For the past few years, I’ve done more art than writing. It’s been great, and I really think it’s therapeutic. After I create something, I feel better. So much so that the feeling is greater than if it were good art. Yes, I try to make each one unique and interesting, but I’m not evaluating my own work critically. There are a ton of things I could learn about art technique and history, but I feel I can take my time with that, and now I enjoy the act of creating. I’m planning to get back into writing, and art has taught me to have more fun with the storytelling process. Focus on the creation instead of the aspects of writing that caused me frustration in the past.
I did not enjoy reading until late high school and then college. In middle school, I was in special education classes, and when I went to a private high school, I had to have a tutor. I don’t think I ever got a good grasp on grammar, and that has been a limitation on my writing. In college, I got into writing. I remember reading a story aloud to my sister’s friends during a visit to her college. I stopped only a few paragraphs in because I noticed some typos or awkward phrasing. Years later, I think I may have turned off readers with typos and other mistakes in blog posts written quickly. Now with Grammarly, it may be easier to clean up before posting. My grammar and revision skills are poor. But I think it’s okay to pursue something one is not good at. As long as the interest is there.
And I do like creating stories and reading fiction. My dream for a long time was to have my books in bookstores and libraries. I wrote three or more versions of my novel, and I repeated similar mistakes. Now, agents and publishers want a novel to be 85,000 words or more, especially for sci-fi works. That is fine if written right, but a few times, I padded the story idea with repetitive scenes.
Another thing I tried is the 3-act structure, which a beta reader told me was too obvious. In my rewrites, I plan to take more liberties with it. I think the basic structure of a story starts with the hero’s ordinary world, then something significant happens, he goes on a quest, solves the problems, and is changed. I’ll try to do that, but timed plotting points were difficult for me.
There is a term called ‘information dumps.’ That is when you tell the storyline too quickly at certain points. Several times, I got into the habit of having the plot revealed through dialogue. Too much of this is boring for the reader. Instead, one should give hints scattered throughout the story. There is also a term called ‘show, don’t tell.’ An example of that would be instead of saying ‘he was angry,’ say something like ‘his face contorted into a grimace as his hands clenched into fists and shook.’ Along these lines, I could play with description more.
For all the versions of my novels, I’ve had beta readers. Each time it stops me, because there are problems with my work, and it may be difficult for them to get through it. I did get a few detailed responses for my last version. One said the information dumps and repetitive dialogue scenes between characters seemed like talking heads. Another questioned if the sex scenes was the reader was supposed to be aroused, and for the drug or party scenes, were they supposed to get high while reading? The answer to both is no, but it’s a good point to think about why I included them. Last summer, before my father passed, he asked me to read out my novel version to him. I was too embarrassed. I’m changing too. I no longer do alcohol or weed, and I’ve outgrown the sex stuff. I should try to publish something to be proud of. Not something that could embarrass me or that people could judge me by.
Like art, I want to get back to creating stories. I feel I’m more of a creative person, and not necessarily a professional writer or artist. I do plan to make a thorough outline before I start, and in each chapter, something must happen. And conflict must be prevalent throughout. Instead of a long work, I’ll go for 50,000 words, like the pulp novels of yesteryears. Traditional publishing is difficult. But apparently, short series are popular with Amazon and other e-reading services. They say to have at least three done before you start, so you can publish them a few months apart from each other. I’ll start by making a few chapter outlines to begin writing in January. I think I can do one a year. No handwritten drafts, I’ll use my laptop from the start, and I won’t bother with revision or beta readers until I have at least three done. I believe I could do one a year this way. After I get three done, I could revise or keep writing one a year until I retire from work. The novels would be connected by the sci-fi universe I created, and not a continuous storyline. It should be possible. The main idea is to have fun with it and write what I want.
And I will continue to do art regularly, it’s part of my life now. Art and writing are connected and are part of my creative process.
(Here’s a vlog about the same topic of this blog!