Chapter 1, Scene 2 | Miranda O’Malley was at the Black Goddess, sitting at her usual table, sipping a tall milky green glass of New Viridian. Sketcher was late, as usual, so she toggled back and forth between...
"It’s challenging because I want to keep ripping it apart and trying to fix. Not sure if that’s an ADHD thing or an autism thing or a me thing but it’s hard to resist."
I think it's a writer thing. :-)
All writers are probably neurodivergent in some way, I suspect.
I shudder when I see some of my stuff after it's been published. I encourage you to just say, "The h--- with it," and let it fly. You're a good writer.
Hi Charles! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and encouragement! I don’t think I’m a bad writer necessarily but I do find writing challenging. I read a great book by literary professor and critic Julie Brown, however, called Writers on the Spectrum that helped me better understand my specific issues. There is a fine line, I think, (in writing and in life) between "fixing" things and staying true to your own authentic self. I do absolutely struggle with it. I just shared an article I wrote a few months ago on autism and the narrative process here on Substack. Please check it out if you are interested :)
I'll look for it, thanks! I'm glad you didn't consider "All writers are probably neurodivergent in some way" dismissive. I definitely didn't mean it to (it sort of sounds that way when I see it now!).
I'm in my mid 60s and we just didn't have much info on any of this stuff when I was young. Who knows what kind of undiagnosed stuff is coursing through my brain? It's nice to see the medical profession has made some progress helping people understand this stuff. I know, too, there's a lot of work to do there.
I also absolutely understand the challenge. If I had mastered the self-confidence part of writing, I wouldn't have waited until my sixties to try to get stuff published. I only tried once when I was young. I sent an sci-fi story to Omni Magazine. Ellen Datlow was the editor. I still remember the name because she didn't send a form letter. She wrote several paragraphs of encouragement in the rejection letter and described the parts she liked in the story, and told me to try again. I never did even though I was actually pretty thrilled to get the personal response.
I absolutely agree with you about confidence!There are so many different ways that people struggle creatively and it can very hard to get out of our own way. A tendency towards perfectionism (or its ideal) has been a huge stumbling block for me. I am self-publishing for the first time too! Now that the vampire story is on hold for beta reading I've gone back to an old epic fantasy romance (if that's even a genre) and am kind of toggling back and forth between that and the new story. I am really looking forward to reading your book (and determined to get mine out by the end of the year).
Thanks. It’s a dark comedy of sorts, and doesn’t follow the typical vampire genre. I did my own thing there aside from borrowing a few established myths. I hope you like it!
"It’s challenging because I want to keep ripping it apart and trying to fix. Not sure if that’s an ADHD thing or an autism thing or a me thing but it’s hard to resist."
I think it's a writer thing. :-)
All writers are probably neurodivergent in some way, I suspect.
I shudder when I see some of my stuff after it's been published. I encourage you to just say, "The h--- with it," and let it fly. You're a good writer.
I also love the name of this substack.
I'm glad you like the name :)
Hi Charles! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and encouragement! I don’t think I’m a bad writer necessarily but I do find writing challenging. I read a great book by literary professor and critic Julie Brown, however, called Writers on the Spectrum that helped me better understand my specific issues. There is a fine line, I think, (in writing and in life) between "fixing" things and staying true to your own authentic self. I do absolutely struggle with it. I just shared an article I wrote a few months ago on autism and the narrative process here on Substack. Please check it out if you are interested :)
I'll look for it, thanks! I'm glad you didn't consider "All writers are probably neurodivergent in some way" dismissive. I definitely didn't mean it to (it sort of sounds that way when I see it now!).
I'm in my mid 60s and we just didn't have much info on any of this stuff when I was young. Who knows what kind of undiagnosed stuff is coursing through my brain? It's nice to see the medical profession has made some progress helping people understand this stuff. I know, too, there's a lot of work to do there.
I also absolutely understand the challenge. If I had mastered the self-confidence part of writing, I wouldn't have waited until my sixties to try to get stuff published. I only tried once when I was young. I sent an sci-fi story to Omni Magazine. Ellen Datlow was the editor. I still remember the name because she didn't send a form letter. She wrote several paragraphs of encouragement in the rejection letter and described the parts she liked in the story, and told me to try again. I never did even though I was actually pretty thrilled to get the personal response.
So, yep! I understand!
I absolutely agree with you about confidence!There are so many different ways that people struggle creatively and it can very hard to get out of our own way. A tendency towards perfectionism (or its ideal) has been a huge stumbling block for me. I am self-publishing for the first time too! Now that the vampire story is on hold for beta reading I've gone back to an old epic fantasy romance (if that's even a genre) and am kind of toggling back and forth between that and the new story. I am really looking forward to reading your book (and determined to get mine out by the end of the year).
Yup, getting out of my own way is the biggest challenge!
Thanks. It’s a dark comedy of sorts, and doesn’t follow the typical vampire genre. I did my own thing there aside from borrowing a few established myths. I hope you like it!
Loving this story!
Thank you!!!