I've always thought that writing is a bit like, say, trying to draw a horse. You know what a horse looks like, you can see it in your mind's eye. But get a pencil and try to draw it, and unless you're a consummate artist, the drawing is nothing like what's in your head. So it is with the WIP. I see what I want to create, I have the shape and the characters and much of the plot in my head, and it's all oh-so beautiful. But get down to it, and the reality is a far cry from what I planned.
So - I've given myself a few weeks to recuperate (after all, the muse isn't going to work after major surgery, is it? Of course it isn't), but now it's time to face the novel again, especially now I have an almost-agent. Displacement activity abounds, including, as now, blogging. Meanwhile, I can feel myself circling the WIP warily, like a bird of prey which isn't quite sure whether or not the prey might bite back; wondering whether to take the plunge, or wait a little longer; until tomorrow, or next week, or next year...
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'Meanwhile, I can feel myself circling the WIP warily, like a bird of prey which isn't quite sure whether or not the prey might bite back; wondering whether to take the plunge, or wait a little longer...'
ReplyDeleteJust where I am at the moment, Frances, and terrified of your horse experience!!
But now that term's starting again, I'm going to make myself start writing on Monday. I've got til then to get the house into some kind of shape and my mind into the right mode...
Good luck with your own horse-drawing..
Thanks, Alis. It's good to know someone else feels the same! Good luck with your own return to WIP (word verification crubs, which more or less sums it up).
ReplyDeleteGood news, Frances.
ReplyDeleteGreat to see you back in the saddle, to extend the metaphor beyond breaking point...
Verification word: "troaph", which should be street-slang for trophy...
Hi, Tim. Yes..good news. I think. How I envy those disciplined people who write for two hours before breakfast, break for black coffee, write again, walk the dog, write again...
ReplyDeleteIt seems very odd to me, that those who say they love writing, (and I, like you, am one of those) would rather hoover the floor, (horrid) do the washing up,(boring) cook a meal, (oh, horrors) do the ironing (HATE,) anything rather than get down to writing.
ReplyDeleteWhen they finally do get down to actually writing, God help anyone who phones or visits and steps on the muse. Can anyone tell me why this is, because I don't quite understand it.
Ros Browne