I've been editing my manuscript for a while now, and I can't seem to get it quite right. The story is there. The words are on the page, but those words just aren't quite the right ones. Yes, they tell the story. Yes, they're grammatically correct. But they could be so much better.
Have you ever had this problem? The sentences are adequate. But just not as good as you know it could be. And now I'm getting stuck on improving them.
I know I should work on something different. Take a break and come back, yet now it's an obsession. I. Must. Fix. It.
We had a speaker last year at our writer's group who said something very obvious, yet extremely eye-opening for me. He claimed that writer's block was a fallacy (my word, not quite his). Writing is a career, a profession. Just like teaching or human resources or what have you. You never hear of a plumber not showing up for work because he has plumber's block. So why do many writers take that line of thinking?
I've been working on the manuscript Monday through Friday whenever I can manage to cram in some time. If I want to make this work as a job, I need to put in the hours, not the excuses. So here I sit, during my stolen minutes of the day, typing away, furiously trying to make it shine.
And it's not quite there.
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A Sign That I'm Really Back
4 days ago
7 comments:
I had a contractor once who didn't show up for work for a good week. I was rather angry at the time about it but hey, maybe he just had contractor's block...
I'm having the same problem with my manuscript. And I don't want to take a break on it either because it feels like I keep taking breaks and I need to stop screwing around and get it done.
If you ever need a reader, let me know...
I have times like that too. Sometimes it does help to work on something else or read something that you really love for the artistry of the prose.
I'm not sure his analogy was quite right. Writer's block isn't about a writer choosing not to work. It's about, as you described, the words not fitting right.
So plumber's block would be about the pipes not fitting right. We have a toilet at work that sticks and runs nonstop if you don't unstick it. The plumber couldn't fix it, and totally DID give up. So we have to push the sticky part down each time we use it. Which is fine for us, the employees, but we'd never make a patient/customer use that toilet. Just like we can't make a book with "stuck words" sellable to readers.
Sometimes you just have to replace the toilet!
It must have been Contractor's block. Wonder if he got through it. And thanks for the offer, Melissa. When it's ready to make rounds, I might throw it over to you.
Thanks, Sue. I'm tempted to work on something different, but terrified to as well. I'm afraid I won't come back to it. Sigh. Are other writers this crazy?
So is my story the toilet in your illustration? LOL! Just messing with you.
Don't worry, I'll still be tinkering now that my long scoring weekend is over.
Well, yeah. LOL
And yes, all writers are crazy, period. Embrace it.
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