Elizabeth Drakes's Site

Fantasy Romance

Perfection is the enemy

Update: I am Back

by

You may have noticed the micro fictions have resumed.

I am back.

Mostly.

So many things have happened, but it really is the same story retold. 

I spread myself too thin, then crashed.

While writing is my passion, it has to be to spend hundreds of hours with make-believe characters, it is not my day job. And my day job supports my family. A day job I enjoy. Mostly. It gets a little too stressful from time to time, but I think that is true of all of corporate America.

And true of me.

I strive for perfection and get frustrated when I don’t achieve it.

So, when a slew of things came at me at once, I buckled because I could not do them all to the level I wanted. I needed to step away and take stock.

Finally, I did.

And I recharged myself with time with my family. My daughter and I played the new Legend of Zelda Age of Calamity. If you are a fan of the series, I highly recommend it. I was not expecting it to be so good or so satisfying. And it was fun to be able to play two player with her.

Later, we hooked our laptop up to our TV, and this has opened a world of games for us to explore. My husband has found some interesting indie games, and with Steam, it’s easier than ever to try things we can play as a group.


I have learned we are a family of “pick your own adventure” movie watchers. We like games with story where we can decide what happens, but we want a strong story.

And we want choice. Or at least the illusion of choice.

And we want a happily-ever-after. Do not mess with us on that. Looking at you, Mass Effect. Yeah, I know how long ago it was. And I still haven’t forgiven them.

I was trying to ease back into posting again, and the orb series came to me.

So I wrote it. And now it won’t leave me.

*sigh*

If I had infinite time, it would become its own series. I have some fun ideas for several characters, romances, a hero’s journey, and villains.

I suppose the one thing I’ve never had to worry about is my next project.

Writing: How to Keep Going

by

Someone recently asked me how I could keep working on a story after eighteen revisions.

Some would say stubbornness tenacity, others that I might be a little crazy.

Perseverance.png

Honestly, it’s a combination of both with a sprinkle of inspiration and perfectionism.

 

Perfectionism

In writing, as with many creative endeavors, perfect is the enemy of good. It’s also the enemy of done. But, I do have a strong need to have things as perfect as I can make them. I won’t be happy until I feel like I’ve created the best thing that I can. Letting go and releasing things that are as good as I can do, even if not perfect, has actually been a journey for me. It’s one of the reasons why I sometimes struggle to reread my older work. It was the best I could do at the time, but I’ve gotten better since then.

 

Tenacity

Sometimes, the writing just doesn’t come. Sometimes, I stare at the blank page and no more than a few words appear on the screen. I still make myself sit and spend at least thirty minutes a day trying. And, I have set myself up to succeed by purposely arranged those thirty minutes to be at a time where I am not exhausted. Yes, it has meant rearranging my schedule, but it’s also increased my productivity. And, if I’m lucky, those thirty minutes will lead to more. But I have to apply bottom-to-chair to have any hope of making it happen.

Tenacity

I Love My Characters

Not sure I’m allowed to admit that I love them, but I can’t spend days, weeks, even months on ends trying to create characters I don’t love. I want them to get their happily-ever-after, so I keep working.

 

Inspiration

Sometimes inspiration guides me, and when it does, I can’t type fast enough to get the words on the page. Those are truly glorious moments. As a writer, you live for them even though they are rare and precious.

 

Crazy

Anyone who can read the same book eighteen times and still be willing to rewrite it again? Yes, we have our share of crazy.

crazy

 

 

How about you? Any of you have tips on how to keep at something you know needs to be done but may have lost the inspiration to do?

 

8 Things I've Learned About Being a Writer

by

The one thing about us writers is, well, we write. I’ve been writing on-and-off since I was twelve, but I’ve been known to put it down altogether for long stretches.

Perhaps you’ve even put it aside from time to time, too.

For me, the longest I stopped writing was when we decided to start a family. There was an amazing amount to do to get our lives ready and *so* much to read.

Why don’t babies actually follow what’s in the books?!?  Do you know how many times I showed my infant what the “experts” had written as she continued to never sleep unless she was being held?

parent-meme4

Even with all this preparation, we were totally unprepared for the realities of being parents.

I fell into the routine many new mothers do and spent very little time on myself. If I wasn’t at work, I was with our little one.

After my second daughter was born, I watched a lot of TED talks. They were interesting, and they didn’t mess with my new-mom emotions. This one by Larry Smith , convinced me to start writing again. I literally got an old notebook that afternoon and started jotting down ideas.

I attempted to write that story. I mapped it all out, complete with plot and character outlines, applied bottom to chair, and churned out 50k words in five months.

Then shelved it.

The characters weren’t working. The plot was there but forced, even though I’d diligently followed my outlines.

a9ed842f739e930dc8e9340bafbbaeaf77994c50c74fc6a86b046b54cb9b2c59
Except, you know, when they don’t.

I tried revising it, but my hero would’ve rolled his eyes at me if he could. It wasn’t his story. I’d been so busy sticking to my plot-points and outlines that I hadn’t listened to the characters.

I gave up and started a new novel. I plotted nothing. I let the story unfold as I wrote it. I completed the first 50k draft in three months. It was a rough first draft. Very, very rough. But it worked, and I loved the characters. I wanted to see them get together.

I still remember the climactic ending coming to me as I was driving to work after dropping the kids off at daycare, and I had to pull the car over and write it down before I forgot it. That’s when I knew the story was really working.

I’ve managed to write three more full novels in the year-and-a-half since, in addition to my full-time day-job, blogging, and two small children. Here’s what’s worked for me:

 

  1. Write Every Day – I’d originally thought the more I wrote, the more burned out I’d get. Not true. It’s amazing how creativity inspires more creativity. Writing is a skill, just like anything else. The more you do it, the better you’ll be. Sure, I can still get on a bike and pedal it, but teaching my oldest child to ride a bike made me realize that the elliptical machine does not keep you in shape for bike riding.

 

  1. Carve out Writing Time and Defend It (Even from Yourself) – My spouse has been amazingly supportive of me getting back into writing, and he’s agreed to be the primary parent for an hour each night after the kids are supposed to be in bed (yeah, you other parents out there know that’s a big “supposed to”). But if I spend that hour surfing the net, I’m stealing the time from my writing as surely as my daughter is stealing my patience when she comes out for her third cup of water.

aw

  1. Keep a Notebook – my mind does amazing things while I’m walking, driving, or when I first get up in the morning. But those thoughts will dissipate like fog in the noon sun the moment I get back inside, the engine turns off, or I swing my legs out of bed. I need a notebook to write these amazing bits of creativity down. My phone works well for this, too.

 

  1. Perfection Is the Enemy – get that rough draft down on paper. If you want to make changes, make a note of it and keep going. You can polish a rough draft. There’s nothing you can do with a blank page. Finish the story. Crappy is still done and gives you a place to start rewriting.

 

  1. Give Yourself a Couple of Months Before You Edit – This is one of the biggest things I learned with my first completed story. I was too close to the characters, the plot, and even the writing itself. I spent a lot of time “editing” that was really just patting myself on the back for what I’d written. When I went back and looked at it two months later, I had a much clearer view of what needed help.

 

  1. Find a Good Beta Reader – a good beta reader is worth their weight in Starbucks. They’ll help you see plot holes, character issues, and other things you’re too invested in your book to see. If you’ve got a good beta reader, of course you’re going to follow their advice even if it means a painful rewrite.

beta-reader

  1. Read, but Read Critically – Lots of writing advice says you have to read a lot to be a good writer. I think this is over-simplified. Reading is helpful only if you take the time to figure out why one author engages you but another doesn’t. Why do you like a character, hate them, or think they’re too stupid to breathe? Why are you on the edge of your seat reading this thriller but not that one?

 

  1. Take What Works for You and Toss out the Rest. Writing is a creative endeavor. What inspires my muse may drive yours away. Some writers swear by an outline, whereas it brings out my type A personality.

 

 

How about you? Any good writing tips you’d like to share? Anything that’s worked for you? Anything that hasn’t?