• Café Life is the Colony's main hangout, watering hole and meeting point.

    This is a place where you'll meet and make writing friends, and indulge in stratospherically-elevated wit or barometrically low humour.

    Some Colonists pop in religiously every day before or after work. Others we see here less regularly, but all are equally welcome. Two important grounds rules…

    • Don't give offence
    • Don't take offence

    We now allow political discussion, but strongly suggest it takes place in the Steam Room, which is a private sub-forum within Café Life. It’s only accessible to Full Members.

    You can dismiss this notice by clicking the "x" box

Figtrees of the Writer's Menagerie. Falling short. Oh heck

Invest in You. Get Full Membership now.
Status
Not open for further replies.

Katie-Ellen

Full Member
Blogger
Joined
Sep 25, 2014
Location
UK
LitBits
0
England
You know those times when you thought you had the chapter nailed for good, and then you look again, and you haven't....

It was a figtree of your menagerie, not even epic yet. Like @Paul Whybrow's post about Zadie Smith. She looks back, seeing only faults.

And in your mind, you hear this...

Epic Fail

It's probably structural but it should always feel like that, shouldn't it, because you're working at it, raising your bar. The better you become, the more you'll see your failings. Until one day, one day, MAYBE...

Maybe

Something is born

You thought you'd try again for birth
You thought to land again to Earth

And you'll think it's nothing.
 
Last edited:
For me, some chapters almost write themselves, and then others keep me up at night trying to make them work. It can take days, even weeks, of head scratching to sort out a tricksy bit. But oddly those are the ones I enjoy the most when I finally get them pinned down.
 
Whatever world I'm writing about, it has to follow a logic within that world. It has to make sense. Sometimes I get to a part of the plot when I want it to go in a certain way, but that does fit into the logic of my world. I get frustrated, and move on ( leaving my illogical twist in place ). Some time later I'll wake up in the night with the perfect solution, get up and correct the manuscript. Those moments of inspiration are impossible to predict, but are very welcome, and have helped my stories be believable... I think ;)
 
Aaargghh! The Epic Fail version of the 2001: A Space Odyssey theme is a musical version of someone running their fingernails down a blackboard. I think I'll have it played as my coffin disappears into the oven at the funeral directors! I like having the last laugh....

As for scenes that don't quite gel when you write them, I usually set them aside, in the hope that my subconscious will provide a solution while I'm not actively thinking about the structure. If this doesn't work, I'll write the scene from another participant's point of view, or at least imagine it, as shifting focus sometimes reveals possibilities.
 
Invest in You. Get Full Membership now.
Status
Not open for further replies.

Further Articles from the Author Platform

Latest Articles By Litopians

  • There’s More to Love Than Boy Meets Girl
    Prompted by a comment from a fellow Litopian, I delved into the far reaches of my record stacks to r ...
  • Stakes
    What are Stakes? Stakes refer to what characters stand to lose or gain as they pursue their goals. T ...
  • Until I find You
    As one wise Litopian recently said to me, ‘Titles SUCK!!’ When I wrote songs, I never had a prob ...
  • She Loved Me Not
    . Last night I dreamed of Samantha Who tore at my throat like a panther Then she started to chew My ...
  • Both Sides of the Postcard
    The sand is white and soft. The palms sway gently. The turquoise water glitters. The happy traveler ...
  • What’s in a game?
    6When my son was a toddler, he threw the mother of all tantrums at my childless friends’ house. I ...
  • The Shadow Durian
    As a lifelong foreigner, I’ve learnt that being open to new things smooths the path considerably. ...
Back
Top