So far this week, I estimate that I have written in the region of 12,000 words – cause for celebration surely? Unfortunately not, the majority of said words were during my working world hours and therefore have to go in the web copy/SEO content/article box rather that the twisty/fun/fictional box. Oh well, c’est la vie. Well, such is my life anyway because it is my life and my choice after all… but I’ve never let that get in the way of a good moan!
I like the way I’ve worn most of the letters off my work keyboard too. It’s probably the length of my nails, but sometimes it feels more like it’s the force of my frustration…
On the bright side, I did clock in one short story this weekend and too many hours trying to juggle and jangle the WIP into some semblance of an organised timeline. Man do I wish I was one of those people who could write outlines, or even construct the bare bones of a plot, before they launch right into the guts of a story and roll around enthusiastically in its oozy entrails.
This week also saw (honorary) local boy and force for the literary good Ryan Van Winkle named one of the winners of the 2009 Crashaw Prize for poetry. He’s a deserving winner so good news indeed.
I’ve also been hearing many of the woes of creative partnerships – namely how difficult it can be to stay focused on the artistic goal when it becomes diluted by tough working relationships – so I’m feeling pretty grateful for my solitary pursuit at the moment.
Even better, the sun is out! I’ve missed the sun, even though it makes me squint at the screen and more inclined to doze cat-like during the day.
Lynsey May 
“sometimes it feels more like it’s the force of my frustration… ”
Being well seasoned to the sounds of your typing as I am, I believe you shouldn’t discard this theory quite yet…
I enjoyed reading this post, especially the bit about guts. I remember talking to you about plotting stories and jotting down the skeleton before and you said you couldn’t do it because you felt the story was then told and you lost interest in it. I think that’s a very good point… part of the fun of writing without truly knowing the end result is that you’re telling the story to yourself and I’m sure you know the excitement of when you’re hammering the words out at lightning rate just because you really want to know what happens next! If you already know, it’s a bit less fun… then again, plot maps DO help (well, they helped me vastly improve my uni essays, I’m too lazy to do them for fiction as they require too much thought I’m unwilling to give) so it could be worth experimenting with.
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whatchoo saying like? I type more softly than a certain other copy person who’s name may or may not begin with D anyway…
Yeah, I try with plot maps sometimes, just to keep ahold of what’s going on but tend to get fed up about half way through, and then they turn me off thinking about it end up being counter productive. Nice idea though….
yay for being lazy?
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Okay so last night I got the dreaded inspiration thing at 1am and ended up scribbling plots until 3am. I ended up plotting out 5 stories in a series that could continue, er, continuing (I’m freakin’ tired, okay?). These are just basically plot summaries but even this morning (I had to get up at quarter to seven to cat medicate, I am FREAKIN’ tired) I’m excited about making things more solid, looking to the future and getting started writing these stories, even though I already know where they’re going. I guess that’s the same for another thing I’m writing, I know where that’s going too… but it’s still so hard to write…
Maybe I’ll try a plot map for this new thing and see how it goes. If it’s going to be a series, it needs some serious planning I guess.
Haha… series… serious… okay i need to go back to bed.
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yay for late night bursts on inspiration! even if they do seem to make you ramble… 😉
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a short story, solitary pursuit and squinting at the screen…:) Sounds like your week was way better then mine!
All rain here in Istanbul, no solitude this week but all guests at the house but I did manage to finish a short story…
Oh well, there is always next week…:)
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and hopefully next week will be quieter and more productive for you! well done for getting stuff done despite having guests though, I seem to be getting more and more antisocial and finding it harder and harder to concentrate on anything when other people are around.
I wonder if I’m going to end up a crazy old cats lady, but with imaginary cats rather than real ones.
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