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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/12273-Digging-for-Gold.html
Drama: November 15, 2023 Issue [#12273]




 This week: Digging for Gold
  Edited by: NaNoKit Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

What treasures are hidden in your portfolio? How much have you learned over the years?

This week's Drama Newsletter encourages us to dig for gold, and argues that whilst it's good to grow as writers, we must not lose our own, unique voice. It has value.



Word from our sponsor

ASIN: B01MQP5740
Amazon's Price: $ 4.99


Letter from the editor

Are you NaNo-ing this year? I’m sitting this one out, but I do remember the joy of writing without the fear of imperfection. NaNo is about getting the story out there. You don’t stop to edit. You don’t fret about whether or not that last page had too little detail, or too much. There can be loose ends. Unresolved character arcs. It doesn’t matter – not yet – so you keep on going. Afterwards, you go digging for gold.

As someone who tends to worry a lot about imperfections, I found the experience rather freeing. And it works! Some weeks ago I had a look at one of my NaNo novels and I was surprised at how good it is. It isn’t perfect. There is work to be done. But I am pleasantly surprised with the depth of my characters, the original creatures I thought up, and the chemistry between my leads. There is something there – something worth developing further. I am certain that it will be the same for you.

Last week I wrote a newsletter on portfolio organization ("Action/Adventure Newsletter (November 8, 2023)Open in new Window. if you’d like a look). I’ve been digging through my own portfolio, reading some of my old items. I joined the site back in 2004, and the difference between then and now is noticeable. That’s good! I’ve made genuine progress! I hope that when I look back at my work in another 20 years I’ll have learned even more. Again, though, I’ve found items that – odd as this may sound – had me wondering how I ever came up with them. I was impressed with myself. They may need polishing but they are gems; they have value. It’s fun to look back. I highly recommend it. It’s good to remind yourself how you started, and how far you have come.

It’s easy to forget that writing should bring joy. That’s not to say that it will never bring pain – when we pour out our emotions, or struggle along with our characters, it can be absolutely draining. I’ve scrunched pages into a ball and thrown them in the bin with plenty a mutter of frustration. If you look at how I write poems, it’s a mess of crossed-out words and lines, and arrows pointing everywhere. Sometimes you have to force yourself to sit down and write. Whether you’re aiming for 50,000 words, or have an essay deadline, you won’t always find it smooth sailing. Writing’s tough. But, on the whole, it should bring you joy. If not, what’s the point?

There was a time when I lost that joy. I compared my work to that of others and found myself lacking. Their work seemed so complex, so artistic! I believed my poetry especially to be too simplistic in comparison and felt that I could never reach such creative heights. I tried to be like them. In the process, I left behind that what made me love writing in the first place – that freedom of self-expression, and the fun that comes with sharing the weird and wonderful characters that dance around in my imagination. I am the person who writes about lost socks and adventurous fish. About lonely spiders and an octopus in search of a home. I entered my longest writer’s block ever when I believed that that wasn’t good enough. I now know that I was wrong. My poems and my stories may not reach great artistic heights, but that does not mean that they are without value. They make people smile. Shed a little tear. They bring joy, not just to myself, but to others. We can learn from studying the work of our fellow writers, but in our search for gold we mustn’t dismiss what makes us unique. It would be a dull world if we all produced the same output.

A journey back into your portfolio, then, or your old files and notebooks will not just show you how far you’ve come; it can also help you rediscover what made you write in the first place. We learn and grow – as a teenage girl I wrote the most terrible self-insert fan fiction imaginable, and I am not going back to that – but there’s usually something at the core of our writing that’s us. If you read the works of Terry Pratchett, for example, or Stephen King, or any of your favourites, you will find that they, too, have grown over time, but there’s something consistent, something recognisable, something undeniably them that runs through their writing and connects with their audience.

Don’t lose that voice. Don’t attempt to replace it with someone else’s. Dig for it, then polish it. It’s worth the effort.

NaNoKit Author Icon



Editor's Picks

Some contests and activities to inspire you:

FORUM
World Weavers' Championship Open in new Window. (13+)
Closed for judging
#2012128 by Tileira Author IconMail Icon


FORUM
The Newbie Poetry Award Open in new Window. (13+)
A poetry contest for members in their first year on Writing.Com.
#2307442 by NaNoKit Author IconMail Icon


FORUM
Review a Newbie Open in new Window. (ASR)
OPEN ~ Submit your Newbie Reviews
#1970173 by Creeper Of The Realm Author IconMail Icon


FORUM
Rebel Poetry Contest Open in new Window. (18+)
Open for March 2024
#2112615 by Warped Sanity Author IconMail Icon


FORUM
The Bard's Hall Contest Open in new Window. (13+)
NOVEMBER: Comedy... Thanksgiving with the Family
#981150 by StephBee Author IconMail Icon


FORUM
Thankful Poetry Contest Open in new Window. (13+)
An uplifting annual contest welcoming short poems about thanksgiving and gratitude.
#2235153 by 🌻 thankful pwheeler nanoing Author IconMail Icon


FORUM
Share Your Faith Open in new Window. (13+)
Are you spiritual? Religious? Or not at all? Can you incorporate this into your writing?
#2204562 by NaNoKit Author IconMail Icon


And don't forget:

 
SURVEY
Quotation Inspiration: Official Contest Open in new Window. (ASR)
Use the quote provided to write a story and win big prizes!
#1207944 by Writing.Com Support Author IconMail Icon

 
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Ask & Answer

The Drama Newsletter Team welcomes any and all questions, suggestions, thoughts and feedback, so please don't hesitate to write in! *Smile*

Wishing you a week filled with inspiration,

The Drama Newsletter Team



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