Road Blocks

So I’m writing along, grinding out my 500 words a day, and all of a sudden I hit this stumbling block where I think that what I’m writing isn’t very good. That I’m doing too much dancing around and not enough focusing on the real story. It’s hard to maintain perspective when you’ve been so close to a subject for so long. How much of the backstory is necessary and how much should just stay in your head?

It’s one of those things that are a part of the craft. Elmore Leonard said that he writes by just leaving out the boring parts. Exactly, but how do you know?

I’m writing this entry as a kind of diversion, a respite from working on what I need to work on. But it’s also a time to think. To try to step back and consider what the real story is, and what I need to leave off the page. For a writer, that’s just as important as writing well. Leave out too much and your reader doesn’t understand the character motivations. Leave in too much and it’s boring.

I’m going to jump back into it now, and I’ve got a feeling I’ll be leaving a lot of words written that won’t make it onto this blog. Does it still count toward my 500 words? I’m going to say it does. But I’d be a lot happier if they were words I felt sure I was going to publish.

— Ric Hess, May 26, 10:43 AM

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