No writing today, and I feel guilty. I was on such a roll this week. I may write in my journal before I go to bed.
I did read two essays on writing by Octavia E. Butler, a black female science fiction writer. I think I want to eventually concentrate on fantasy/science fiction writing.
It's the the most thought provoking type of writing there is, and I love how as a writer you will have the ability to create brand new worlds.
I don't think I've seen any classes on learning the craft of fantasy/science fiction writing, and I missed the JR Tolkien seminars that the Learning Annex ran this year. Hopefully they'll have the seminars again. They were booked up, so I'm sure they were very popular.
Sunday, October 19, 2003
Saturday, October 18, 2003
I'm lazy today. I'm still in my jammies, and I haven't left the house or taken a shower. I had planned to do so many things today.
I'm trying to decide if I want to write or give myself a day off because I finished a short story. I didn't think I'd be done writing the story this quickly. It's such an accomplishment for me to finish any writing piece! I definitely must celebrate and goof off.
I'm trying to decide if I want to write or give myself a day off because I finished a short story. I didn't think I'd be done writing the story this quickly. It's such an accomplishment for me to finish any writing piece! I definitely must celebrate and goof off.
I also came up with two new short story ideas, since I've been trying to do the daily writing habit.
This one was inspired from a freewrite I did yesterday afternoon.
A struggling woman writer is dying of some kind of cancer. She had on radiation treatment, but the doctors are unsure if it was successful. Her health is bad and the prognosis is not good.
An old friend, a famous writer, comes to visit her and gives her a pen and inkwell. The friend tells her that the pen and inkwell saved her life, when she too was diagnosed with cancer. The famous writer friend tells the woman to make sure to write every day because writing is healing.
The woman thanks her friend, and starts to write with the magic pen and inkwell that night in her journal. The woman followed her firend's advice and remarkably, she starts to feel stronger and in the next few weeks her health improves dramatically. The doctors are amazed and declare the radiation treatment a success. There is still some chance that the cancer could come back, but the doctors say that the chances are very, very slim.
Relieved by the good news, the woman calls the famous writer friend to chat and finds out her friend is dying. The woman goes to visit her friend in the hospital, and finds out that it was the magic pen and inkwell that kept her friend alive. That she too had cancer, and the writing instruments kept the cancer at bay as long as she wrote every day.
Guilt ridden, the woman vows to give the pen and inkwell back but the famous writer friend refuses. "I have had my success and my fame, it's your turn now. And after you have your success and fame, there will come a time to pass on the pen and inkwell to another dying writer friend, as I have done to you as was done to me." The famous writer friend dies a few minutes later.
Racked by guilt, the woman goes home that night and doesn't write. After a week of not writing, the woman feels her body becoming weaker. She goes to the doctor, and after testing the doctor tells her that the cancer started growing again.
A few more weeks pass and the woman is now very weak, and contemplating another round of chemotherapy. Unable to face more treatment, she decides to start writing again and instantly feels better.
A week passes, and the woman's health improves dramatically and the doctors tells her that miraculously she had a spontaneous remission.
In a year the woman starts publishing and becomes a famous author, which was her childhood dream. The woman decides that while the pen and inkwell are a gifit, they are also a curse. She doesn't know if she's a famous writer because of her writing, or because of the writing instruments.
But she decides to keep on writing, in hopes that one day be able to pass the writing instruments to someone else.
This one was inspired from a freewrite I did yesterday afternoon.
A struggling woman writer is dying of some kind of cancer. She had on radiation treatment, but the doctors are unsure if it was successful. Her health is bad and the prognosis is not good.
An old friend, a famous writer, comes to visit her and gives her a pen and inkwell. The friend tells her that the pen and inkwell saved her life, when she too was diagnosed with cancer. The famous writer friend tells the woman to make sure to write every day because writing is healing.
The woman thanks her friend, and starts to write with the magic pen and inkwell that night in her journal. The woman followed her firend's advice and remarkably, she starts to feel stronger and in the next few weeks her health improves dramatically. The doctors are amazed and declare the radiation treatment a success. There is still some chance that the cancer could come back, but the doctors say that the chances are very, very slim.
Relieved by the good news, the woman calls the famous writer friend to chat and finds out her friend is dying. The woman goes to visit her friend in the hospital, and finds out that it was the magic pen and inkwell that kept her friend alive. That she too had cancer, and the writing instruments kept the cancer at bay as long as she wrote every day.
Guilt ridden, the woman vows to give the pen and inkwell back but the famous writer friend refuses. "I have had my success and my fame, it's your turn now. And after you have your success and fame, there will come a time to pass on the pen and inkwell to another dying writer friend, as I have done to you as was done to me." The famous writer friend dies a few minutes later.
Racked by guilt, the woman goes home that night and doesn't write. After a week of not writing, the woman feels her body becoming weaker. She goes to the doctor, and after testing the doctor tells her that the cancer started growing again.
A few more weeks pass and the woman is now very weak, and contemplating another round of chemotherapy. Unable to face more treatment, she decides to start writing again and instantly feels better.
A week passes, and the woman's health improves dramatically and the doctors tells her that miraculously she had a spontaneous remission.
In a year the woman starts publishing and becomes a famous author, which was her childhood dream. The woman decides that while the pen and inkwell are a gifit, they are also a curse. She doesn't know if she's a famous writer because of her writing, or because of the writing instruments.
But she decides to keep on writing, in hopes that one day be able to pass the writing instruments to someone else.
I finished a short story last night. It's one I started in 2000 called "The Blue Haired Buddha on Union Street", but never finished. I rewrote an outline on 9/3/2003, and started writing it onTuesday.
Writing for me is much easier if I have an outline. It takes awhile for me to come up with an outline, but once it's done the writing is relatively easy.
Sticking to the outline was hard in the beginning. My first writing attempt on Tuesday went off outline, and my writing became bogged down. I think I wrote myself into a corner.
On Wednesday, I reread my outline and did a freewrite about what the story was supposed to be about. Then I did another character interview, and I was able to get back on track.
I was reading some material on Joyce Carol Oates, and how productive she was, is. The woman is manic about writing. One of my writing teachers knew her when she was young, and he said that Oates could write a short story in a day, and on a typewriter at that.
Some critics have said that she may be too productive, and that perhaps if she slowed down her quality would be better. Quality can be debated, but I don't think anyone can deny that she is one of the finest writers of her generation.
I don't think I'll ever have Oates' work habits, but she is a role model I can learn from and emulate.
Writing for me is much easier if I have an outline. It takes awhile for me to come up with an outline, but once it's done the writing is relatively easy.
Sticking to the outline was hard in the beginning. My first writing attempt on Tuesday went off outline, and my writing became bogged down. I think I wrote myself into a corner.
On Wednesday, I reread my outline and did a freewrite about what the story was supposed to be about. Then I did another character interview, and I was able to get back on track.
I was reading some material on Joyce Carol Oates, and how productive she was, is. The woman is manic about writing. One of my writing teachers knew her when she was young, and he said that Oates could write a short story in a day, and on a typewriter at that.
Some critics have said that she may be too productive, and that perhaps if she slowed down her quality would be better. Quality can be debated, but I don't think anyone can deny that she is one of the finest writers of her generation.
I don't think I'll ever have Oates' work habits, but she is a role model I can learn from and emulate.
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