Exploring a new aspect of the writing process
Eh, I’m out of stock image ideas.
What happened today:
Made it to the correct train and showed up to work on time. Hooray!
I forgot to block out my calendar and plan out my tasks. Good thing I only had two major tasks to do today.
I read more of Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins, by Annette Simmons. This is the book I referenced yesterday. I mentioned that I would give it a shout out if I got something out of it. That time came 20 pages in.
One thing I got out of the book is a desire to be more observational. More on that in the Extra Thoughts section.
I didn’t eat out today. Hooray for saving money!
I struggle to stay focused on anything. I think changing my diet should do the trick.
Extra Thoughts
I had mentioned in yesterday’s post that I thought my writing was stale. This is a thought that I explored in my journal as I munched on some girl scout cookies (peanut butter patties, of course). The conclusion that I came to is that I focus too much on reflecting and analysis in my writing, and that I should develop the other skills required to write good work.
I know I am good at taking knowledge and sharing my interpretations with others. However, there are only so many ways I can talk about a single topic. I felt my mind strain to find some new detail to talk about. It’s like trying to proofread an email for the 20th time. It’s exhausting and super boring.
So I need to work on creative input to replenish the well of topics and examples. Reading is one good way to fill that well. The one I want to focus on this time around is observation.
In the book that I am reading, Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins, Annette Simmons writes:
Storytelling is also a function of your ability to find current stories at play.
Everyone has stories that they tell themselves. Part of my job as a writer is to evoke emotion by telling story that will resonate with the one in my reader’s mind. The most effective way I achieve this is:
know how to tell my own stories.
know what kind of stories others have within them.
I have the first point down pat. I am comfortable telling my own story. I am also comfortable telling that story even as it changes. I found my writing voice. That voice was forged from years of heartache, fighting through self-hatred, and family tragedy. But, it is custom built to my experience and so I am very comfortable wielding it.
That second point is the new frontier for me.
Allow me to belabor the blacksmithing metaphor further: I spent so much of my focus and energy building myself that I rarely had the chance to look at how others were working on themselves.
This isn’t to say that I never observed other people. However, this took the form of people pleasing, where I tried to form myself in response to others.
To beat the running metaphor into the ground: I tried to keep one eye on the anvil and another eye on the outside and I failed at everything as a result. I only started to find success (as I defined it anyway) after I pared down my focus to one thing, myself.
And now I’m using the momentum of that success to develop other areas of my writing and my life. If history is to be any indicator, that will lead me to even more skills to develop — a future that I think I can really enjoy.
