Writing Self Discoveries

This year I attended the annual AZ SCBWI Welcome to Our House conference. (As I mentioned in my Appreciation Monday post). I didn’t leave there feeling peppy. I didn’t leave there feeling motivated either. As days passed since the conference, and with some feedback from different levels it made me think more in-depth about my writing. With some self-realization and poking I discovered that I have a great deal to learn about my craft. That…and this might be the most important…when I start to struggle on a story I start a new one. I have a large file of half started stories and stories that need full attention that I have not, and can’t give them at this time. All of these things ultimately play into writer self-doubt.

Writing is not like “Funny Farm.” Well it’s not like the wife’s version (get an idea, write a story, sell it, get it published)…it’s more like the husband’s version (sit, think, think, think, throw hot coffee on the chirping bird, throw the manuscript in the roaring fire).

For me, focusing on only one story proves a challenge for me, and when I switch to a new story it allows me to bypass the last story’s glaring flaws. Learning to work on this “processing error” and change it will help me hone my craft and hopefully provide a grand story, not to mention a complete one too.