Theshold of revelation
Aug. 26th, 2008 12:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
prusikThis is apparently the month where lessons I learned at VP pop in my head and suddenly make sense. (And they happen at the oddest times, never when I expect them.) Either I went to VP two years too early, or it just two years for these lessons to incubate (for me, anyway.)
So, I now have to go de-rivet a story. They're perfectly good rivets. Anyone who knows rivets will know that I used precisely the right rivets every time. But, you know, the train hurtling down the tracks towards the oscillating suspension bridge. The cable stays are snapping. Railroad ties are plummeting into the harbor. How will little Suzy ever get the Cummerbund of Righteousness to Tuxedoman now? Who knows? I'm busy showing you the ways each rivet on the train is almost but not quite circular. *headdesk*
(I've always thought the story was a bit long. Now it'll be shorter...)
On the plus side, I also wrote a short story, from start to finish, in the midst of a somewhat hectic work week. I figure if I can't do that, applying to Clarion [West] is a complete waste of time. This is, of course, not the same thing as doing this for 6 weeks in a row.
Ok, it was really 8 days. However, I figure if were, say, on a vacation or leave of absence from the day job, it might have gone faster. Of course, if I were writing furiously at every free moment, it might have also gone faster. (I definitely spun my wheels for at least a few hours. OTOH, I think I know how to avoid that now.)
The curious thing is that the story may be the best thing I've written yet. Certainly, it's in better shape than some stories that I've been working for months on. Actually, the story that needs de-riveting isn't in bad shape either. The de-riveting is the only change I currently plan to make to it. I wrote that story fairly quickly too.
Sometimes, I think I get in my own way.
So, I now have to go de-rivet a story. They're perfectly good rivets. Anyone who knows rivets will know that I used precisely the right rivets every time. But, you know, the train hurtling down the tracks towards the oscillating suspension bridge. The cable stays are snapping. Railroad ties are plummeting into the harbor. How will little Suzy ever get the Cummerbund of Righteousness to Tuxedoman now? Who knows? I'm busy showing you the ways each rivet on the train is almost but not quite circular. *headdesk*
(I've always thought the story was a bit long. Now it'll be shorter...)
On the plus side, I also wrote a short story, from start to finish, in the midst of a somewhat hectic work week. I figure if I can't do that, applying to Clarion [West] is a complete waste of time. This is, of course, not the same thing as doing this for 6 weeks in a row.
Ok, it was really 8 days. However, I figure if were, say, on a vacation or leave of absence from the day job, it might have gone faster. Of course, if I were writing furiously at every free moment, it might have also gone faster. (I definitely spun my wheels for at least a few hours. OTOH, I think I know how to avoid that now.)
The curious thing is that the story may be the best thing I've written yet. Certainly, it's in better shape than some stories that I've been working for months on. Actually, the story that needs de-riveting isn't in bad shape either. The de-riveting is the only change I currently plan to make to it. I wrote that story fairly quickly too.
Sometimes, I think I get in my own way.
