Weird Creativity Cycles

[the_gneech]

It's weird how my creative impulse works; it flits from topic to topic like a butterfly, landing on one just long enough for me to get interested, then flies off before I can get anything accomplished.

This past week, I've been interested in sword & sorcery, largely due to Return of the King I imagine. In the weeks before that, I was interested in my new Michael Macbeth novel idea, probably the lingering effects of rereading Prisoner of Azkaban and watching the preview for that. Suburban Jungle is not particularly prominent in my mind right now, taking something of a vacation while I think about other things, but I am aware of it bubbling quietly on the back burner.

I happened to remember today the Soloman fragment, "The Stones in the Desert," which has been posted in pieces in my LJ previously. In some ways, the story of my writing is all right there: interesting character, cool hook and setup, absolutely no idea where it's going, and never finished. I came up with a plot to graft onto the beginning I wrote, but then when the time came to write it, I found I had no interest in it whatsoever -- not that I wasn't interested in finding out the ending to the story, I was! Just that the ending I came up with, didn't satisfy.

At least with the new Michael story, I have the ending worked out -- it's just that I have to come up with a beginning and middle that lead to it!

I wish I could figure out why I have so much difficulty with the plot part. Characterization, setting, and prose are easy! But coming up with what happens, that's the tough part!

Edit: Addendum. I wonder if maybe I'm trying to hard to be brilliant. Maybe I should start with "not bad" and work it up from there. A lot of stories that I've enjoyed tremendously (Robert E. Howard in particular), were nothing all that special really when it came to plot, but were told in such a pleasing way that it didn't matter.

-The Gneech

Comments

[kelloggs2066.livejournal.com]

One thing I noted while reading a particularly popular author:
He wrote with such verve and descriptive ability that you *almost* forgot the fact that nothing was happening by way of a plot.

In the meantime, I prescribe rest, relaxation, and Vitamin B-1.
Oh! and waking up in the middle of the night and being bored but unable to sleep always kinda helps me.

Scott

[elektron.livejournal.com]

Which author would this be?

A couple times, I've started writing because I didn't want to sleep, or I had a good idea while going to bed. Unfortunately, those are too rare to rely on, unless I want to finish the story in 2010.

[torakiyoshi.livejournal.com]

I know the feeling. My novel has a setting and a general direction it wants to head, but no plot.

-=TK

your addendum has your answer...

[mammallamadevil.livejournal.com]

don't try to make it perfect---throw a few things at the wall and see what sticks, and let your imagination and talent flow....

MLD

[jamesbarrett.livejournal.com]

Even with all that, you still have more than I do and that still makes me jealous. Only now, I know that if I gave it a little more effort, I might catch you now. -Frisk

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

I've known that for ages! I just keep wondering why I have to tell you over and over again. ;P

-TG

[jamesbarrett.livejournal.com]

Cause sometimes I get Stooopid. -Frisk

[praeriedog.livejournal.com]

      I had a friend once who was a freelance inker doing comics for Marvel and DC and others. Andy Mushyinsky. I've probably slaughtered that last name, Andy, and if so, I do apologize. It has been a while. But he once gave me a piece of advice that's highly appropriate here. "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing badly." If you worry about it being perfect, it'll never get done. Do it badly if that's how it comes out, just do it. Then you'll have something you've finished, and you can polish it if you like. At least it'll be finished.

      You did that with SJ I think. Not that it was bad by any means. But your art has improved since then, and in another 5 years, it'll have improved from where you are now. But you look at your art and you know some of the strips you draw are better than others, but still you post both of them. And people like all of it. So why is your writing any different? Sure some of it isn't perfect. That doesn't mean it isn't good, or likeable. And all the writing you do, both good and not so good, will help to improve your writing on the whole.

      That's my problem with Hantamouse. I don't care if what he's wanting to send is good or not, send it anyway. He once sent a "Do-it-yourself" New Morning Star, and it was all over the place and I had to make sense of it all on my own. I loved it. It didn't look as good as the depressingly very few others he'd done and sent, but I loved it just as much.

       Write anyway. Don't be perfect. Just be.