I’ll be absolutely honest. I’ve been having a difficult time with my time travel piece. It’s in part because I haven’t made the time to sit down with it, and also because the rest of my life has been running me down like I’m a tunnel digging prison escapee.
At the moment I’m hiding in a metaphorical ditch while life shines its spotlights across the marsh from only a few feet away. The slightest breath and I might have to go be an adult and do life things. So let’s make the most of this time together before life finds me and throws me back in the clink.
I’ve noticed something about that time travel piece that’s really getting to me and it’s not just that I’m struggling to even like my protagonist. Granted, he’s a burglar, so you’re really not supposed to like him but I’m not convinced it’s the best choice for a short piece that won’t give him much time to grow.
The length of the piece is also very much in question for me. I had originally set a goal of fitting the whole story into about 1,000 words. Over half way to that goal I hadn’t gotten out of the beginning. I took notes and wrote out ideas of what I wanted and it seemed like this was a story that was way bigger than just 1,000 words would hold.
In every form of writing we have to decide on what to talk about and what to skip. What scenes go into your movie, your comic, or your play and which ones get cut? What does the audience need to know and what scenes do the best job of moving the story forward? There are no easy answers and there’s a good chance you’ll have to cut things that you like to make your work better.
I’m going to give my project another try, this time without a word limit. Once I’m done, I’m going to try to edit it down to 1,000 words. The reason I want to do that is because it’s hard for me. I want to grow. I think that when I have the entire thing written out I’ll know what’s most important. I already have a good idea of the theme and the feel I’m going for.
If we always avoid difficult tasks, we will always find our tasks difficult.
Robert JV Christensen
How to Write like an Octopus 
Wise words. Look forward to reading more of your writing
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Thanks, Matthew!
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You’re so right about the angst involved in deciding what to leave in, what to take out, and what really works to move our stories along towards the point we are trying to make. Some sentences sound really great but they do little propel the piece along. Still, it’s hard to toss out a good one once you’ve come up with it whether it serves the larger purpose or not!
I thank you for all of your encouragement.
Stuart
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Thanks so much, Stuart, for your thoughtful comment! btw- It’s easy to encourage you cause you keep producing such great work!
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I write what I know about (which is pretty limited!) and am thankful that some people seem to enjoy it. I know you understand the joy that writing itself can have, but we also get joy knowing it’s actually being read! So I thank you for that joy.
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