One of the most amazing things that happens when one writes continuously (5/7) is that it doesn’t take long before there is a substantial amount of crap that builds up and you have to decide what to do with it. Writing writing writing is one thing you have to do in this business – of, well – writing. There are so many avenues to explore, it’s hard to figure where to focus. Level of skill is important to keep in mind, rewriting is good writing, practice makes perfect, and so forth.
Fairly early on in my exploration of writing as an art and career (please don’t laugh too hard) was a self awareness that concluded I did not have the skill level to write, much less publish. Knowing that I don’t know has been one factor that has kept me on track and has encouraged me to continue. Should I ever get to the point that I feel I have arrived (okay, I might feel that way after ten published novels) in terms of craft, myth-lore, and grammar then I’ve promised myself to give it up.
There have been many times where I’ve come against some mountain of craft that I couldn’t climb, and that maybe, just maybe – I should give up the thought of being a writer. Whenever I find myself thinking I should give something up, then that usually means I can find the answer that is stalling me. With a little bit of effort and meditation, I should be able to discover what it is and handle it. This is never NEVER easy, but it is doable.
In the end there have been only a few times where I felt I should truly give up. After a couple of years of looking into classes, where I was clever, but not good enough – I found my voice – that I had a writer’s voice that sounded an awful lot like me when I’m at my most individual way. When I felt I could connect. another occasion was when I realized I actually had something intriguing to say (all previous efforts looking more like a third grade rehash of some Gilligan’s Island episode), something competent.
If I can connect once – I can do it again. If I can be competent once – I can do it again. Gaining access to these two elements of writing provided the confidence I needed to continue my quest for success. So now I have this volume of work that is more or less garbage. But there are elements of connection and competency. Increasing one’s skill level by writing all the time (more on this later) is important towards completing projects. What occurs during these times are unexplored thoughts. These unexplored thoughts and expressions have the germ of genius. Eventually, they will get reused, resurrected, and resuscitated. Why not hasten the process by reviewing?
One of the hardest things for me to do is go over my crappy work – but it can pay off. It helps to know how awkward the road has been. Not to laugh at yourself (or cry), but to see where you were thinking and how you can take advantage of such thoughts with a more mature (?) or different perspective – the river has moved on. How to do this?
Bottom line: Pick up the work. Read the words. Make notes. Be done with the old stuff – unless you deem it profitable to rewrite and edit accordingly.
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