As for myself, I usually find that my first effort falls maddeningly short. The concept is there, but some zing is missing. Or there's a good punch line, but it's not delivered effectively. Or there's a certain flatness, a lack of tension, for which no amount of action and cleverness will quite compensate. Perhaps everything works, but there's a logic flaw--a glaring rip in the canvas that just can't be repaired.
Persistent cuss that I am, I usually work and work at such stories, often polishing the writing to a dazzling quality, adding snap and meaning to dialogue, bringing the world and scenes to life--and in the end find myself with a shiny silver goblet with a big dent in it.
The only way I've ever managed to fix the dent, is to stop trying, let at least a few months pass (less than three never works for me), and revisit the story after the love of the original concept, the burning inspiration that drove me to the page has worn off. Only this way can I manage to see past the blinders of the original vision. It is that, the love we feel towards our concept as if it was a living child, that makes it hard to make the changes that are needed.
But let some time go by, and now it's much easier to wield the ax, and do drastic surgery. Mind you, the patient does not always survive. Sometimes the cure is no better than the disease. But at times the distance I've acquired helps me break the boundaries of the box of my original story, and let it grow and become what it should be.
I believe everyone starts off with a personal method. In my experience, the method is bound to evolve as the writer discovers effective approaches. If there is no external feedback, the selection of effective approaches can take a long time. I don't know any "natural writers." I know writers who had some storytelling instincts and a spontaneous understanding of language. The rest is learned the hard way--more or less quickly, but always the hard way--by writing and getting feedback on one's work.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm actually one of those who births an idea and then tries to get it down. It's perfect in my head, but writing it down as great as it is in my head--hard! Lex was the first time I got that much spark in anything. Since then, I've been managing it, but I've been writing steadily since I was eight years old. Do the math and don't feel bad lol.
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