What I (Would) Write
I don't write much fiction for a few reasons. There are a number of stumbling blocks, as it were, that I just can't seem to step over cleanly. The most annoying one is a simple writer's block, when I sit down and I can't even begin to think of anything to write about. Sometimes I do write something, but I decide it sounds like crap on re-reading it and just scrap it because I don't like the idea. Of all the things I've written, I only really LIKED two, and only one of those was finished. One was a short story I wrote for a Senior Writing final in high school, written in thirty minutes, inspired by a picture; this is the one I finished. The other was an attempt at a longer piece. Based on the opening it would have been around novel length, though I'm a firm believer in letting the story be as long or short as it needs to be. It was a fantasy piece, inspired by nothing, and I got about 10,000 words in before I stopped writing it. That one I lost the will to continue because of other issues in my life at the time, and I lost it to a reformat a few hard drives ago. No big loss. The reason that story stands out is it was the only time I'd ever, to that point, re-read what I'd written and thought "hey, I really like this," not "wow, I really suck."
I've never given up on my dream of writing. My ideal life would be remarkably similar to how Johnny Depp lives in
Secret Window, really, though I'd probably choose a location that allowed me to have horses and shoot in my back yard. Wyoming maybe, or Colorado. I can't put to words the image I have in my head
(I could but I'm not going to spend the next few hours finding the right words to do it justice and I won't cheapen it with less), but it makes me very happy to even imagine. I believe that some day, possibly even in the near future, I will write something I can be proud of. However, being the realist I am, I know that it's incredibly unlikely that I'll ever be able to live off of my writing, assuming I can even publish.
When I think of writing
something, most of the time I think of fantasy or science fiction, which is really dictated by what I'm reading at the time. If I'm reading fantasy, the fantasy ideas flow, and likewise for science fiction. I have a lot of ideas in both genres, but so far I've hardly been able to force my ideas from my brain into my fingertips and onto the screen. I'm somewhat less interested in writing realistic fiction, or rather, I'm equally interested but I have far fewer ideas. Historical fiction is enjoyable to read, but I doubt I'll ever write any. Lengthwise, I like the idea of the trilogy for science fiction and fantasy, while I prefer short stories and single novels for realistic fiction. I guess the reason for that is when it comes to fantasy/sci fi, I get to create an entire world, and there's a lot more to explain and show the reader than in the world we know. Unless, of course, I choose to write a sort of alternate reality fiction where the reality we know is subtly different but eerily similar. I like the sound of that...
Anyway, the piano movers will be here soon
(we sold the piano... sigh), so I'd better get ready. Maybe when they're done I'll write something.
