Test 2 - post 1

Here is another test

Test 1 - post 1

here is a test post

Kicking Things Off: From Idea to Habit

I've always been in love with writing. Crafting narratives that plunge complex, relatable characters into exciting situations and painting wondrous fantastical scenes in the minds of the reader. Exploring ideas that could never be possible in reality. Breaking free from the mundane that is everyday life.

Except that isn't exactly true. To put it more accurately: I have always been in love with the idea of writing. Growing up, there would be times when I sat down at the keyboard and hammered away a scene or two, smiling as I envisioned a grand plot with twists and turns that would captivate my audience (or at least, myself as I wrote it). But my greatest downfall, that which kept me from ever really writing, was that I never wanted to return to the same idea when I finally worked up the motivation to start writing again.

Pages upon pages of unfinished, nay, barely started books sit gathering virtual dust on my machine. I could fill a small bookshelf if it were as simple as planting these pages in soil, watering them, and in time harvesting a full book. I know I'm not the first aspiring author to have these failed stories haunting my hard drive. And as those of you who share my problem know well, there is no simple fix. Sure I could peruse the old archive, find an idea that piques my interest, and run with it. But I know that like before I will eventually lose interest.

Why does that happen? That is the question I struggle with every time I think about writing again. Whenever I feel inspired to write some new scene (or book if feeling ambitious) I think about all of the old failed ideas and wonder if it would make more sense to just continue one of them and make some actual progress. In doing this multiple times, I have found a few answers to the million-dollar question:

Inspiration can be single-minded.

When I feel inspired by something, whether it is an original idea or some show, movie, or piece of art, I want to craft a new story that draws directly from that inspiration. I do not want to adapt an existing idea to include the new one.

Inspiration can be fleeting.

After pursuing an awesome idea for some time, I will return to writing that story less and less often, until finally taking a break. When I think about writing again, I won't have that same inspired mindset that I did when I started the story. Thus, I will feel less motivated to continue.

Coming back to a mess can be discouraging.

Being a successful author is not easy, that should come as no surprise. Anyone can have a cool idea. But it takes a lot of dedication to write a book. In the past I have tried writing perfect scenes before moving on. Revising and rewriting until fully satisfied with each segment from plot to prose. But I have found that this tactic is tedious at best, and I never get very far. I have since decided to write messy (with a bit of cleanup) and move on. And while I consider myself decent at writing scenes on the first pass that are pleasant to read and full of fun literary devices, I am (admittedly) overcritical of my own work. When I think about writing again I am discouraged by the idea that the story I left behind isn't good enough to continue. Whether it is clunky wording, missing details, (unintentionally) awkward dialogue, or plot choices I am not happy with, any number of these messy mistakes make coming back to a story difficult.

In short, I fail to produce a finished story because I only write when I feel inspired by something, and do not want to revisit existing ideas because they no longer interest me and I am daunted by the challenge of fixing my old mistakes.

So how do I propose to solve this problem? Well, I believe the solution lies in breaking away from a reliance on fleeting inspiration and starting to write on a consistent basis. I intend to make writing a routine part of my life rather than a rare occasion. Hence why I have created this blog. Having my work out there in the public eye provides me with a two things. One: having some kind of schedule establishes a soft deadline which will hopefully motivate me to write more regularly. And two: if people find my blog and are interested in my work, they can provide me with useful feedback.

I am hoping that this blog will help me to become more consistent with my writing. Writing on a more regular basis will not only improve my abilities, but also allow me to eventually reach my goal of publishing a book. I hope that you all enjoy the content that I will be publishing here, and welcome any constructive feedback you have to offer. Thank you for stopping by!