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Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Falling


The first Wednesday of the month brings another Insecure Writer's Support Group Post.

I just finished a book I loved from start to finish.  I've read around eight books this summer, and I liked several quite a bit, but this was the first one that I did not want to end but couldn't stop reading at the same time.

It wasn't a terribly complicated story—a very standard contemporary YA (my favorite genre to read though I’m still struggling to write it) with family drama, personal growth, and a little love.  I don't even know if I can explain why it was so much better than the others I've read this summer.  Words, characters, plot.  That's all it is right?  So, why these words, why this plot, why these characters?  


When I finish a book like that, I tend to get a bit contemplative.  First, gosh, I love books.  There is nothing quite like falling into a world someone else created and connecting with everyone in it.  

But then I think, "I could never write that so why bother?"  (Have I said that before?  Seems like it's a common theme in my mind) Or I try to figure out how to adapt my writing to be LIKE that writing which is sometimes like trying to bakery bagel into a toaster.  It's a close fit, but you're bound to burn or break some part in the process.  I just want to figure it out thought so I can give readers the same experience.  

I know I talked about variety last month, and how being authentic is important, and this is along the same vein, but it's more about that magic.  I think that for anything in life to move us the a good book moves me, we have to let go; we have to fall in.  One of the reasons NaNoWriMo has always worked for me is that forces me to stop analyzing and just write.  It puts me into the story more like a reader than a writer.  Of course, that means much editing down the road.

It's not just a writing thing.  My husband is a perfectionist, and he obsesses in advance of every project, so worried that he's going to get it wrong.  He'll tell you that delays the process and gets him so worked up that he sometimes misses the forest for the trees as a result. Then, he's too frustrated with the things that don't go according to plan to enjoy a finished product.  Even when everyone else sees the beauty. 

In the end, passion doesn't lie in thinking about how to do something.  It's in doing it.  

In letting go.  In falling.  

Does reading inspire you or cripple you?  Do you over think process?  If there are non-writers reading, are there ways in which you get tripped up in the process of doing something about which you're passionate?  

17 comments:

  1. Good going with all your reading this summer thus far. I've read five. It's such a relaxing break from writing, isn't it? For me, reading other's work inspires me, makes me push myself forward when I want to crawl into a hole and disappear. I love your references about letting go and falling. (I'm dropping by as an IWSG co-host this month to wish you loads of writing verve!)

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  2. Perfectionism is not a natural state of mind or none of us would have tried to walk, ride a bike or found a partner. Try this: they started out where I am today and look what they've done.

    You can do it too. In this I have no doubt.

    Here's my link if you'd like to drop by :-)

    Anna from Elements of Writing

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    1. Ah the interesting thing is that I'm not really a perfectionist. It's more than I just don't like failure. :) Thanks for the comments.

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  3. Yes, I've fallen so deeply into a story that I didn't want it to end. Although I've thought that I could never write that well, I didn't let it get me down. Trust yourself and your writing. It is unique!

    Diane IWSG #99

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  4. I get stuck in that perfectionist tunnel too. What happens to me is I hear my editors voice in my head and I end up saying to myself she would tell me to put this here or that there. It slows me down in one sense but also I think speeds up the editing process.
    I am impressed by how much reading you have done. Wow. I am so behind.

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    1. Well don't be too impressed. I bet you've written more than I have. :)

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  5. Yes on reading being inspiring and often crippling. I also tend to overthink everything, including my writing and writing process. I am getting better at letting go, releasing control. Just a little, maybe, but it's something. :)

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  6. I have to know which book you read. I also read and write YA contemporary. If you loved it that much, I will pick it up! I go by a lot of recommendations. I'm reading Tiny Pretty Things about cutthroat ballerinas. It's very immersive in the dance world which I find so interesting. I love a good family issues YA contemporary though. My favorite.

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    1. It was Emery Lord's the Start of You and Me. She also wrote Open Road Summer. I'm going to check out your current read, too!

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  7. Reading tends to inspire me, but I don't like to write soon after an inspirational book just because I sometimes adapt those ideas or style of writing and I don't want that. I have my own style of writing and yeah. :/
    That is precisely why I love Nanowrimo! It's helped me a lot in not trying to edit as I go, to just pump out the first draft and work on it from there. And really, having done it for several years now, it makes my first draft a little better. Practice, you know? :)

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  8. Reading always inspires me. Although, I do have plenty of moments where I think "I could never write like that." Then I tell myself I don't have to write like that. I just have to tell my stories the best way I can and keep learning as I go.

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  9. Reading absolutely does both to me. For the most part, it inspires me to push forward and keep writing, because I often think that my stories would fit beautifully on the shelf next to the lovely ones that I've just finished reading. However, there are definitely those times when I finish a book and think, "I'll never write like this," and spend a bit of time wallowing.

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  10. Reading inspires, yes, but it is true that we make comparisons. The problem is we aren't comparing apples to apples. We're comparing a tiny apple seed to the apple pie. Meaning, that book has been written and rewritten and edited and changed and polished to look like that. We have to start somewhere, with the seed, and allow growth and polish, then we can have the pie. I hope. I really like pie.
    Play off the Page

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  11. I find that reading in my genre is always work, because I don't usually just enjoy it, but analyze it--what worked, what didn't. I've had the same reaction as you, and then sometimes if I don't like a book, quite the opposite reaction. Yes, perfectionism can totally cripple you. I'm not sure if I compare so much as obsess over creating the perfect book, which is impossible.

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  12. Comparison is definitely something I struggle with. I think you're right, when you're writing you have to be focused on getting it done and Just Do It. Definitely something to think about for me.

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