Sunday, May 19, 2013

Update - Beware of Meaningless Talk

Here is an eternal truth:

Nothing is as exciting to you as what you are going to do next.  But what you haven't done is pretty meaningless until you've actually done it

It's one of the reasons why the blogosphere is full of beginners blogging as if they are experts on subjects they hardly know: they're the only ones actually interested in blogging about it.  (People who are experts are bored with it and want to get on to things they haven't done yet.)

And though it can be interesting to follow someone's journey into new territory, it's also one of the reasons why the internet is rife with rumors, myths and ill-considered half-truths.  The people talking the most on any subject are the ones who don't know about it.

This is also why so many beginners never advance on to an intermediate level.  They are so busy talking about what they're going to do that they get stuck right there at the point where they started talking. They settle into the comfortable spot of being the Advanced Beginner, who mentors the newer beginners along.

Which is what happened to me this week.

After 35 years of writing, you'd think I'd know better.

I probably wrote 10,000 words or more this week, prepping this update post.  I am so jazzed about what I'm doing this summer that I'm talking about it rather than doing it.

The words are not wasted -- those words contain the core of a dozen or so good blog posts for later -- but they are not what I'm doing. They are what I'm thinking about.  The theory behind my experiment, etc.  Which is fine.  But I don't need to tell you about that until I've done it.

So, for the most part, I won't.

(Other than to refer you to last week's update, if you want to know what this writing experiment is. Its under the middle section about Writing as a Get Rich Quick Scheme.)

What I learned this week:

*I write different genres and kinds of stories at different speeds. If the goal is to complete novelettes quickly, I have to first experiment with what I can write quickly. (Hint: Romantic Suspense triggers my intricate mystery puzzle plotting instinct. I love that stuff, but it goes SLOW.)

*When I try to write erotica, it takes a left turn into quirky literary territory.

*Creating a better, more productive writing schedule means taking the pulse of your life over a long time.  (Also, it's easier to mess with your schedule and habits when you're doing something "unimportant" like mercenary writing.)

*Sleep is good. (I think I already knew that, but it's a lesson I always have to keep learning.)

*Kale makes a lovely (and healthy) addition to homemade coleslaw.

*Writing Experiment + Kale = Weight Loss (Who knew?)


Story Notes on Misplaced Baroness

Really short story notes this week, to whit:

I guess the cops decided they wanted to play a real part in the story after all.  I'm thinking that I needed the interview between Plink and The Rozzers to set two things in motion.

Still doing my artwork at the last second. Must stop that.

See you in the funny papers.

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