ARRRRRGH!

Elias Graves · Jan 3, 2011

Why do I do it? I've wanted to write fiction since I was a boy. Every effort is met with mediocrity despite some terrific story ideas.
Songs, on the other hand, come forth without warning or explanation. All the time, I write them down, work them out on the guitar and play them, looking for that great prose inspiration to strike yet it remains covered in cumbersome sentences and disjointed thoughts.

The tattered loose ends of her heartstrings still are tangled

I mean, when a line like that comes to you, it can't be ignored! I'll obsess over that one all day and tomorrow I'll have another title in my catalog. Yet, all I long for is that one great narrative.

I know, "Quit complaining and use your gifts."

How does one handle the conflicts of desrie and reality?

EG

Caitlin Black · Jan 3, 2011

Practice.

And being obsessive and anal probably is a double-edged blade. It helps with practice, but it can make you too much a perfectionist. And how do you overcome perfectionism?

Practice.

...

Is there any reason you want to write novels more than be a musician? It sounds like you have a real knack for music. If I had a knack for anything, I'd happily pursue it. Unfortunately I'm middling at everything creative, except painting/drawing, which I suck at.

whacko · Jan 3, 2011

Hey Elias,

I find that I'm either writing music or writing novels. Never together, strangely enough.

But it's as Cliff says: practice. You want to play Little Wing? You need to learn the notes and play them in the right order.

Same with writing fiction. Get the idea, work out the harmony.

But it all comes down to trial, error and a bit of luck.

Or practice, as it's called.

ARRRRRGH!

Elias Graves

Unrealistically Optimistic

Caitlin Black

Wild one

whacko

Keeping up with the class