Friday Night Rewrites

2017-03-31 Miss Poison Writing Exhaustion, Friday, Honesty, Pieces Of Me, Poison In Lethal Doses, Rewrites, Stress, Writing

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I started rewrites on this novel late last night/very early this morning. I’m fifty pages in and I’ve never felt more like crying for a protagonist in my life. For the record; she’s never made me feel like this before, so I feel protective and unsure.

I thought a new introduction to the story would be better, or at the very least, give me a third option to present. Instead, I find myself struggling. I get the distinct impression this is what April is really bringing me; stress. 😦

I love this story and I’ve enjoyed writing it, but this rewrite is making me doubt myself. I hate to admit it, but I’m not a born writer of fiction. It’s not what I cut my teeth on day in and day out. My brain doesn’t function in alternative realities or universes, unless written by others. However, I AM determined to get this written. I just have to be realistic about my time and energy. I have to cut myself some slack and not expect perfection. I’m at that point where I just have to write and write well. No bullshit, no filler, no nonsense. Just pure story.

I’m exhausted and burnt out. Every time I take an hour to distract myself, I find myself back in front of the damn file, trying to work out the story and get it back on track. The problem with this rewrite though is that the others were completely on track, and this one is a new direction. The direction is scary, but I have to allow it to play out before I decide if it’s good or if it belongs in the scrap yard.

Yesterday someone told me I’m “an amazing writer”. I politely said “Thank you.” because what else was I supposed to say? However, today is one of those days where I wish I was a little less something and a little more something else. I’m not entirely sure what though. 😦

Wishing you all a peaceful, relaxing weekend. If you get stressed, keep in mind that I’m sitting in front of the screen with a migraine and neck pain, wishing this story would unfold instead of cause me emotional heartache. To add insult to injury, I need a new heating pad for my neck. I’m not sure how I killed mine, but it hates me. Bleh!

Back to the grindstone…

A Writer’s Prayer

Image 2017-03-31 Miss Poison Images/Photos/Quotes, Writers, Writing Humor, Images/Photos/Quotes, Inspiration, Prayer, Writers

writersprayer

I saw this and it utterly amused me. I hope all my fellow writers/artists can enjoy this one.

There Is Nothing More Rare…

Quote 2017-03-312017-03-31 Miss Poison Quotes Be Yourself, Beauty, Comfortable, Happiness, Imperfection, Life, Quotes, Rare, Steve Maraboli, Success

“There is nothing more rare, nor more beautiful, than a woman being unapologetically herself; comfortable in her perfect imperfection. To me, that is the true essence of beauty.” ―Steve Maraboli

A Lupus Patient’s Perspective On The Opioid Crisis

Link 2017-03-312017-03-31 Miss Poison Lupus Articles, Health, Lupus, Opioids, Pain Patients, Sarah Hauer

https://themighty.com/2016/09/a-lupus-patients-perspective-on-the-opioid-crisis/

Shut Down The Stigma

2017-03-30 Miss Poison Uncategorized

If you want your story to be a part of this, please speak now.

Frail Love

Video 2017-03-302017-03-30 Miss Poison Music Cloves, Featured on The Originals, Frail Love, Music

Square One

2017-03-30 Miss Poison Writing Drafts, Frustration, Honesty, Manuscripts, Musings, Poison In Lethal Doses, Rewrites, Stress, Telling Your Story, Writing

Square One

What happens when you’ve written multiple drafts of the same novel, in a month, and you find yourself liking both versions that are relatively complete? I suspect this doesn’t happen to a lot of people, but it has happened to me.

After staring at each of them on and off for a full day, I had a little breakdown I will call my “What The FUCK?!” moment. How was it possible that I wrote two versions, each one taking a different course of action, only for me to really like both of them? I stared at all the work done and said “Okay. You can start over, taking the best of both worlds and re-fashion the story into something stronger, and or you can do another rewrite from scratch.” And then, I bitched and moaned about having to rewrite it from another perspective.

Apparently, I don’t really know how to take a break from writing when the work is good. It’s frustrating. I feel a strong sense of responsibility to these characters and I want to tell their story the best way I know how. But honestly, I’m not sure how to do that at the moment. It makes me feel like I just wasted a month of devotion and effort, when in reality, the fact that I accomplished it at all was a combination of fortitude, stubbornness, and luck.

No one ever publishes their first draft, or even their fifth. Hell, an agent won’t even touch it if it’s not the very best version you can present. Both of these were number seven, I believe (I could be wrong, statistically it happens on occasion.). So, I am opening file number eight in the hopes that this time, I nail it. However, I’m going to stop pressuring myself to write every single day. I am going to let the story shape itself and take flight. I’m giving it a pair of wings.

This time, the story is going to be permitted to take me on a natural journey. I genuinely hope this one is the winner.

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