It's been a while since I worked on fiction and am discovering how hard it actually is to put down on paper what I see in my head. Nonfiction is so much easier. For the past few years I've only been scribbling story ideas without developing them but with choir winding down (we'll take a summer break after the Feast of the Sacred Heart) I thought it's high time to get back to the stories that burn within my heart, really spend the time with them. So what a disappointment to discover that the writing isn't coming easily. I feel like I'm starting all over again, learning to set the scene, write dialogue, and not have the characters merely think about stuff but do stuff. I'm so grateful for my family who continue to encourage me and give me the necessary time to devote to writing.
So imagine my delight at discovering this website: The Official Written? Kitten! (writtenkitten.co) I actually wrote that first bit and was rewarded with a picture of a kitten. Do I need it? Nope. Writing is its own reward. But it's fun. So I've decided to bookmark the site until I get back into the fiction groove. I hope it doesn't take too long. And I'll appreciate any advice or tips that you can share.
I came across Helpful Advice from History’s Fastest, Most Prolific Authors (flavorwire.com) (and yes, all of this is procrastination) and what fun to see this quote from Muriel Spark:
If you want to concentrate deeply on some problem, and especially some piece of writing or paper-work, you should acquire a cat. Alone with the cat in the room where you work, I explained, the cat will invariably get up on your desk and settle placidly under the desk lamp. The light from a lamp, I explained, gives a cat great satisfaction. The cat will settle down and be serene, with a serenity that passes all understanding. And the tranquility of the cat will gradually come to affect you, sitting there at your desk, so that all the excitable qualities that impede your concentration compose themselves and give your mind back the self-command it has lost. You need not watch the cat all the time. Its presence alone is enough. The effect of a cat on your concentration is remarkable, very mysterious.
5 comments:
Yes, "the groove" (no matter for which endeavor) is key, and not a simple thing to resurrect. But once in, it's a joy, like coasting on rollerblades and feeling the breeze on your cheeks.
We've all experienced this. For me it's the shift from Accountant mode when that work is busy to writer mode when it's not. It can take a while to fully make the shift, although, as time has gone by, it's gotten easier. Reading good fiction helps me. Re-reading something I started before and didn't finish helps. Sometimes I can picture a story like a movie in my head and write the scene. Holy Spirit prayer. Good luck! Fear not! It will come.
Ah, Mirka, if I only knew how to rollerblade, lol. But it must be like riding a bike. You never forget.
Carol, oh yes, reading good fiction! I'm reading Anthony Doerr's first book, About Grace, and it's luminous. And yes to inviting the Holy Spirit.
Thank you both for the encouragement.
Keep pressing in. Reread some fiction you've written before. Research some topics you'd like to include in your story.
Great advice, Sue. Thank you. I pulled out an old story and it isn't half bad. Research can be my nemesis, though. Procrastination. But the fiction engine is revving up...
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