Wasteful Writing?

This week found me busy revising two things: A novelette and a short story. The short story ended up taking all week for me to revise, because it ended up being a lot longer than the first draft. It also ended up being something entirely different than the first draft! Part of the revision process was to do research on my story’s main symbol, which is a tree. My research helped me to “flesh out” the story and have everything happening with that tree make sense.

 

The novelette I revised also ended up being a lot longer than its first draft. There were times during the revision process when I couldn’t figure things out. When this happens, I usually step away from the writing and do other things while I try to figure that out. In this case, I went on a drive with my son. At one stop, I was suddenly inspired, so I whipped out my phone and started writing in the Notes app. After we got home, I transferred what I wrote to the story file, but I noticed that what I’d written could be better. I fixed it up and was satisfied with it enough to move on.

 

In both cases, I started to wonder: Was the time I spent writing those first drafts wasted? And did I waste my efforts in writing something that ended up being terrible?

 

In both cases, I believe the answer is no.

 

If you want to write something, you have to start somewhere – even if it’s a first draft that will ultimately never see the light of day. (How many first drafts actually get published?) Also, it’s important to write anything you feel could be USEFUL to your WIP, even if you feel the writing sucks.

 

The point is to write. Plant the seeds of your idea by getting it down onto paper, then “water” it by revising it so that it can grow into something wonderful. Something you can be proud of.

 

Even if you don’t use something you wrote in your final draft, it’s still something that helped you to keep your focus on the work at hand and stay connected to your writing process. Any writing is better than no writing at all, and it is definitely not a waste of time if you manage to get the words onto the page instead of keeping them in your head.

 

And while I’m on the subject of writing, here is a quote from the August 23, 2024 issue of C. Hope Clark’s newsletter, FundsforWriters: “As writers, we are an endless supply of words. Each line we write improves us. And the more we have to practice at our craft, the better we get.”

 

Don't Say "No," Say "Maybe" Instead!

When it comes to being a freelance writer, there’s always the chance that something new will pop up. A writer may change what kind of freelance work they do or new opportunities will arise.

 

For me, as a writer of short fiction who enjoys submitting short stories to anthologies, I have learned that I should never say “no” to an anthology call that I am interested in. If I don’t currently have any stories matching what the anthology call is requesting, but I am interested in the theme, then I’ll say “maybe” instead. There’s always a chance I could write a short story which fits their theme between now and the deadline.

 

I was thinking about this recently when I came across two anthologies being done by a couple of friends. I was interested in the theme, but I didn’t have anything to send for it yet. So I let them know that should anything develop, I’ll be sure to send it their way.

 

Creativity can often surprise us. One day, we’ll be creating one thing, and then, a week later, we are creating something else entirely. Something we have never created before.

 

Additionally, there are always new ideas for stories popping up. You never know what kind of story you could be writing next! For example, one day a publisher mentioned an idea for an anthology. I didn’t have anything to submit at that time but, several days later, an idea for a story which fits the theme popped into my head and I started writing it.

 

If you are a creative, learn to be open to new ideas and new opportunities. It’s all the better if you have time to come up with something for a new opportunity. So instead of saying “no” to this new opportunity, say “maybe” instead. It just might be a new type of experience and opportunity for you as a creative.

From Idea to Submission

I recently had an interesting experience with a shirt story I wrote over the weekend. I decided to blog about it because it was just too interesting.

 

On Saturday, April 1^st, I was going about the house, cleaning and tidying up. While I was busy doing that, an idea for a story struck. I had just the vaguest of idea for this story – mostly the theme. Didn’t know what else to do with that idea, so I just filed it away for later and continued with my work. Then, later in the day, I was reading an article on a website (Horror Tree) and noticed a call for submissions that caught my interest. I clicked on it and read the info. It was an anthology call for stories that took place in a bathroom.

 

And the deadline for submissions was in two days.

 

I don’t know why, but something about that particular call for stories had me wanting to submit to them. Still, with a short submission window, I didn’t think I could do it, since I did not currently have any stories that fit that anthology’s theme. Still, I filed it away for later, bookmarking the page.

 

Then sometime after that, my story theme idea somehow clashed with a real-life experience I once had at one of my old jobs – and, suddenly, I had a better idea of a short story that fit that theme and, as a result, a short story that fit the theme of the anthology.

 

Somehow or another, my own personal experience was used for that story idea. How very interesting that, around the same time, I came across an anthology call my short story idea was a match for.

 

So the next day, I sat down to write the story. After I finished writing the first draft, I was delighted how it had all turned out. I had managed to take that idea, pair it up with a personal experience, and turn it all into a story. There were actual words of that story on the page! Yay!

 

But the interesting part of this whole experience does not stop there.

 

After I was done writing this story, I got excited that I’d managed to bang out a first draft of it in one day. (Some stories take me forever to write!) We had a guest staying with us for the weekend (and until Tuesday afternoon), and after I told him I had written a story, I was surprised when he asked to read it. (He and his whole family, who are all like a second family to us, know that I am a writer.) I was surprised because, usually, when I tell somebody that I wrote something, they never ask to read it. So, this was a pleasant surprise.

 

But, of course, I was nervous, too. I had written this story on the laptop, so it had a bunch of typos because A: I was typing furiously as I wrote the story (and pretty much ignored all the typos!) and B: It was a first draft! I had to fix it up. Plus, get rid of the typos. But our guest insisted that wouldn’t bother him and he still wanted to read it.

 

So, I let him read it.

 

And after he read my story, he wrote a very nice note about it, too! I am sharing his note with his permission:

 

“I like it! The way you describe things and lay out the visuals of a scene reminds me of Stephen King! Sad that Clayton’s mother inflicted obsessive compulsion upon him, and can do so even in death! It’s amazing the impact our parents can have on us, even after they’re gone. Her disapproval merely making him yelp reminds me of when drill sergeants inspected us during basic training. Even after all these years, it sends a shiver down my spine as well. I find it hilarious he reassured himself that she’s “merely” a ghost, as if that isn’t upsetting in its own right! Also quite an assumption to think a ghost can’t hurt you.”

 

Wow, what amazing compliments on my story! I let him know his comments were very touching and thanked him for taking the time to read my story and comment on it.

 

I also talked with him about his own personal experience, hoping I hadn’t opened an old wound or triggered a certain trauma he had resulting from that experience. But that also gave me an idea for another story!

Anyway, I spent Monday morning, the day of the submission deadline, editing and fixing up my story. Satisfied, I submitted it to the anthology.

 

Today, I received an acknowledgment that my submission was received.

 

I had met a deadline that was in two days. Yay! This was not the first time I had met a two-day deadline; I once had an article that was due in two days, so I spent most of my time at the computer feverishly researching, writing and rewriting it! (Yes, I had met that deadline, as well – but, boy, did I get a huge migraine afterward!)

 

I came away from this experience just marveling over the whole thing. It’s funny how an idea for a story comes out of nowhere and manages to be turned into a bigger idea for a story to write. I’m just glad I had something from my past that made this idea work. (I use a lot of my personal experiences to “flesh out” story ideas.) Of course, I was worried that the person who caused that experience to happen might see herself in the story and get upset I had created a character based on that experience that ended up being the antagonist, but I’m not ashamed I used a personal experience for a story. That’s what writers do! As a writer, I play around with my ideas and explore different outcomes or ideas with my own personal experiences. Everything that happens in my life is material for my writing. This is just one experience from my past that evolved into a story.

 

And this experience with turning an idea into a story I submitted two days later serves as a reminder to hold onto those ideas for stories, even if all I have is a theme. If it’s just a fragment of an idea, hold onto it. Think about it. Give yourself some time to allow that idea to grow and evolve; there’s bound to be something that can help that idea turn into something bigger and clearer. Then it can be turned into something that you happen to have on hand in the event a short submission window comes along.

 

On another note: I got an idea for a short story to write last week and eventually sat down to write that story. Just today, I found a call for stories for a new magazine that is looking for those kinds of stories from writers! It’s a good thing I grabbed that story idea and wrote that story down. Now to get it ready for submission!

 

Keep Your Ideas Where You Can Find Them

 

Most writers get lots of ideas and many of them will use those ideas right away.

 

That’s how I usually work, anyway.

 

Yes, I write the idea down if I can’t start working on it right away, but if it’s something I know I will write very soon, then I spend time thinking about it and putting it together in my head while I’m in the process of being able to write it.

 

I don’t like letting ideas sit for too long; if I get an idea for something, I want to put it to use RIGHT NOW. Whether it’s something to draw, write or create in some way, I grab hold of that idea right when it strikes and make sure it is a “thing” before the day is out. (Or, at least, in the process of becoming a thing. One short story idea I had took me weeks to write. Good thing I made an outline for it!)

 

However, sometimes, we writers just aren’t able to write the things we get ideas for, so we have to jot that idea down and save it for when we can write it later.

 

If this happens to you a lot, then I’d like to offer one piece of advice: Don’t lose whatever it is you put your idea on!

 

There’s nothing wrong with writing down or recording your ideas. The tricky part is making sure you have access to it later. That it’s somewhere you KNOW you can find it or somewhere you are easily able to get to it.

 

Just make sure you don’t jot your idea down on some random scrap of paper – because it might get lost later! (If I have no choice but to do this, I keep that scrap of paper in my pocket.)

 

 

When it comes to ideas, it’s important to keep them where you can find them. Somewhere you can easily have access to them.

 

Some writers use an idea file. This can be a folder in a filing cabinet containing all those scraps of papers of ideas. Or it can be an electronic file on your laptop or desktop computer. (Make sure you regularly save it on a flash drive!)

 

Other writers are old school, writing down every single idea in a spiral notebook. I have done this, too. I have notebooks with article ideas, outlines, random quotes I liked and chapters for books. I have even written first drafts in my writing notebook.

 

I also save ideas on my phone. My laptop is also a handy place to keep my ideas.

 

Regardless of where you choose to keep your ideas, make sure you get ALL of them down somehow. And make sure you store all of your ideas where you can easily find them later. The faster you get back to that idea for something to write, the faster you can get started writing it.