Playing it safe...

[Azure Skye]

So, I finished the first draft of my children's book, left it alone for a while, came back to it and...well, I'm sure you all know the reaction. It has its good points but mainly it lacks a well thought-out story. All along I accepted that I was learning as I was doing and really didn't have high expectations for the finished product. No problem.

For the past few weeks I've been studying about plot and structure. It's very obvious to me where I went wrong and I'm fixing that but I have noticed something else that is disturbing me. During my outlining process, something I thought I'd never do, I find myself pulling back when I see the story going in directions that might test the limits of imagination. Why am I so afraid to risk it all for the sake of a good story? Why am I playing it safe? How do you work through that?

[scarletpeaches]

Switch off the internal editor - easier said than done. Just tell yourself not to read back over what you've written up to that point, give yourself permission to write something that's less than perfect and you will allow yourself to edit it later. After all, as Stephen King said, "You can't edit what you haven't written."

I struggle with this myself; I'm scared of writing crap. But I've learned to trust in the magic of writing. I've ALWAYS come up with a 'fitting' way of tying up story threads, even when I start writing something with no idea of how to continue or end it. I have never written myself into a corner, never will, and nor will you. :)

[LightShadow]

cut and paste. I sometimes literally take it all out, spread it out on the floor and pull out the scissors. sounds wacky, but sometimes it works. also, don't second guess yourself too much, it'll drive you crazy. eliminate the junk, and expound upon the good stuff. keep it simple, but professional. then add flavor later.