This is awesome "Well, let me think it for you"! I would like to have someone wandering around after me doing all my thinking. It would be a nice break (I guess probably not for long though.)
The wonderful thing about writing is that the more we do it, the better we get. This is not something I could say about learning how to do a backwards somersault!
Well, I could never do a backwards somersault, but I could do a cartwheel. And the splits. I can't do either of them anymore, and maybe it's because I stopped trying.
I’m a retired technical Writer (lowercase t, uppercase W). I often tell people that I can write my way out of a paper bag. May not be exciting or interesting, but I’ll get us out efficiently and properly. That line actually clinched a position for me once🤭
Oct 16, 2023·edited Oct 16, 2023Liked by Ramona Grigg
I wrote my first book kind of on a dare. It was a Roman-a-clef and was definitely YA, a retelling of something that happened to a close friend in high school. Then I decided I liked writing and would try for another one. This one was painful. It took me three attempts to write the first few chapters, and after plowing through over 125K words I had a hard time ending it. But there it was. It was a good story but after applying myself to more books I realized how badly written the first part of book #2 was. So over a period of time I rewrote it. 133K words became 126K and it read MUCH better. And I even released it as a second edition. For some reason some nice people had absolutely loved version one (as I said, it was a good story, and I guess that's what most readers really want, something they can lose themselves in). Now I've written and published 17 books over the past 10 years, and with each one I attempt to improve my craft. Some people even buy my books! But that's not why I write. Once I started, I realized all my life as a musician I had been re-creating the work of other people. And now, for the first time, I was actually creating. And I can't stop doing it.
Oh, I love that idea of not wanting to recreate what someone else has already created. That truly is what sets writing apart, isn't it? Unless we're plagiarizing--and of course we wouldn't think of it!--we're constantly creating new stuff.
We're not reciting or reconstituting someone else's work, we're creating our own. That's reassuring. And sometimes scary.
The first book I wrote is now called (by me) "An Audience of One" because it is so awful. I don't know whether I should burn it when I get really old, or rely on the fact that house-emptying companies don't read stuff prior to throwing it into the dumpster. . . On the positive side, that book, in hindsight, was a vessel I created to hold non-narrative trauma "memories." Using the basic ingredients of my unrecalled past, and moving everything to a different era/country, I managed to get the story out and on paper. Very useful.
Love the thought about the house-emptying companies. Yes! But if you still have that first book, it's there for a reason. It's still serving a purpose. I'm guessing it's not as awful as you think. ❤️
I recognized myself in this post. I am in the early stages you described. I would never identify myself as a writer, just someone trying to improve. I'm going through the motions and growing pangs right now of figuring out what writing is to me and what I am to it. I really enjoyed this piece.
I'm glad it was useful. Enjoy this time, Jesse. The quest is everything! You'll discover things about yourself and your outlooks on the things that mean most to you, so none of it is wasted. And every day you'll improve. It's all good--even when it's bad.
Every once in a while I will read a piece or watch a video I made long ago and be surprised I could do something so good, 'I will not likely be able to pull that off again' I think to myself. Mostly though I experience everything you just said Ramona. I love that you had to put writer on your tax form before it was real to you, I guess we all have our line in the sand, I'm not sure what mine would be.
I think in my case I couldn't say 'writer' because I didn't know any writers. They were a complete mystery to me. How did they do it? How did they keep it going? Even when I was working at becoming a writer it seemed so much like magic.
I had to get over that in order to settle down and just do it.
One of my strengths is I have never thought of myself a good writer. Analyst yes, writer mixed.
You never thought you were a good writer? Well, let me think it for you. You're a damn good writer.
Signed, a soon-to-be-loyal reader.
This is awesome "Well, let me think it for you"! I would like to have someone wandering around after me doing all my thinking. It would be a nice break (I guess probably not for long though.)
Well, I can't do ALL the thinking, but I can do it this one time for someone like Sam, who--and I quote--'never thought of myself as a good writer'.
I mean...really!
The wonderful thing about writing is that the more we do it, the better we get. This is not something I could say about learning how to do a backwards somersault!
Well, I could never do a backwards somersault, but I could do a cartwheel. And the splits. I can't do either of them anymore, and maybe it's because I stopped trying.
No, not maybe. It's because I stopped trying.
So you've made my point. I think.
I’m a retired technical Writer (lowercase t, uppercase W). I often tell people that I can write my way out of a paper bag. May not be exciting or interesting, but I’ll get us out efficiently and properly. That line actually clinched a position for me once🤭
LOL. Long live cliches!
Words to live (or write) by!
Ha! I love this because when I go back and read some of my OLD writing I'm like wow, that truly sucks 😂😂
But it's nice to see visual proof of improvement over the years. We are all works in progress.
Indeed we are! Exciting, isn't it? 😉
I wrote my first book kind of on a dare. It was a Roman-a-clef and was definitely YA, a retelling of something that happened to a close friend in high school. Then I decided I liked writing and would try for another one. This one was painful. It took me three attempts to write the first few chapters, and after plowing through over 125K words I had a hard time ending it. But there it was. It was a good story but after applying myself to more books I realized how badly written the first part of book #2 was. So over a period of time I rewrote it. 133K words became 126K and it read MUCH better. And I even released it as a second edition. For some reason some nice people had absolutely loved version one (as I said, it was a good story, and I guess that's what most readers really want, something they can lose themselves in). Now I've written and published 17 books over the past 10 years, and with each one I attempt to improve my craft. Some people even buy my books! But that's not why I write. Once I started, I realized all my life as a musician I had been re-creating the work of other people. And now, for the first time, I was actually creating. And I can't stop doing it.
Oh, I love that idea of not wanting to recreate what someone else has already created. That truly is what sets writing apart, isn't it? Unless we're plagiarizing--and of course we wouldn't think of it!--we're constantly creating new stuff.
We're not reciting or reconstituting someone else's work, we're creating our own. That's reassuring. And sometimes scary.
Are we allowed to cringe without actually having to read our old stuff?
Great points, Ramona.
Sure, if that's what it takes to let you see you've grown.
But it's kind of the chicken way out... 😏
That was my attempt at humor with the usual result: crickets.
LOL. Don't be so hard on yourself. Maybe it's because I'm that dense!
I literally just wrote (this morning) about something I wrote 28 years ago. Parts of it weren't half bad!
Those are the parts I'm paying attention to right now.
I've done that, too, but I mainly remember the parts that sting now. Not the parts that sing.
I'm pretty forgiving over Younger Andrew. He was kind of an idiot who didn't know much about anything, but he thought he did. I forgive him.
I barely remember the young Ramona. I do remember that she thought she could do anything. That didn't last long.
Young Andrew lasted until about 40, as far as I can tell.
😏
The first book I wrote is now called (by me) "An Audience of One" because it is so awful. I don't know whether I should burn it when I get really old, or rely on the fact that house-emptying companies don't read stuff prior to throwing it into the dumpster. . . On the positive side, that book, in hindsight, was a vessel I created to hold non-narrative trauma "memories." Using the basic ingredients of my unrecalled past, and moving everything to a different era/country, I managed to get the story out and on paper. Very useful.
Love the thought about the house-emptying companies. Yes! But if you still have that first book, it's there for a reason. It's still serving a purpose. I'm guessing it's not as awful as you think. ❤️
I recognized myself in this post. I am in the early stages you described. I would never identify myself as a writer, just someone trying to improve. I'm going through the motions and growing pangs right now of figuring out what writing is to me and what I am to it. I really enjoyed this piece.
I'm glad it was useful. Enjoy this time, Jesse. The quest is everything! You'll discover things about yourself and your outlooks on the things that mean most to you, so none of it is wasted. And every day you'll improve. It's all good--even when it's bad.
Every once in a while I will read a piece or watch a video I made long ago and be surprised I could do something so good, 'I will not likely be able to pull that off again' I think to myself. Mostly though I experience everything you just said Ramona. I love that you had to put writer on your tax form before it was real to you, I guess we all have our line in the sand, I'm not sure what mine would be.
I think in my case I couldn't say 'writer' because I didn't know any writers. They were a complete mystery to me. How did they do it? How did they keep it going? Even when I was working at becoming a writer it seemed so much like magic.
I had to get over that in order to settle down and just do it.
II was taught that if you have to explain a joke, it was a mistake to make it!
Naw, that's too serious to be funny. Forget it. 😉
Yay Ramona, thank you, I needed to hear this.
Thanks so much, John. I love what you write!
Thanks Ramona!
Interesting. As Grandpa used to say, a lot, "always keep learning."
Thanks for your honesty. Much of what you have written has resonated with me. Inspirational!
The best is always yet to come!