Made It!
But it was close! I ran into a bit of writer's block over at The Writer's Block. Actually - I ran into a simple truth - my story was bad and I didn't want to write it. I'm pretty sure that is what writer's block is. My mind rebels at the idea of writing a story that stinks.
The Details
Many of you may have seen our Session 2 prompt, but if you didn't, I'll break it down. We had to write a story with a metaphor. I had my metaphor almost immediately and with 9 days to write it I thought I was golden. On day one when I didn't want to write the story I didn't think too much of it, but on day six, when I still hadn't written a word, I knew I needed to change something. I didn't know what, though. Should I start with a different metaphor? Should I go back and brainstorm? On day nine when I woke up - I woke up to the very real possibility that I was going to be out of Write Club, because it's a survival format - miss a deadline and you're gone.
And then it hit me - the metaphor was good, but a metaphor isn't a story - a story is about characters going through something and coming out the other side. And with one small (although a reader might think it was large) change - it became a story I wanted to write. I got 1700 words in about three hours, put it down, and came back later in the evening to edit it. I don't want to write 1700 word stories in a day and edit them that night, but I don't want to leave Write Club. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
Session Three
Where do we go from here? A long break? No. We use the next prompt and write our next story. No breaks. This is about the writing habit.
My initial feelings when I saw the Session Three Prompt were strong and negative. And that's good. Because it is going to make me think. Nothing about Write Club should be easy, because if it was - I'd already be doing it.
Specifically
I actually had a specific series of thoughts run through my head when I read the prompt "Your main character ponders an imponderable." I'll share them here. I consider these my pre-brainstorm ideas and the consequences of those ideas. If you get ideas about my ideas - I'd love to read them in the comments. Here is just how deep this rabbit hole goes:
1. I ponder the imponderable.
I do it all the time. For instance - I walk around thinking about why I am stuck here on this planet when there are so many things in the universe that I will never get to see. I wonder if any of the things I can imagine are real. I also wonder how many of those things would I be able to understand. Then I think - there are so many things on this planet that I haven't seen. And I wonder - why are there so many things out there that I will never see? I think about this stuff a lot. It's why I love to read and write science fiction.
2. None of that is a story.
I learned something in the last session. Asking a question or drawing a metaphor is not the same as writing a story. If I want to turn that question into a story I need to create a character that asks it and I need that character to go through something interesting. Otherwise - I'll be stuck for the next week pretending to write. Do any of these questions I ask belong in the thoughts of a character in middle of a story? I'm nine hours in and the answer so far is NO. So I'm going to go with a different approach. I'm going to create characters and try to figure out the questions that they would ask.
3. I have the advantage of having just made a mistake, but will that make Session Three easier?
Even though I learned something in Session Two - is that knowledge enough to solve Session Three? Only time will tell. One thing I do know - I need to get a good idea sooner rather than later. Even though I was able to write my story at the last minute I certainly cannot bank on that again.
A Horrible Diagram to Drive It All Home
I can't believe I am about to share this. I know this same diagram exists professionally somewhere, but I can't find it. Please forgive me - the idea is not mine, but this awful representation certainly is. If anyone can find the real one - I can edit it in below this one and we can see how close I came to getting it right. Bahhhhhhh - here goes:
I'm spewing all over the monitor, but I'm sharing it anyhow because it changed my life. At some point during my college education I was introduced to the concept in this diagram: When I don't know that I don't know something - I make huge mistakes. Usually I make those mistakes because I think I know everything I need to know. Anyhow - since I ran into this very thing less than a week ago - I thought I'd share my experience (and my diagram) with all of you.
Thanks if you took the time to read it.
Thank You
All thanks to The Writer's Block. I can tell you - I wouldn't be where I am today (in more ways than just my writing) if it weren't for The Writer's Block. If you haven't joined yet - what are you waiting for?
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I love diagrams. I make diagrams to start out my stories too. Im going to try to post about my process this week, and what you talk about here (needing a story, not just a metaphor, or question, etc) is exactly what I diagram about.
So I'm going to redirect a bit of traffic your way during my post too ;P
I love reading everyone’s progress through Write Club and the different approaches to the prompts. Well done for getting your story in at the last minute!!
I’m participating unofficially and using the prompts to build a series of children’s books about an elephant and young girl who are friends. Luckily for me, each new prompt I already have the character. Just gotta figure out how to fit the prompt into that character’s world. The metaphor was tricky, but I eventually figured it out. Can’t wait to start brainstorming for the new prompt.
I am also part of a writing experiment/ prompt response contest. I appreciate the tips and insight about how you deal with writers block. I am also uninspired by the material we are doing but am trying to focus on honing my skill. RESPECT
Fantastic post, @steemitgraven. Every writer has a different process, but we all struggle at times. I really stumbled in that last session too. I still haven’t quite figured out why. I had my metaphor right away (how the surface of water can be calm and reflective or rippled by wind and activity from boats and water birds—just like life can be calm or choppy), and I was in love with it. But the story almost defied me. I had similar fears of being kicked out of Write Club! But at the end of the day, I just thought it was because I picked a type of story (murder mystery) that I have never attempted before.
You’ve done a really nice job of describing your assessment process. I think it’s so important to do that, and to always strive to understand how our methods and approaches support or hinder us. And I can’t believe you wrote that story in half a day! After a revision round it’s going to be absolutely amazing.
Thanks you @steemitgraven29
I love your diagram, whether you do or don't. :P
I think the last story was phenomenal, and with all this forethought for the next prompt, I can see you really knocking this one out of the park!