Category — On Writing

There is a peculiar phenomenon which occurs during fiction writing. It has to do with character building. Although there’s probably some technical term for it, I’d prefer to focus on observations of the experience in this post.

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The writing of Ule the Unfurled has slown down. Unfortunately, working a semi-full time temp job, along with further development of House of Scratch, takes time, which leaves me with an hour or two in the evenings to write, study writing, research and develop plot, characters and ideas. 

Although it would be nice to work a little faster, that will come with practice and persistance. The most difficult part about learning discipline is doing something regardless how awful you might feel or how much you want to sleep. Just so you know, I’m getting much better at the discipline. No matter how busy it gets in life, I’m sitting down more frequently at the computer in the evenings, even if all I get out from my muse is a paragraph or two.

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Articles about writing are prolific on the Internet. Tons galore of professional writers offering their techniques and advice ad redundancy, and add the refrain “every writer’s journey is different”. Pile on the memoir-esque writings on writing (mine included) and saturation comes to mind.

It’s all wonderful, yet there is no pull there for me. There is no true willingness to contribute to it all, simply because I haven’t anything new to offer… yet.

I’ve always just wanted to write stories. Since quitting four years ago, a lot of ground has been lost with that. Lately, the struggle with some short stories, a novella, and the plotting of a novel, has all been going so very slow. My boyfriend assures me that both speed and discipline will pick up, as long as I stay focused and stick with it.

Stick with what exactly?

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© by Cathrene Gehue, 2008

Disclaimer: This post is a long one!

Children play from the heart no matter what they do. There’s no doubt; no question. Heart reigns in all they do, but somewhere along the way, the mind starts learning about the world we live in. And the world we live in values mind more than heart. It influences the best of us. As a child I wrote from the heart, then somewhere in my journey mind took over.

After dropping out of University of Toronto, I began working in the book distribution industry. For seven years it was both fun and frustrating at times. I was young and dreamed of becoming a published writer. Somewhere along the way, disillusionment occurred. The glamour of being a professional writer lost its sheen and allure. What had happened?

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