So I recently finished up my longest introductory story ever. It was long not in the amount of words it took to tell, but rather the time it took to tell it (and that is entirely my fault). If it takes more than a year to tell a story, chances are you're not all that interested in telling the story.
I didn't even promote it when I published it because it was so bad but, if you're interested, you can find it here. Remember, though, that this is a practice blog, a first draft, a virtual writing workout where I tinker with things like dialogue, scene, characterization and--in this story in particular--fight scenes. I just write the entries during my lunch period, run them through a spell checker and post them so there are bound to be some typos, bad wording and the like. Not to mention too many commas. You'd think I was paid for each one.
Looking back, I've noticed a theme that is a constant with everything I write. I like the beginning more than the end. I think that's because when I start a project I'm excited about it and the words flow accordingly. As time wears on, my enthusiasm wears down.
My initial goal with Mira's story was to practice comedy. I had hoped for something between Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers series and Terry Pratchett's Discworld. I envisioned a lot of snappy dialogue and one-liners set in a medieval tone. I don't think I got there, at all, although there are some bits that amuse me, even if they don't amuse anyone else; for example, the battle poems. I also wanted to populate a world where one of my other characters (a serious one, this time) lives. His name is Keegan and he'll be coming in some epublished stories, soon.
Things I've learned through this project:
1. Don't take a year to write a story. Keep it up, even if you don't feel like it. I've read that it takes a writer 100,000 words to find his or her voice and if you write about your characters as sporadically as I did on this--as well as on my other practice project--you'll never develop a feeling for them. And if you don't feel for your characters, nobody else will.
2. Know where you're going. This is another problem of mine and anybody I've ever talked with about writing will back that up.
3. Don't give up. Nothing is a waste of time if you learn from it.
4. Well, I forgot what number four was. Perhaps if you try to write at your desk at lunch you're bound to get interrupted.
Despite the mixed results, I've decided to continue both projects, along with this blog and the regular, for-profit (I hope) writing. Mira's next story, which informally starts here, should be a fun time: lost pirates, a stolen treasure or maybe stolen pirates and a lost treasure. Time has been weighing heavily on me lately, and I think the restlessness in my own mind originates from people (and Kats) who want their stories told.
Thanks for checking in and thanks for being patient!
