IWSG for July, 2012

It's that time again. The first Wednesday of the month is dedicated to the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Yes, I do realize that it's, actually, Tuesday but, due to the Fourth of July holiday, I'm posting a day early....smartypants.  Anywho, the IWSG is where we take the time to post about things that, as writers, make us feel not as comfortable as we'd like in the world of writing. We also discuss how we can fix theses things as well as showing our support for other, struggling, writers via blog visits, etc.

This month I'd like to touch on a topic that pops up quite frequently when I write.

Boredom. yawwwwwnnnn.....

Sometimes, I'll get these little kernels of a story idea and think "Man, this sounds like a great story!". Then, I'l start off just writing the story. As I start to put my ideas down, it just won't flow. It seems to drag on and the 'voice' of the story begins to drone in my head. It leads to a lot of frustration and insecurity for me and, sometimes, has me thinking "Am I really cut out or this?"

I think, for me, it boils down to one, underlying, detail......

Patience!

I think my main problem is that, for some strange reason, (o.k.,I know it's not a strange reason....I'm just impatient.) I expect the story to just flow out of me. To magically appear from my brain, to my fingertips, and to the keyboard. The only problem with this line of thought is....that's not really how my process works.

And. I. Know. This!!

My process takes much, much, more time. Like doing paper mache' (which I've only done a few times in my life, but still...), one must build on layers. It's like the old analogy of building a house....start with the foundation, blah, blah, blah.

I think my issue is, that I'm wanting 'house'-worthy results with only wanting to put forth 'shack'-worthy effort. Does that make me a 'shacker' instead of a 'slacker'?

How do I combat this?

1. I have to remember that not everything I'm writing has to be 'flash fiction'.
2. Remind myself that it's o.k. to take my time and pay attention to the details.
3. Outline!!!!!!
4. Duck and weave like Muhammad Ali. Hit the story, then pull back and give it some room.....then, hit it again.
5. Outline!!!!
6. Learn to love the process and not just the finished result.
7. Did I mention.....Outline!!!!!?

When I did NaNo, I had outlined the bulk of it, which helped tremendously. Not that I didn't stray from the outline but, at least, it gave me some good framework to build upon after I ran out of outline and was 'winging it' near the end.

My formula is a pretty simple one:

Patience+More effort+Better Detail = Mark being less bored and writing more!

It's simple in theory but, in practice, takes 'house'-worthy effort.

Definitely something I'll be needing to work on more as I strive to not be such an 'insecure' writer.