Welcome to the August 2012 edition the the Insecure Writer's Support Group, which is made possible by the stealthy and cool Alex J. Cavanaugh. And as always, I continue to be an insecure writer, so I guess this is where I belong.
Just a quick side note for those who regularly read my blog: I am not doing my scheduled Worldly Wednesday post. Between this and the Bombshell Launch Party post I'm doing today, I'm not feeling the motivation to do a third blog post. I still have a lot of writing I want to get done this week, and I don't think there's any need to overload myself.
Let's get to my insecurities then. As I put my work out there, I wonder how I could have made it better. If you really think about it, every time you sit down to write a story, there is an infinite number of possible outcomes. The English language has a vast vocabulary, so word choice is in no way limited. So even if some variation of every kind of story has already been told, this isn't nearly as limiting as many of us may fear. And there are a number of POVs up for grabs. Do you choose first person, third person, or the rare second person? When does a story call for the use of present tense narration? Should the story be flash fiction? A short story? A novelette? A novel?
There are so many questions.
Luckily, the more I write, the more comfortable I become with my ability to choose what's right for my story. I write a lot of flash fiction for my blog, and it's been useful in helping me to get my work out there. When I feel there's more story to be told after completing a flash piece, I know I can expand on it at any time. I can honestly say that writing flash fiction has helped me cultivate more short story and novel ideas in the last couple of months than I typically have in a year. Hopefully I can learn to crank out my longer projects more quickly. Otherwise I may drown in ideas.
Luckily, the more I write, the more comfortable I become with my ability to choose what's right for my story. I write a lot of flash fiction for my blog, and it's been useful in helping me to get my work out there. When I feel there's more story to be told after completing a flash piece, I know I can expand on it at any time. I can honestly say that writing flash fiction has helped me cultivate more short story and novel ideas in the last couple of months than I typically have in a year. Hopefully I can learn to crank out my longer projects more quickly. Otherwise I may drown in ideas.
I still feel the insecurity of making choices that can either make or break a story, but like I said, I'm getting better about it. Hopefully I continue to trust myself more in the months to come.
I am horrible at flash fiction...I suppose that means I should try it more!
ReplyDeleteIt's great that flash fiction works for you and that you are more comfortable writing the more you write. I can really identify with that - since starting my blog and IWSG postings, I feel more at ease when I write. And the choices you make become less stressful. Keep up the effort. I love stopping by your blog. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteI'm too scared to put pieces of my work up on my blog, so I think you're really brave. And, if writing a lot of flash pieces helps you generate ideas, then I should write some more of them myself. :)
ReplyDeleteHere's my IWSG post for this month: http://cathykeatonwrites.blogspot.com/2012/08/fear-insecure-writers-support-group-1.html
I know exactly what you mean. The more I write, the more I feel comfortable with it. I prefer to write my novels in third person, but I'm much more flexible with shorter works now than I use to be.
ReplyDeleteI hear you. That's where a few good crit partners can come in handy. As you work with them, you get a better feel for this stuff. :)
ReplyDeleteIWSG #179 (At least until Alex culls the list again. :P)
Isn't it funny how easy it is to complete a WIP, but new ideas seem to swarm around the closed file. It;s like, "Oh no! I need to change that or add that." Thank goodness the ideas can wait to surface in the next novel, or the next, or the next...
ReplyDelete