Challenges
Today I am combining two blogging challenges into one post. Not only is the A to Z Blogging Challenge just getting started, but I also have the Insecure Writers Support Group that I do on the first Wednesday of the month. Today is A to Z’s letter ‘C’ and ISWG’s monthly post.
As writers we are hit with challenges every time we sit down to write. For me, the challenge comes with writing a multi-scene short story. I tend to get stuck at nearly every new scene which means my writing will slow to a crawl.
When writing a novel it can take me several months to get from one scene to the next. When I write a short story, the problem is the same if I want more than one thing to happen. Unfortunately, my story could take months to write which leads to losing the momentum to writing it.
Did you read yesterday’s story, Beatrix Button’s Clock? I was quite pleased that it only took a couple of hours to write. There is essentially only one scene so I could get it out quickly. I did attempt to add a couple of scenes and every time I did I was bogged down.
If I could use a wish to get through more scenes I would wish for my mind to open up. I would love to have words pour out of my imagination and land on the page and the scenes to grow effortlessly. (For those of you who are writers, there’s no need to comment about how NO scene flows effortlessly. I get it. I know it. But I can dream, right?)
Challenges to write plague all writers whether it is a short story, a novel, poetry, or a letter to Beatrix Button. To rephrase a popular quote by Joshua J. Marine, “Challenges are what makes writing interesting and overcoming them are what makes the story meaningful”.
This post inspired by:
The awesome co-hosts for the April 3 posting of the IWSG areJ.H. Moncrieff,Natalie Aguirre,Patsy Collins, and Chemist Ken!
~~~~ AND ~~~~
K.J. Scrim, Author 
That Joshua J. Marine quote is appropriate this month especially. I’ve only started writing shorts seriously in the last year. Hanging on to an idea while writing the idea can be a problem – especially when my illness means words/thoughts vanish before I’ve typed them. Time kills.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great way to put the two things together! Nice work with this. Sometimes it’s a river, sometimes it’s a trickle, and sometimes it’s like trying to get blood from a rock. I hear ya. Keep at it.
J Lenni Dorner~ Co-host of the #AtoZchallenge, Debut Author Interviewer, Reference& Speculative Fiction Author
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sorry for the delay getting your reply up…it landed in spam for some reason.
LikeLike
so far I’ve loved all your posts so far. Also, this is why I still have the second novel on the editing tray, a third half written, four, five and six in outline form…natch!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would love to have words pour out of my imagination and land on the page and the scenes to grow effortlessly.
yes yes yes. I’d cut of my right hand to have this happen–it is a bigger torture than writing with just the left hand.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m sure your dream will come true one day. Some things need time. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for sharing.
What helps me to get to another scene is daydreaming options and possibilities before I sit down to write. If I keep pondering, I’m almost guaranteed to find something I like and want to write.
But sometimes, I do get stuck anyway just like you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A good wish! To open your mind and let the words flow.
I recently realized, I need to contemplate about my stories. I sit at the computer and expect my brain to begin…doesn’t happen. I have to walk, make supper, clean, so something while thinking about my story. If I take an honest break and don’t think about it, and days pass into weeks, I lose everything, and have to start from scratch, which sometimes, is the right approach. But, to keep the words flowing, remember you can write whatever, and always change it. We don’t carve our writing on stone tablets.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think this is why I have 6 projects going at once. I lose the drive on one and move on to another. Short stories seem to be helping. I can write, and finish, in a short period of time.
LikeLike
The struggle is real. Thank you for sharing your challenges. Increasing your writing speed is a huge thing these days but it doesn’t have to paralyze us. – (Dragons & Spaceships)
LikeLiked by 1 person