 Short Stories: May 21, 2008 Issue [#2408] |
  Short Stories
This week: Edited by: darkin
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Short stories are fiction's appetizers, short bursts of entertainment for the senses, to be consumed at the time.
My name is Darkin, and I'm your host this week for the Short Story Newsletter.
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Silly Reasons NOT to Write
Every writer thinks at one time or another "I just can't write". Maybe it happens after a submission is rejected. Perhaps it's after a harsh review. But when it happens it can stop a writer dead in his writing tracks.
For some reason I hear those words from short story writers more than any other type of writer. I don't have a theory as to why that is, though it's possible I just talk to short story writers more than the poets or article writers. Here are the top reasons I've heard for writers to decide to stop writing.
Darkin's Top 8 Reasons NOT to Write List
Yeah, I know, it's supposed to be a top ten list, but I could only remember eight of them. Besides, I wouldn't want to step on Mr. Letterman's toes over this whole list thingy.
8. I don't have any talent. Every time I hear this reason I want to scream "define talent". Talent isn't something you're born with. It's something you nurture and develop over time by doing. No one just picks up a pencil and paper and writes The Great American Novel. So why do you think you need "talent" to write?
7. I don't have any original ideas. This one really gets my goat...and believe me, he's hard to get. According to Ronald B. Tobias, author of 20 Master Plots (And How to Build Them), believes that every story can be broken down into one of twenty basic plots. So does that mean your stories aren't original. Certainly not. A writer gives a basic plot their own unique outlook. That's what we do.
6. I don't have time to write. Hmm, who does have all the time they want to write? Certainly not me, and I'd imagine not anyone reading this newsletter. I remember reading somewhere that Scott Turow wrote his first novel, Presumed Innocent while on a commuter train between his home and work. Take a notebook with you and write whenever you are waiting for something - your car to be fixed, the doctor to see you, heck I wrote an entire scene for my horror novel while sitting in the dentist's chair waiting for my mouth to go numb. 
5. I'm not smart enough, or educated enough, to write. Says who? It doesn't take a genius to write a short story, it only takes someone willing to put the time and effort into making it happen. You don't need a degree in creative writing to write a story. Just sit down and start writing.
4. I don't have the right supplies. I'm pretty sure everyone has paper and pens/pencils in their possession. Those, and an idea, are pretty much all a writer needs to get their story across. Fancy computers, expensive pens, and a dedicated office are nice, but remember that Stephan King started out writing his stories on pads of cheap paper, and look where HE ended up.
3. I'm too old, or young, to start writing. Age has nothing to do with writing ability. Laura Ingalls Wilder's first books, The Little House series, were started when she was in her 60's. The author of Eragon, Christopher Paolini, was 15 when he wrote the first draft of his first novel. No one told them they were too old or young to write.
2. But what if my Mom reads my work? I write Erotica. There, I've said it out loud. I'd probably shrivel up and die if my Mom ever read my Erotic tale, which is why I had it published under a pen name. You can't worry about someone else's opinions of the kind of writing you do, or you'll never start writing.
By the way, my Mom now knows that I write Erotica, but she's promised not to read those items.
And the #1 reason NOT to write is...
1. Why bother, no one's going to read it anyways. Well now, with that attitude no one will read it. Just kidding. Writing.com is a peer-to-peer review community. People come here every single day just to read member's work. And many times to review it as well. So what are you waiting for. There are members right now looking for something to read just like the kind of writing YOU write. Come on, you know you want to know what they think...just post those stories and take a chance.
What have you got to lose???
Thank you for taking the time to read. Happy Writing!
darkin |
Here are some items I found while traveling the highways and byways of Writing.Com!
|  | Humanity (13+)
Mirage is thrust into an unfamiliar world when she goes to a human school.
#1425634 by Rakkit   |
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
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Thank you for allowing me to enter your world. If you have any comments, or questions, feel free to drop me a line. I'd love to hear from you!
darkin
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Submitted By: Erik Stark
Submitted Comment:
I've not been trying to write creatively for very long at all yet, but I have the same problem. Though I agree with what the writing books say you should do, I am seldom able to do it myself. What you're doing might work for me, I don't know - I will have to try it and see. I am still trying to learn what will work for me when it comes to saving ideas which pop into my head at the oddest of times. My hope is I will come up with something eventually which will work. It's still early in my creative writing endeavor so I'm hoping I'll latch on to a good method sooner rather than later... Good newsletter and thanks for another way to try and capture those fleeting strikes of the muse.
Erik
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Submitted By: bazilbob
Submitted Comment:
I have so many notebooks lurking about! I have one for ideas, one for observation (snatches of conversation, the way rain really looks), one for plans, character sketches and other pre-writing bits like that, one for tips (from those how-to write books, a really good one is Writing Fiction: Creative and Critical Approaches by Amanda Boulter) one for exercises to do (copied from how to write books) one for exercises I've done, one for first drafts of short stories, and another for first drafts of longer stories, the longest thing in there is my 7000 word dissertation, it's still technically a short story, but I felt it deserved another notebook, oh and of course my actual writer's journal, in which I write what I've achieved and what want to achieve next and how to achieve that. However, I don't religiously use them everyday, I just use them when I feel the need to.
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Submitted By: Pen Name
Submitted Comment:
Hi Darkin,
I love your cat sig and "catwoman" handle! Journals are a big part of my life, too. I have been keeping journals for for fifteen years. Cover color choice/design is crucial to me as well. How can you be inspired unless the journal or notebook inspires your creativity and motivation?
I reserve the last third of the pages in the back for writing ideas. I cannot stress how important your advice is to write down all your story ideas. Even though you think you will remember it - you won't.
Sincerely,
Lotusneko
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Submitted By: Lauriemariepea
Submitted Comment:
hi, darkin--
i envy writers who can keep up with journals! i've never been any good at it, and fail to an embarrassing degree when i try. kudos to you!
i like your story sketch idea, and may try one more time to keep track of my ideas as they come to me...who knows how many have floated off into the ether?
thanks for the tips.
laurie
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Submitted By: Coolhand
Submitted Comment:
Greetings Darkin,
This was an informative and helpful newsletter; I believe your advice is spot on. The great advice/how-to books are all a must read, but then you must figure out what works best for you. Maybe you should write an advice book!
Best regards, Coolhand
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Submitted By: Fallser
Submitted Comment:
Wonderful newsletter on the story idea journal - especially your tidbit that you have journals all over the house and in the car! The questions for the journal are very helpful as well. Thanks for sharing.
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Submitted By: Helen McNicol
Submitted Comment:
Darkin, I enjoyed your comments on the writing journal. I too, keep a small notebook which I carry everywhere. I don't write in it everyday, just little tidbits when I get inspired. Recently I was inspired by a song on the radio at 5am in the morning in that half awake state, and I reached into my notebook, pulled out a character I had seen at the local mall, and 7,500 words later I had a nice piece of erotica. If I hadn't written that little note in my journal, that character would have been lost.
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