Ever since last Fall, I took on a couple of writing projects. The first was publishing the Josephine the Dragon stories by Taylor Christine on the blog. The second was writing the next installment in the I Will Kill You for $5 project.
But, alas, it felt like I had really fallen behind on the blog and writing in general. Life has been crazy, to my credit. However, as is the case a lot, I dump on myself a lot about writing.
https://twitter.com/babylontales/status/739960281099436032
No doubt about Josephine though, I did fall behind on publishing those stories. Meant to do like one a month or so, but it's been like... um... not that.
However, I wanna pat myself on the back for a second. Because I rarely do that as a writer, I'm sure other writers are the same way. We really like to self-torture ourselves about our ability to spew words.
So. Yeah. I'm kind of in a celebratory mood. I really feel like I've accomplished something, and that feels great. Like I've really discovered something about myself. And for the first time, I realize that the nagging voice in the back of my head telling me I'm failing--yeah, it's full of it. Totally full of it.
That being said... if you are like me, and like to brutalize yourself internally as a writer, remember this--the Voice is your enemy. You're better than the Voice. The Voice in your head can't even write ONE BLESSED word. Eat that Voice.
https://twitter.com/babylontales/status/739198362088407040
https://twitter.com/babylontales/status/740712375595081728
https://twitter.com/babylontales/status/745058835736334336
https://twitter.com/babylontales/status/745072463814352896
https://twitter.com/babylontales/status/745083250373066752
But, alas, it felt like I had really fallen behind on the blog and writing in general. Life has been crazy, to my credit. However, as is the case a lot, I dump on myself a lot about writing.
https://twitter.com/babylontales/status/739960281099436032
No doubt about Josephine though, I did fall behind on publishing those stories. Meant to do like one a month or so, but it's been like... um... not that.
However, I wanna pat myself on the back for a second. Because I rarely do that as a writer, I'm sure other writers are the same way. We really like to self-torture ourselves about our ability to spew words.
But the thing of it is this...
- Yes, I did start writing a short story in October.
- Yes, that was a long time ago.
- Tonight I just finished it.
- Yes, that does seem like a long time to write a short story, especially for me.
- But the thing is that it's really long.
- Like way longer than my usual stories.
- I typically average around 2,000 to 6,000 word short stories.
- Once, I wrote an 8,000 word story.
- And I can actually write 1,000 words per hour.
- So, a 2,000 word story can be done in 2 hours.
- So, that whole October thing seems like a long time.
- But the thing is that this story is the longest short story I've ever written.
- It's so long, I'm not sure it qualifies as a short story anymore.
- It's over 15,000 words long.
- To put that in perspective, my collaborative novella Fatal Flaws is 19,000 words long.
- And, I deleted a "scene" or two along the way, in an attempt to shorten the story.
- Basically this... it's the longest short story I've ever written.
- It's also the one of the longest "complete" stories I've ever written by myself.
- And even though it took me quite a while...
- I look at what I have, and look back, and I don't feel bad at all.
- I felt bad during it. But not now.
- Why? Because the result. The result is something way bigger than I intended.
- And that BIG thing has proven something to myself.
- It has made a statement to me.
- It says, "Dude. You can write long form, just don't expect to do it overnight. And don't beat yourself up about that. There's nothing out of the ordinary with that."
CURRENT MOOD: David Bowie's "Heroes"
So. Yeah. I'm kind of in a celebratory mood. I really feel like I've accomplished something, and that feels great. Like I've really discovered something about myself. And for the first time, I realize that the nagging voice in the back of my head telling me I'm failing--yeah, it's full of it. Totally full of it.
That being said... if you are like me, and like to brutalize yourself internally as a writer, remember this--the Voice is your enemy. You're better than the Voice. The Voice in your head can't even write ONE BLESSED word. Eat that Voice.
A few Tweets from the journey
https://twitter.com/babylontales/status/739198362088407040
https://twitter.com/babylontales/status/740712375595081728
https://twitter.com/babylontales/status/745058835736334336
https://twitter.com/babylontales/status/745072463814352896
https://twitter.com/babylontales/status/745083250373066752
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