I have come to another realization. I'm sure I'm not the first to say this, but it just happened to me, so you're going to have to hear about it.
I've been writing some short stories and things of that ilk lately, and the tone and voice of those things almost always take on thhe form of whatever mood I happen to be in. That's no news flash, but it got me thinking.
I write differently when I'm writing the short stuff. A novel is something I have immersed myself in, and I take on the form and voice of what the novel is for me. With the short stories, it's more like me blasting out whatever is in my head, guided by whatever emotions and mood I happen to be in. What I'm trying to say is that I write differently when doing these different things, and it's really helped my writing (in my opinion).
All right, I have two first drafts on my hands now. That gives me two - both very, very rough. One from this summer, and the ultra-rough National Novel Writing Month piece. However, I'm giving both a breather so I can look at them with fresh eyes.
I'm still writing every day, but like I said, it's mostly the short stuff. I thoroughly enjoy working on novels and writing short stories, and now I've found that I love the change in dynamic between the two.
They're both different, but they both work. At least they seem to work for me.
So try and broaden your horizons by writing different stuff. It might put you (or keep you) in a good mood.
You know, I've noticed the same thing. My novels--always YA, usually with some magic or fantasy. But my short stories tend to be more literary. Odd? I don't know. Perhaps it does boil down to mood. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteI write only shorts (thus far), and since the short stories tend to take a few days to a week or more to write, my mood while writing will vary. Flash fiction, on the other hand, depends greatly on my mood--cranky, angsty, playful, humorous, whatever. Since they're written in an hour or two, they're much more subject to the vagaries of mood.
ReplyDeleteWe'll see what happens when I attempt the first novel...
ooooh Carol pretty much wrote the comment I was going to leave! I write the exact same way :-)
ReplyDelete