My First Piece of Writing on the Blog (And a Bit of Panic)

I have tried posting my writing here since the very first post, but it's been a little intimidating. It's pretty silly for me to be afraid of posting my work on the internet - I've done so often in the past. I began sharing years ago and it's almost normal for me that strangers (not people I know - that still freaks me out!) read my work. From my many accounts on Wattpad to blogging itself; I feel like this should come easily to me by now.

But I have had such a hard time choosing something to post. Maybe it's because so much of my work isn't current enough - I really do need to get back into poetry, as well as writing daily. Or maybe it's just been too long since I last posted anything except blog posts.

Either way, today I have two poems to share with you guys. I would love any kind of feedback; good or bad. Let me know what you think in the comments, and link me to your own work if you'd like!

01.

Leaves falling, falling

to their doom

While naked trees

wait and wait.

Spring will bring

fresh blooms.

02.

Passenger seat,

seventy miles to the hour.

Hand out the window

easily covers car behind -

and I think:

that's how easy it can be:

Forgetting your past.

One Project at a Time

One thing I've never been good at is only working on one project at a time. Right now, I'm slowly getting back into writing and I'm only allowing myself one current work. I'm always filled with ideas and my usual way of doing things involves beginning ten projects at once and finishing one if I'm lucky.

The thing is, I want the work I do to be finished. I always look back on my unfinished work and think about how cool it would be if I actually had a complete draft. And then I think about finishing it, but I also think about finishing ten other things, and the cycle continues. Nothing gets done.

I don't know if I'm actually slowing myself down by working on just one thing, though. Although I've made the goal over and over, I haven't actually begun to write daily. Multiple projects might change that and make me more excited about writing.

One thing I know for sure is that my current story won't be completed if I begin anything else right now. And it's difficult to explain that - because I feel like it's an important thing for me to write. I feel like I need to have this story written, rather it ever gets past even the first draft. Rather I even ever piece it together enough or go back and fill in the holes where I've typed "(ADD SCENES HERE)" and planned to go back and fill in the blanks later. I don't know if any of that is important, but what is important is finding the end to this thing.

You would think something this important to me would be easily written, or that I would at least come back to it more often. But it's a huge change for me, a whole other style and new topics. And it's scary to write something so different, so I avoid it.

If you're a writer, what's the most challenging thing you've written? Do you finish your projects before beginning new ones, or do you have several that you're in the middle of? Are you any better at writing daily than I am?

Writing and Diversity

I was recently inspired by countless posts and articles to make a huge change in the way I write. To be honest, I have always been terrified of representing someone different from me in writing. What if I represent them wrong?

Failure is an awful (and admittedly ridiculous) fear of mine. Even if I'm the only one to see it. Even though I know that everyone makes mistakes, no matter how cautious. And even though I realize that it negatively affects my writing and, after all, words on a computer screen can easily be erased and fixed.

Anyway, I completely threw myself into this new project. In some ways it feels like a completely new way of writing, but really it's just a new experience. Right now it's a word document of random scenes that I hope will be turned to a novel. And every single character is different from me in major ways, most of them in more than one major way.

Before now, the most "diversity" shown in my writing was an occasional dual point of view that included a male character. Now I have a cast of different races, sexualities, genders, and personalities. The characters are interested in things I don't care all that much about myself. And it's not as difficult to write as I thought. But it is scary.

Things grew easier when I stopped trying to write a novel. Because even if this doesn't turn out to be anything linear or cohesive, it is an experience. It's a huge step for me as a writer. And I need these random scenes, whether or not they show up in any sort of final copy, to get to know my characters as people. To allow them to show themselves.


So that's where I'm at now. If you're a writer, how much diversity do you include in your work? Is it a struggle, or was it in the past? Do you have any tips?

On Doing Things You Love Daily

As a writer, I have always heard this advice: Write daily.

I have seen it extended to just about any kind of skill, really. Practice makes perfect. And the more practice, obviously, the better you will be. It's actually really great advice, especially if you care about doing whatever it is well or plan on doing it for others beside yourself. For example, if you wanted to turn something like writing into a career.

The thing is, I think there's another aspect to that as well. Because if you love something, if it's a passion of yours, then finding time for it every day is more than just helping you become better at it. For me, when I have written I feel better. Not because I have made progress strengthening that skill, but because it makes me happy and lets me put my feelings out there. It has a very positive impact on my mood and my life.

I forget this when I haven't written for awhile. If I'm honest I'm not sure how many days I go without writing something - a to-do list, email, or even blog post - but nothing seems to be the same for me as writing fiction. And it's super easy to forget this and go months without writing, simply because I didn't try hard enough to conquer writer's block or I finished my current work and didn't start another right away.

I just really wanted to point out that there are so many reasons to do things you enjoy every day. Make time for them, because there's a reason you love them. Some days they might feel like a chore, and there's nothing bad about stepping away for a day or two, but always step back. Don't let yourself forget your passion. You'll probably be worse for it.

Because One Blog Wasn't Enough

That's right. Right after my return from a blogging slump, I create another blog. Because Kittens and Books is time-consuming and sometimes writing up a post takes forever, I'm going to begin a personal blog as well.

The thing is, blogging is fun. I have been considering creating a personal blog for at least a month now, and this week I finally decided to just go for it. I have non-bookish things to say. I want to talk about writing and art and pets and life.

And I guess what I'm trying to say is hello.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by. Feel free to leave your favorite blogs (and of course your own!) down in the comments - I'm in need of more to follow.