#Writing

Revisions.

I have been YEARS trying to revise my novel and it has been a struggle.

It’s not that I think my novel is perfect or that I can’t let go of the ideas in there. I don’t and I definitely can.

The problem is that I couldn’t figure out how to take it apart and reassemble it. It was almost a mechanical problem rather than a creative one.

And I’ve tried multiple approaches with minimal success.

Today, it occurred to me that it was time to get back at it.

So, there I am thinking that it had been ages since I had even touched it and dreading the painful process of trying to figure out how to revise when I had a sudden realization.

I was working on my novel in the weeks before my Dad died.

I had figured out a slow way forward.

I was making progress.

It’s not even particularly painful, just a bit slow for my liking.

And it may even speed up as I practice.

It’s odd that I had completely forgotten that it was only a couple of months since I last worked on it (and that I had forgotten that I had figured out *how* to work on it.) but I guess that’s grief showing up again.

Now my job is to get back to some regular revision sessions.

So that’s one thing on Monday’s to-do list,

On retreat but not in retreat

A few times each year, I go away for a weekend retreat with some dear friends of mine for a few days of writing, rest, and snacks.

I could only join them for one night this time but I am making the most of it.

So far I’ve had great conversations and delicious snacks and now I am doing a little resting before doing some writing.

Every time I come to one of these retreats, I tell myself that I’m going to re-create some of this feeling at home.

So the key for me should be making sure that I revisit these ideas.

Of course, that’s often the problem with my good ideas is that I forget to revisit them.

Let’s hope that the smallness of these ones helps.

Words and Pictures

Yesterday, while listening to the podcast ‘The Antique Shop,’ by Ghostly Thistle media, I had a great idea for a series of stories.

My plan is to draw a series of objects and then write a story about each one.

I started by practicing drawing bottles.

A photo of drawings and painting of a variety of bottles.
Image description: a photo of a coil-bound sketchbook with white paper featuring some rough pencil sketches of a variety of bottles on the right hand side and some drawings of bottles painted with watercolours on the left.

Writing for an audience?

I don’t think anyone is reading this blog unless they happen upon it. I’m sure it’s not particularly interesting most of the time.

And I’m not sure I want to make it more interesting.

Obviously, I wouldn’t want to bore a reader on purpose but seeing as I am writing here for my own sake, as a placeholder, as a daily ritual, the reader is not the main focus of this particular type of writing.

If I were to think about potential readers, I would probably post far less frequently because ai would get too tangled up in what to say on any given day.

Instead, I am thinking more of some writing advice I read a long time ago – ‘What do you need them to know?’

I’m concerned with saying what I mean to say as clearly as I can instead of concerning myself with whether the reader likes what I am saying.

I mean, I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read anything I have written but I think it’s important for me, and for any readers, to know the whys and hows of this blog.

I’m writing to keep my gears turning, for the comfort of ritual, to make sure that my brain knows the way to the page.

On some days, the way to the page is clear and I have something specific to say.

On others, I am stumbling forward and I have to find something to say.

The posts here are about the process of thinking and posting much more than about trying to be any good.

I’ll worry about that in other contexts.

Working on a Workshop

I’m teaching a workshop tomorrow afternoon and I am having the same problem that I always do with workshop prep.

I’m trying to cram too much into a short session.

I know this is a common problem when creating workshops. It’s hard to know what to include, what is ‘enough.’ You want people to understand your topic and you want them to feel like they got what they came for but you also don’t want to overwhelm them.

And I think this is exacerbated by my ADHD desire for context.

When I pull a piece of information out of my brain, it never comes alone – it drags a whole net of related ideas with it.

And the word related is covering a lot of territory here.

Related might include other facts relevant to that piece of information but it also might include details of when and where and how I learned that fact, other people who have expressed similar ideas, metaphors and analogies that are connected by a very thin string to the original topic…

You get my point here.

So, not only am I wading through stuff I *know* is useful and relevant and winnowing that down, I am also wading through all kinds of stuff that *may* be relevant and trying to decide if any of it is useful for the topic of the day.

Needless to say that process is a challenge.

I’m up for it but it is still a challenge.

I do have one important guiding principle though.

The heart of my workshop is this idea:

Writing is a tricky business and it’s ok to find it hard but if you can get comfortable with your own process, you’ll get your words on the page.