A Writer's Notebook, One-Thousand-Eight-Hundred-And-Twenty-Two

I have decided to try writing flash/micro-fiction as part of my regular practice.  In part this is a practical decision, as I think it would be good to have some short fiction that I can post online.  As well, I do think that it is a good way to hone certain aspects of my fiction writing craft effectively.  In part, this is because I am certain that writing flash each day will push me to develop that muscle, the same way that working on other types of writing has pushed me.  There was a time when I didn't write a poem without feeling deeply inspired, for example, but now I am at a place where I can write one just by choosing to do so.  That does not mean that it is always easy, or that it is necessarily anything of value, either, but I know that I will be able to write a poem, if I commit to doing it.  Even more, I have realized that often the poems I write now are better, deeper, more connected, than the ones I created when I was waiting for the muse to visit me.  In many ways, that inspirational aspect remains, and is often stronger, it is just that I don't think of it as an external effect but as a resource that I can draw upon.  Of course, I know the greatest boon of my process is that writing is the best way to practice writing.  I'm not all that experienced in fiction, certainly not when compared with my exposure to poetry, and I believe that writing more of it will help me.   Plus, the fact that flash is so short means I can attempt to draft a whole story in one session, and it is still not a huge amount of work.  I'll get to practice figuring out all the important elements of structure and character and such, just in miniature, and I'll also get to work on a lot of very subtle ways to efficiently propel the story forward within the limited space.  I am not certain how it will go.  I might have a great deal of trouble with it, sitting and not being certain what to do or what story to tell, but I trust that is just fear and nothing real.  After all, an idea came to me as soon as I really committed to beginning tonight.  Maybe the key is just putting myself in front of that blank screen and waiting.

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