I know it probably comes off that I’m some free-stylin’ word slinger with my talk of no re-writing. That isn’t really the truth at all. In fact, like most (all?) early writers I struggle with micro-managing the words.
What do I mean?
I mean…sometimes I focus too much on the right word, or the right sentence structure, at the expense of story. Or, at least, that is my impression. Maybe the story suffers or not, I honestly don’t think I can tell. That’s something a reader can tell much better than the writer.
But…
I do catch myself doing this. And I don’t know what the answer is (?). I like to think that as I write more, and gain more confidence this will just sort of fade away.
Any writers out there a little further along with words of wisdom? How about some of you at similar spot in your writing journey, do you face similar struggles?
–TD
*on the plus side 3,000+ words on the current novel today.
Tony D. Writes Pulp Fiction 
Yup, been guilty of that a long whilte back. For me, figuring out it was the characters’ story, not mine, is what broke the habit. Now I just let them tell me the story (in their words). When I cycle back through what I’ve written (about every thousand words) I allow them to add what I missed. Occasionally they change a word or phrase. So my big key is to remember the characters, not I, are living the story.
LikeLike
That’s a good reminder. Thanks
LikeLike
Definitely not ahead of you in the world of writing, but wanted to say I still struggle with this as well. I get we’re the worst judges of our own work, but I can’t help but feel it would be worse if I didn’t clean things up a little. Maybe that’s a good reason to just try a few stories where I just let it go, submit them to markets, and see what happens. Couldn’t be any worse than my current form rejections. Hah.
LikeLike
Thanks, Phillip. Nice to know I’m not alone.
LikeLike