on and failing at pandemic sourdough bread) I was perfectly poised for some marketing shenanigans. Up pops an email from Coursera (having once registered for one of their classes, but never started it, I am now forever a potential data analysis certificate taker or some-such object of their desires). Title of the course in question?
Write Your First Novel.
I shall pause while the laughter dies down.
Of course, I signed up for it — how could I not? The universe demanded I pursue this task, and I even had my novel idea and everything.
Now, I’ve done a MOOC before (massively open online course). The International Writer’s Program at Iowa State has done a few really nice ones. I am quite certain I’ve only finished one of those. Sadly, they haven’t put any on in the last year or two. I can hazard a guess or two as to who throttled their funding… I’ve written lovely things as a part of their courses — they inspire you to write introspective literary stuff (or at least that was me anyway). But never do they suggest you should write a whole novel in one of their courses.
I have written many snippets of many things whether it be Togwogmagog, fan fiction, aborted attempts at short stories, or nibbling around the edges of a fantasy world I’ve been concocting since, oh 1997, or so. But writing a thing straight through? Nope. Not unless you count my master’s thesis, but that was definitely not fiction!
Starting in February, I wrote a pitch, a logline, my dramatic question, and character profiles and chapter 1 (the assignments in the first two weeks). I formed a writing group online. After the first two weeks, you’re supposed to write one chapter a week and aim for 2500 words. At the end of 26 weeks, you hopefully end up with a 50,000 word novel. So much less painful than Nanowrimo, I suppose, but then I don’t really know about that either (yet another DNF).
What with work being crazy and all, I’ve been churning out a chapter every 10-14 days. It’s working. Ish, lol. I’m learning a lot, like if I’m writing a story about seers in an oracle keep, I should probably not hamstring myself by starting the story with a funeral and them not being allowed to do any ‘seeing’ for anybody during the mourning week. (Second draft! [ala Emily Litella]) But, I’m learning a lot about my characters too, by you know, actually writing them doing things, and by gum, the explanations for their strange quirks keep coming. Amazing!
Now if I can just get through chapter 6 before the end of April.
For a challenge tonight, I am going to crib from Ursula K. Le Guin’s excellent Steering the Craft: Chapter Two, Punctuation
The poet Carolyn Kizer recently said to me, “Poets are interested mostly in death and commas,” and I agreed. Now I add: Prose writers are interested mostly in life and commas.
To keep with last week’s theme of rejection, we are now going to reject some commas! And other punctuation too. I’ve whittled this one down (Le Guin recommends 150-350 words). I figure that’s a bit long for folks to read without punctuation on varying size screens...
Exercise Two: I am Garcia Marquez
Write a paragraph (100-150 words) of narrative with no punctuation (and no paragraphs or other breaking devices.
Suggested subject: A group of people engaged in a hurried or hectic or confused activity, such as a revolution, or the first few minutes of a one-day sale.
A revolution in Togwogmagog! Say it ain’t so! Feel free to use any of the stock challenge characters (Jocasta Entwhistle, Cecilia Spunk, James Bunns + unfortunately named girlfriend, etc.) or your particular Togwogmagog folks.
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