Where do we go next?

By Maverick_nc · Aug 12, 2019 · ·
  1. I recently completed the first draft of my memoir and filed it away to look at with a fresh set of peepers. Upon revisiting my work it was plain to see that, even in first draft form, it is nowhere near the level of writing I want.
    I had expected it to be poor quality so this wasn't a surprise, but what did surprise me was just how little of myself I had left on the page. It's a memoir and yet I've written at a distance.

    My standard of writing is not at a level that matches my ambition by some margin, so I'm a little unsure where to go next. I enjoy writing, but I'm not overly enthusiastic about continuing to rewrite the memoir until my standards improve. It is important to me that I tell my story in the best way I'm able.

    So, where do I go from here. I'll continue to write of course, and learn from the experienced writers on here - some of whom have been fantastic. But other than that I don't feel I'm learning quickly enough.
    I could sign up for some courses, that's one idea. Unfortunately there are no writing workshops on the island I live.
    I will continue to post bits and pieces for critique. Short stories aren't really my thing, but perhaps I should do more.

    What I'd really like is a mentor, since I learn best by examples, rewrites and corrections of my own writing.

    I'm in no way unhappy with this situation, it is what it is. I'd just like to learn a little faster!

    NC
    v_k and Some Guy like this.

Comments

  1. EFMingo
    Learning and speed are two completely different subjects that just don't run together. It's going to take time. That's alright, you've got the memoir on paper. Shelf it. It will be there when you get back, after all, it is you.

    I would suggest spending an extremely healthy amount of time editing others works. I found my writing ability improved tenfold simply off spending the time and effort to constructively pick apart all aspects of someone else's work. You gain a sense of pride in actually putting out quality edits and reviews that help other authors, and you can see mistakes that can really only be identified from a readers eyes. Also, in the desire to not embarrass yourself with a garbage review, you spend the time to really research and learn what you're talking about.

    Just my two cents worth.
      v_k, Foxxx, Some Guy and 1 other person like this.
  2. jim onion
    Maybe approach it as a journal, and pretend you're the only person who will ever see it?

    Subconsciously the thought that "other people are going to be reading this" may be intruding into the process.

    I feel you; I also learn best by having a mentor. A coach who wants the best for me, and whom I want to "impress" for lack of a better word. It sucks that this isn't easy to find anymore as a writer. I remember reading "Hemingway in West Cuba" and wanting to have that kind of experience so badly.

    But who are the literary-fiction greats of today who can match Joyce, Hemingway, Dostoevsky? I can't find them. And if I could, that means there's 10,000 other people who want the same thing I do.

    EDIT: Not that I would ever scoff at an apprenticeship to a "mere" George R. R. Martin.
      v_k and Maverick_nc like this.
  3. GrahamLewis
    I don't know what your reading background is, but there are a lot of manuals and guidebooks and so on out there One very old one but very good one is the venerable Strunk & White's Elements of Style. Just the basics, but then writing is made up of basics. The fact that you know what seems to be missing from your memoir is a good sign -- go back and try to put it in. That's the only way you will ever get there.

    And keep it mind. Most writers, even the very good ones, tend to dislike all or parts of their work, because it rarely matches the ideas you had in your head. The best you can hope is to come close. And, with effort and reading and re-writing you can do it.
      v_k, Maverick_nc and Foxxx like this.
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