Dear Starlings,
Writing can be frustrating. A couple of days ago I started brainstorming story ideas because I wanted to post something before the end of the month. I want to post something every month here—I didn’t mention that, did I? That’s a thing I’m trying to do here. As I’m bouncing some ideas around, I settle on a concept I think I like, which is encouraging. So I think deeper about it, and it feels great! The world fills in around my idea, scenes and quips are writing themselves in my head. This is amazing! I’ll bang out a short little story in a couple of days and then I’ll have something to post!
Twelve hours later and it feels like I’m trying to drag my story through molasses. A story isn’t just a series of cool vignettes in my head, there are connective passages that need to be there to make the story feel real. There needs to be consistency and flow between scenes, and they aren’t locking together correctly. Some of the cool scenes I had in mind have slipped out in the last few hours, and that’s really frustrating because I knew I’ve thought through this already if I could just access it…
And that’s writing, I guess. This is the process, turning words over in my head again and again until they fall out in the right order, and then going back over them again and again, making them stronger and sharper and brighter until they feel right. It’s very frustrating in the formative stages, but very fulfilling after it’s done. I can’t write to deadline for crap, and this is a hobby of mine, so I can afford to be gracious with myself. I can take a little more time and polish my story until it’s ready, and not beat myself up over not meeting imaginary deadlines.
Speaking of which, I’m working on a new short story! I’m breaking a personal rule here in not talking about my work until the first draft is done… Or rather, I’m testing the necessity of said rule. This story is more sci-fi in nature, set in a fictional future, and of course it’s focused on the trans experience. When I actually finish the first draft I’ll post a blurb about it here, and when it’s finished I’ll put it up on Itch. Hope you’ll all enjoy it!
Yours truly,
Daphne⭐