Tag Archives: writing

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Writer’s improvement hell

Screw you spell-check! I mean it. I’m a terrible speller, and it’s all your damn fault. I also blame you for my awful grammar. Okay, neither are so bad, but they really could be a lot better (insert angry spitting and what not)! I blame part of the problem on really bad habits developed by relying heavily on grammar and spell-checkers to notify me of problems then offer helpful suggestions along with an immediate remedy (right-click replace). The habit formed over a number of years, starting with college term papers, and now infiltrates my e-mails, memos, project plans, and also my creative writing.

So, why’s it a problem? I mean, those tools are there to help right? Yes, that is the claim. The first (minor) problem is that when I really get into a scene, I mean I’m really into it, I’m seeing the scene, not so much the words (I am conscious of things like word choice but I’m not really seeing those words. I can’t explain how this works, except to say it’s a lot like day dreaming in rush hour traffic – I get there, but haven’t got the foggiest how), and so I’m also not really paying attention to those nice little squiggles beneath my misspelled and out of place words. This is exacerbated by the fact that I’m writing a fantasy and a very large number of names aren’t in the correction database, so the writing is already full of squiggles (yes, I know this is an easy fix, and I should do it, but I’m reluctant all the same) That’s fine, I suppose, I’ll just catch it on the next read through, which will occur as soon as I’m finished with the scene or whatever. Yeah, I suppose that works, when I’m paying enough attention on the second, third and fourth run-throughs.

The real problem is that relying on those auto-tools not making me a better writer. I think my story is suffering for various and sundry mistakes that I’m unconsciously expecting to be noted or even corrected for me. Sure we all make them, and I do try to focus on improving those habits, but the damn bad habits are now so ingrained it’s like pulling teeth to focus on getting it right.

My solution? I don’t have one for my grammar issues yet, still working that out. Possibly fixing the exact same problem about sixteen thousand times will get me there (I wish this were a joke 😦 ). Spelling though, that one is simple. Instead of using the right-click replace trick we’re all so fond of, instead, I’m checking the spelling with that tool, and making the corrections by hand. That, I think, should help me learn to spell more words correctly the first time, naturally, and will help me to work toward being a better writer.

Also, to come clean on this a little. This idea came out of technical necessity, rather than just having a good idea. I run Ubuntu Linux instead of Windows, and though I long for a Mac, it’ll have to wait. As a result, many of my applications aren’t quite as well tested as other platforms, so when writing a blog post, for instance, I can’t highlight and replace text. It locks up the keyboard and I have to re-start the browser. So, all of my spell-checking has to be done manually (right-click replace causes the lock-up as well). When I started doing this, I realized that it was a good way to actually re-learn how to spell words.

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Progress report

Last week sometime (the week before maybe? I don’t remember) I made the decision to insert a chapter into a section I had previously called done (well, not done, but solid draft anyhow). Being a holiday week, I spent a lot of time with family and friends, and so had written off any progress being made until safely after the holidays. However, and in spite of my belly-aching about big stretches of upcoming re-writing, I finished the first (super-rough) draft of the new chapter last night. It’s a short one, coming in at about 3500 words, but it’s there, and I can work with it. Yay! This puts me at about 68K words drafted. Some of it needs significant re-writing, all of it needs lots of polishing and I will need to cut a few bits here and there totaling maybe a chapter’s worth, but it still feels like progress! My plan is for somewhere between 3 and 5 chapters left to draft up, but they’re all mostly mapped out. I think I have one plot-gap that needs some serious thought, and could prove to be a sticking point, but everything else is set up so that whatever the case, I should have plenty to work with in filling it in. I’m aiming at 80-100 words for this story, and it looks like I’ll probably hit that target. Anyhow, so progress is being made, and it feels good.

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Taking compliments

In some ways this is an end of the year sort of post, and in some ways not so much. I’ve been working on my story idea for years. Though, it’s only been the past couple of years where I’ve gotten really serous and only the past year or so where I’ve gotten nearly manic over it. This spring or summer, I can’t recall which, I finally made the decision to confide in a friend and co-worker. The only other person really aware of this project had been my wife. In retrospect, I think telling someone else about what I’ve been working on was a good idea. A few months after I had done that, I arranged to take a couple of weeks off work to spend with the kids and also write. My employer does, after all, have exceptionally generous leave policies, and so it makes sense to take advantage of those where reasonable. Anyhow, after having confided in someone other than my wife and not feeling stupid or ashamed, I felt emboldened to mention my endeavors to some other co-workers. Again, I think a good idea. Of course, starting this blog has helped to in a rather unexpected way, it’s helping me to keep my confidence and motivation up.

One of the reasons it has been a good idea to tell others about the story, is the possibilities for review. I am always interested in hearing fresh perspectives. Yes, those can sometimes sour my mood to the point that I just want to set the story down for a while (I’m convinced this comes with the territory. If you’re an aspiring writer you’ve probably had this experience), but I also recognize these opinions are essential to the revision process.

So, from one of those reviewers today I got some feedback. I’m not going to lie. It was of the ego-inflating variety of  feedback that put a smile on my face. Something to the effect of: “I’m enjoying the story for what it is, and I’ve got a few nit-picky comments you ought to work out, but I need to read more before I can think about those.”

Holy crap! Maybe my stuff doesn’t suck! Then evil Dave says ‘Well, perhaps I’ll concede it doesn’t suck, but that doesn’t really mean it’s any good.”

This sort of internal dialog makes it super-hard to take compliments graciously, or even take them at face value. That said, I think what I need to do is simply say thank you, and leverage those compliments as motivation to continue writing, and continue listening to what others might have to offer by way of suggestions or criticisms.