In The Shadows

Talking It Away

The idea for this book hit me about three months ago, but I made the fatal mistake of talking away the excitement and inspiration that sparked it to begin with. I am now conducting research and trying to break back into it. I need to just sit down and write, but there are so many things I need to know in order to do so and do it well.
I've read books that tell you not to worry about being perfectly punctual and grammatically correct in the first draft because it will take away from your ability to create due to the distraction of trying to write as if you were in English class. This makes perfect sense to me and I know it to be true. I am somewhat of a perfectionist when I write; not so much with using correct punctuation, but with my choice of diction and placement. I'll write a couple of paragraphs and go over it several times before being able to move on - and I know this is greatly hindering my ability to create and hold on to the sparks of excitement that have inspired me to write in the first place. You would think this would have sunk in by now, but I find myself doing it. Maybe I should practice freewriting, I don't know if I could bring myself to do it though. I need to try - I'll write complete nonsense if that's what it takes to get me past the obsession of perfecting a paragraph, ( I'll think what I'm doing is perfecting, but many times realize my initial idea was the better choice)!
It's 11:00 and I am totally exhausted as I sit and type this. I really want to keep a journal as I work on this book. I think it will be helpful, and enable me to keep "the talker" supressed.