Tuesday, May 17, 2011

That Darn Internal Editor!

Was it just me, or did yesterday fly by at the speed of light?  As I've mentioned, I'm planning big birthday surprises for Super Spawn's big F-O-U-R.  Naturally, I have lists everywhere (A whole Excel workbook, actually.  Yes, I'm serious.) and we're fast approaching the one-month-until-party-and-vacation point.

Happy 4th Birthday To XcitefunNet Forum

Which means I'm stressing over things like baking cupcakes and finding the perfect Scooby-Doo toppers for them.  :D  Along with emergency kits of benedryl spoons and travel sized shampoo.

Then last night I was sitting with Super Spawn watching Blues Clues, and I realized that stressing over cupcake toppers should probably not happen.  ;)  But I do that -- in regular life, and in my writing -- to the point that I freeze and throw my hands up in frustration.  I'm burying myself in minutia. 

And I do it with my writing a lot.  I get so focused on trying to make sure the voice is perfect, the tense is perfect, the grammar is right on, my sentence structure is sound -- that I can't see the story as a whole any more.

Whoa!  There's a forest out there!

So for the second time in as many weeks, I'm reminded that maybe I need to relax and let go a little.  Not of my lists though.  You'll have to pry my lists from my cold, dead fingers.  They're mine.

Solving this problem is a little harder for me, but I'm going to work on it.  I can't buy cupcakes from a bakery, but I can pass the task of making them on to my sister.  And I did.  And it will be fine.  And they'll taste good and be beautiful, even if they aren't made by ME.  ;)

As for my writing, well, I'm going to give a go at writing cold every day.  Meaning, I'm not going to go back and re-read what I wrote the day before when I sit down.  I'm just going to write.  It will probably cause a few consistency issues, but maybe it'll solve that internal editor problem.  I'll let you know how it goes.

I think maybe it's All About Holly week this week.  lol  Oh well, inspiration ahoy!  Do you re-read what you write, or do you write cold?

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