Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Conquering Another Challenge

I realize that I am always stressing over my writing. I question everything that I write. Sometimes I write a sentence, and then re-read it thinking it needed to be changed. So, I change it, and then change it, and then change it….and it goes on like that until I have many versions of the same sentence. No wonder it’s taking me forever to get through this ms.

I know that I’m supposed to write a rough draft first and then go over it all again, but I just can’t seem to do that. I know that the first sentence below would have worked, but I changed it over and over because I thought that I could make it better. I want to be a better writer! I guess that is why I do these things. But, from this day forward, I will do a rough draft and revise later.


1. The space under the shrub would have been a great hiding place, if only the ground wasn't frozen. He would endure it as long as they were still out there looking for him.

2. His body protested the frozen ground under the shrub. He had to stay put as long as they were still out there.

3. Since they were still out there, his body would have to suffer the frozen ground under the shrub.

4. His hiding place on the cold ground under the bush would have to suffice, since they were still out there.

5. The bush was the best hiding place he could find. The only problem was that he had to lay on the frozen ground in order to stay hidden.

I ended up going with the last sentence. All I wanted to convey was that this guy had to hide on the frozen ground under a bush. It actually took me rewriting the sentence more than five times to get there. I didn't post all of them because I didn't want people to think I was nuts.

I have faith and I will conquer my issue.

2 comments:

  1. I have to overcome self doubt as well.

    I am the type of writer that the story comes to me as I write, so I really don't know how I wrote what I did. Thus giving me luxury to keep going, the bad part is 40k words later I talk myself in to reading it before I am done.
    The biggest thing I have learned is to write, write, and write. Finish a piece of work the best you can, then go back and revise, revise, revise. At least you'll move forward instead of tracing the same steps. I think every writer has self doubt chasing them down. The important thing is to out write that indecision. I wish you the best of luck and hope you hone your writing skills that suits the way you write.
    thx

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