Let Go, Let It Flow

Yes, I’m still working on that novel I started this last November for NaNoWriMo. I finally got through the worst of the battle scene and am now wrapping up that chapter. That was a tough section to write. Actually, I don’t know that ‘write’ is a very good definition of what I accomplished there.

Maybe a better word would be ‘dumped’.

This section has no energy, no real intensity, and very little to redeem itself. I had absolutely no epiphanies or enlightened moments. It was simply an arduous daily task to pound out. All I can hope for is that when it comes time to revise, I will finally get some sort of inspiration to make this section become fulfilled.

The nice thing I discovered through writing this particular piece is that I don’t have to make it perfect the first time. In fact, it is better that I don’t. So, I'm okay the battle is less than perfect.

My writing skills in all of the areas that I write took a huge leap forward when I discovered the enormous merits of just putting everything down and revise it to the piece it should finally be. It allows so much more to work with and makes the piece more rounded and effective.

By putting down all of my thoughts and ideas as I go, I open myself and the story up to all it can possibly be. In other words, I’m not limiting the story, but allowing the story to drive the writing. In allowing the story to be the master, I’m not controlling the ebb and flow or the final outcome. I actually am surprised by what shows up on the page.

This is what makes writing so addictive.

The other novel I was working on before November, I was definitely the one in control. It’s plain to see. In that piece, I was trying to write it perfect the first time.

This is so stupid.

It’s also being very narrow-minded.

The reason I say this, is all you have to do is look at the word count. In not allowing the story to have its say, the story is short, stilted, and doesn’t explore all the areas that make a story so compelling. Now, I’m not saying the one I’m working on now is compelling, but it has a whole lot more potential than the first one. When I’m done with this first draft, it will be set aside and let to rest for a while.

During that time, I will go back to the first story and try to write a second draft that is more like a first draft. I really hope I can make that happen, as I really believe the story has a lot of merit and needs to be told. I just have to let it do the telling, not me.

Thankful

In the quiet solitude of the morning
I ponder my existence in this world
Where everything is both precious and wondrous
And I am thankful for the opportunity to be here

I am amazed by the creation that surrounds me
And I am thankful for the eyes to see
How very special and connected
Everything is to each other

Yet I see the human race in its greed
Laying a path of destruction
Caring not for the balance of nature
As it wantonly takes without thought or care

Deluding the masses there is nothing wrong
With using and abusing the land and all it holds
For the benefit of the selfish political engine
That lays waste everything in its path

At what point does humanity wake up
And turn the tide of devastation that would ruin
What we have to offer our subsequent generations
So they have enough planet to live on

Or does the reckless abandon which has ruled
This last century allow whole species to
Be obliterated for something else deemed more
Valuable in the eyes of some political machine

Let us look deep within ourselves and take
Responsibility for our actions before it is too late
To leave a world to our children and beyond
Something for them to also give thanks for

Welcome!

Welcome to my new site. As you can see, it is still under construction. Please come back and visit often. This site is being developed to showcase some of my work, links to other authors and writing sites, and more. Please leave comments, as I love to hear from you.