One of the areas in which I struggle is writing. Early in my life I won a creative writing contest. My mother pushed me to submit a story to American Girl magazine. I hated the whole process of submitting a story. It didn't win. She argued that I ended the story before the outcome of the horse race is known and perhaps that is why it did not win. In reading the winners, I wrote a very straight forward action adventure featuring a boy while the winners featured girls and were more subjective. It put me off contest writing.
In high school I had pieces published in the creative writing rags. One story was too long and could not be published though the English teacher advisor thought it was a good story. No suggestion to cut or editing advice.
AFter that my story writing tailed off and from time to time I have gone back to it, but progressively I have been dissatisfied with my own writing.
Two years ago I signed up for a Nanowrimo account but the month of November was too chaotic to attempt a writing schedule, or so I thought. Last year I dived in. I "won". The story may or may not ever see the light of day. I learned some interestingthings about my character. I will work on another story using the same character this year. Some of the work you've seen here about Star Runer is more background info for the novel.
I was just listening to an old Adventures in Sci Fi Publishing podcast and an author talked about practicing writing. If you don't use your writing muscles, they weaken. No one questions that a musician practices.
Huh. I had never thought about this. I could practice my writing. It wouldn't have to be good. I know enough about practicing music that it means wrong notes, going over a passage, taking this part and then that part and going over it. It means not producing a beautiful piece at any time during the session. I remember explaining this this to my daughter, digging out a recorder and letting her listen to her playing to hear what part of the piece needed more work and suggesting she work on the part of the piece which was giving her the most difficulty. It makes sense to apply this to writing, to write for the sheer practice of writing.
I have thought I would get back into podcasting. Again, practice the recording. If the first take isn't what I want, do it again until it feels natural. Why not? This is a craft, too.
