(Sometimes you have to let a story die.)
GASP!!!
This is NOT the same as giving up. And it's NOT the same as expecting perfection with the first draft. I'm not telling you to stop writing.
The truth is, though, sometimes we as writers get in the way of our own stories. Sometimes all we can see is our own expectations of what we think the story SHOULD BE rather than what it NEEDS TO BE. And sometimes the story we WANT to write isn't the story we NEED to write.
FUCK what you want to write. Throw that shit away. Delete it. Burn it. Get quiet, banish your demons (or learn to dance with them), and MAKE ROOM FOR THE STORY YOU NEED TO WRITE.
And tell me about it! Does this sound familiar to you? Have you ever wrestled with the stories in your head? Leave me a comment here and tell me about it! Or follow me on twitter and talk to me there. That's where I live anyway.
Howdy,
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued by the concept of letting a story write itself and that the story you want to write isn't always what you need to write. I'd read an article on that subject matter, alone. I work a lot and by the time I sit down in front of my computer to write, I've got nothing left. It's kinda' pitiful. I'm not making excuses, I'm telling folks why I don't write more than I do. I constantly write but they're all little tidbits: extended comments on social media, one or two paragraph philosophical rambles after being inspired by other books, movies, and such. Of course, my side work as a serial murderer is also a creative outlet but I don't talk about it much.
I have an idea of what you mean when you say, "write what you need rather than what you want" but I'd like more information in that regard.
Thanks for the thought provocation. Gratitude.