August 5 question - Quote: "Although I have written a short story collection, the form found me and not the other way around. Don't write short stories, novels or poems. Just write your truth and your stories will mold into the shapes they need to be."
Have you ever written a piece that became a form, or even a genre, you hadn't planned on writing in? Or do you choose a form/genre in advance?
This month's post will be mercifully brief. I partially agree with the quote, although I disagree with the statement regarding poems. When I write poems, that is what I have set out to accomplish. I have two published poetry collections. I will provide links at the end of the post.
I tortured myself for decades because I have trouble writing novels that follow a singular track. I thought I was just a bad writer because I have a very difficult time with this. However, I realized something during the past year.
Whether someone else sees me as a "bad writer" is subjective. Whether or not I'm a bad writer, I'm a writer with ADHD. Even my subplots have subplots. So, instead of trying to create one-track novels, I tell readers from the start that they can either interpret the book as a collection of related short stories, or they can see it as a novel.
A lot of people see the progression of time and therefore the progression of stories as linear. Myself, I'm inclined to agree with The Doctor. And no, Grammarly, I am not going to change the wording to "the time." That would sound strange.
I think that like me, the Universe has ADHD.
In any case, I am no longer going to restrain my brain. Things get written the way they get written. I hope someday I may find an audience for it.
Ornery Owl Has Spoken
Ornery Owl
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The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please or Don't Please
Content copyright 2020 by Cie the Ornery Old Lady
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Where to Find My Work
You can find my poetry collections on Amazon.
You can get the PDF versions of my poetry collections and see new poems on my LBRY channel. The PDF versions are approximately half the cost of the Kindle versions.
LBRY is a decentralized marketplace where you can set your own price for the work you sell and keep the profits. If you don't have a LBRY account, you can get one here.
For even more from Naughty Netherworld Press, follow this link.
Hooray for unrestrained brains - which are frequently both more honest and creative than those in the shackles of conformity.
ReplyDeleteI've become both more and less restrained over the years. I'm more protective of my esoteric thoughts and don't readily share them with people who may ridicule or scoff at them. However, I'm more open about exactly who I am, possibly because I give a lot fewer fucks about what people think of me than I did when I was younger.
DeleteVery true about poetry. When you set out to write a poem, you write a poem. But when you set out to write a story, of any length, it can change on you...becoming shorter than you first thought (flash fiction/novella, etc) or longer (novel 50K words or even 100K+).
ReplyDeleteExactly! I go where the story takes me. I've often said that my characters write the story, I'm just the scribe. :-)
DeleteAs a fellow writer with ADHD, I couldn't agree more! After I started writing, I told myself that I'm just going to write how I write and hopefully someone will find it interesting.
ReplyDeleteThat's where I'm at too. I challenge myself to improve on my previous work, but I'm not following anyone else's rules. :-)
DeleteIt's hard to read stories that aren't linear but just because it's not easy doesn't mean the stories aren't good or worth it. You do you. I love seeing people create in ways that go beyond the "norm" or average.
ReplyDelete