Sore Muscles
By Bethany Maines
Writing is hard.
I started out this blog with an eloquent soliloquy on the
nature of writing and deleted it in favor of the truth.
nature of writing and deleted it in favor of the truth.
Now, you might be thinking, “One word in front of another –
how hard is that, really?”
how hard is that, really?”
It’s not. The
question is, are those the right words, in the right order, at the right
time? Perhaps my statement ought
to be, “Writing well is hard.”
question is, are those the right words, in the right order, at the right
time? Perhaps my statement ought
to be, “Writing well is hard.”
But, no, I stand by original statement. I sat down last night to write
something fresh. I’ve mainly been
doing revisions for last few months and as I attempted to write something new I
thought, “Dear God, this is like pulling teeth. Didn’t I used to be able to do this? In fact, didn’t I used to do this
daily?”
something fresh. I’ve mainly been
doing revisions for last few months and as I attempted to write something new I
thought, “Dear God, this is like pulling teeth. Didn’t I used to be able to do this? In fact, didn’t I used to do this
daily?”
Apparently, I’m out of shape. I feel like a fat ex-marathoner on a treadmill, all wobbly
and confused about why things aren’t working the way they should. It made me long for the good ol’ days
when I could write a blistering pace and could sometimes finish whole chapters
in day. Of course, this isn’t the
first time I’ve been in this spot.
I’m the yo-yo dieter of writing.
I admire people who never seem to get out of writing shape. But I find it very hard to do revisions
and write at the same time. They exercise such different mental muscles that
doing both is… well, it’s probably an excellent form of cross-training, but
mostly it’s just hard. So
today, to avoid pulling a hamstring, I will be doing some warm up exercises of
six-word short stories. Feel free
to post your own in the comments.
and confused about why things aren’t working the way they should. It made me long for the good ol’ days
when I could write a blistering pace and could sometimes finish whole chapters
in day. Of course, this isn’t the
first time I’ve been in this spot.
I’m the yo-yo dieter of writing.
I admire people who never seem to get out of writing shape. But I find it very hard to do revisions
and write at the same time. They exercise such different mental muscles that
doing both is… well, it’s probably an excellent form of cross-training, but
mostly it’s just hard. So
today, to avoid pulling a hamstring, I will be doing some warm up exercises of
six-word short stories. Feel free
to post your own in the comments.
3 Extra-Short Mysteries:
- He died; she went to Cabo.
- Postman rang once, but fired twice.
- Insurance paid out – like she’d planned.
Bethany Maines is the author of
the Carrie Mae Mystery series and Tales from the City of Destiny. You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube
video or catch up with her on Twitter and
Facebook.
the Carrie Mae Mystery series and Tales from the City of Destiny. You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube
video or catch up with her on Twitter and
Facebook.
