Hey everyone,
I decided to add a category to my blog where I can ask questions and just put out there some of the crazy things that go through my head from time to time. I am calling this section Mini Musings. My stories tend to be between 1,000 and 2,000 words and sometimes I just want to throw something out there that will help me with one dilemma or another. Hopefully these posts won’t be so constant that they become annoying.
If you’re still with me at this point, I have a question. If you are currently trying to write a book or a longer story do you ever write something and then just hate everything you just wrote? I am up to almost 4,000 words in a YA book that I started and when I go back and read it I just hate it. A friend of mine suggested not even reading it, but I don’t know if I can do that. Goes against my process. Can anyone help me get out of this mindset? Thank you!
a funny thing happened when I was learning myself 
I think everyone who writes shares your feelings. It is part of the angst of the creative process. A lot has to do with your state of mind at the time. Put the writing away and come back to it another day. You will have a different perspective .
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Thank you. I try not to give up on things. I just shelve them until later.
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I read somewhere that writing is rewriting. Don’t give up. It’s all a part of the process 🙂
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I think I would totally agree with that sentiment. I am going to keep trying–I’m having too much fun with this. Thank you for reading and commenting!
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I feel the same all the time.. There are perhaps just one or two pieces of writing written by me that I actually like..! I love your writing.. Please don’t hate it! What I always do is get the opinion of one or two of my closest family members or my friend.. I know they’ll never lie.. This way, I can incorporate their suggestions, while retaining my ‘hated’ writing.. I’m just a novice anyway!
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I’m pretty new to this whole thing too. I think I have the most problems with longer stories. Once I get write out what was in my brain I am ready to move on and not necessarily ready
to put more time into expanding it. Thank you for reading!
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Thanks to everyone for contributing to this conversation. I have a lot to think about!
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What do you hate? Do you hate the writing or the story and characters? If you hate the writing, press on. You won’t be done in one draft anyway. If you hate the story/characters then shelve it, unless you have nothing else to do. They may call to you again, but maybe it wasn’t your story to tell.
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I have never asked myself that question before. I don’t hate my characters, I hate my writing. Although I am a little fascinated/perturbed that the vision I had for my main character has already changed, in just a few thousand words! I usually write stories about myself and my point of view and it feels a little uncomfortable playing puppet master with my characters. It’s weird. Plus, I am realizing I have next to zero confidence in my ability to use dialogue. (Wow, either you really asked the right question or I had a good night’s sleep because I have crazy clarity this morning! Thanks.)
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Dialogue is hard! I am certain mine is messed up all over my book. Good luck with whatever you decide!
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Yes, you just cannot give up…you are a wonderful tale-ster.
I don’t know if this will help…You are doing what I do with paintings. Look at them and loathe them…trying to change it to suit never works unless it is a quick “edit” I end up using the canvas to start fresh, occasionally, the old painting turns into a back ground…I just realized…that won’t help you at all! I’m big on editing my words though…Even though I hate what I said, there must be some reason I jumped into it in the first place….what did I want to say? My writing blog has been like that, edit – edit…with the occasional delete – delete! My art blog is more important to me so the honesty is healthier. I also want to what my progress as a painter so even though these first ones are rubbish…I’m pretty certain I can learn more techniques that will aid me! Hope that helps to a degree.
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“What did I want to say? ” I ask that about every time I get a paragraph down. Sometimes what comes out is not exactly how I wanted it to go. Do I subconciously have a different story inside of me? I do not want to give up but it is hard to pick up the story again. I have started to work on my book of personal story stories again.
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I understand how you feel. I feel my writings are a work in progress. I tend to keep them simplistic, short and about real experiences until I get more comfortable with expressing my thoughts. I go ahead and publish because and I can look back and see what I could have changed. Each blog is a work in progress and a learning experience. “Inch by inch, life’s a cinch. Yard by yard, life’s hard.” – John Bytheway
I love your blogs. Always amusing.
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I think I always want my writing to be “perfect,” whatever that means. Instead of letting the words flow, I do want a lot of time analyzing. I think I am going to have to try experimenting with new ways to just put my words on paper.
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Writers are often their own sternest critics. One piece of advice about writing novels I found handy was, “Nothing matters with the first draft but to finish it.”
When you’re writing a novel you’re in for the long haul, and you’ll have a lot of mood swings along the way. 🙂
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Maybe try shelving it for awhile and revisiting it when you’re in a different frame of mind? Just a thought….
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Good idea. I am just going to put it to the side until next week. I’m afraid I’ll just drop it forever if I don’t like it.
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Don’t give up on it! My favorite author has been known to shelve stories for decades, then dig them out, touch them up and sell them!
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Yes. I often do copywriting at work and sometimes just scrap it and start over the next morning with a Venti Soy Misto (ie large coffee) and fresh brain. This blog is teaching me not to read and reread and edit and reedit so much. It’s just hard sometimes. But in answer to the question, yes!
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Thank you.
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I write things I hate all the time. My first novel was pretty much trashed because of that. In other cases, I figured out what I hated and fixed it. That’s the case with my main project. I’ve started over numerous times, and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if I have written over 200k words just for it over the years.
However I’ve also just written despite hating it and discovered amazing plots and characters to improve the story or to start a new one.
There’s nothing wrong with disliking your work. There’s always a way to fix it or learn from it.
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I am determined not to give up. I think it has its value.
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I think it is good to read it and feel it fits!
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In more than 30 years earning my living as a journalist and a PR person, here’s my thought process 99.9 percent of the time:
1. Initially I sort of like what I wrote.
2. When it’s published, I absolutely hate what I wrote, and see a lot of things I wish I’d done differently.
3. A little later, I decide it wasn’t that bad considering the deadline.
I’ve just learned to live with it.
Best regards,
Linda
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Thank you. It drives me crazy, but I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who goes through these thoughts.
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