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| I forgot to add a COMMA?! |
Then, there's Brother Fang!
I have no problem dealing with correcting factual errors or inserting additional information on a post to the degree of a significant rewrite, especially if it helps to give a point I have more substance to it. (If you've looked at my Heroes Two entry more than once over a span of time, then you may have experienced this already.) What gets at my insides is writing itself.
I'm fortunate now to be able to make paragraphs on a computer (and annoyed at how simple it was to do that I didn't figure it out sooner), but I'm still dealing with the spelling, grammar and literary flow of the English language, and the proper punctuation of same!
I know this is "only a blog", and in this particular media, little lapses of any fashion are the norm, but I often try to express myself beyond my current boundaries, so writing is an exercise I work at. It's mental aerobics, and I'm getting my brain back into condition. You're ringside observers to the process with each posting I publish, so I thank you all for being patient readers, no matter how many times I tinker with my writings. (Even Roger Ebert makes errors, recently writing on his blog that Jodie Foster appeared in The Parent Trap! He meant Freaky Friday, and he corrected himself within hours of the posting on Facebook.)
At times, my revisions do feel like a "Charle Brown" (a.k.a. "AAUGH!") moment, like the times he struggled with a pen while writing a pen pal, lost ballgames, or never summoned up enough nerve to talk to the "Little Red-haired Girl". Like Chuck, a lot of my frustrations are all in my head, so I need to get past my anxieties.
Having recently journeyed from Pennsylvania to Indiana (as of yesterday), I'm feeling positive the new locale may be beneficial for my relating to everybody more items from the wonderful place that is the Trivia Wing. If all goes right, I'll have fewer and fewer "Charlie Brown" moments!
Here's hoping.
Keeping it trivial....
Fang Shih-yu, Shaolin Temple.
Welcome to the club, Fang! Writing is a struggle for me too, and I also obsessively tinker with my posts. And you're right, most of the frustration is only in your head. I know from my own experience. Anyway, keep at it! And remember, your worst critic will always be yourself. Most readers don't even notice typos or grammatical errors, and if they do, they probably don't care.
ReplyDeleteStill waiting for that River of Fury review. ;)
I find myself wanting to go back and fix old posts since I didn't list film and song titles in a consistent way a few years ago. Some days, I do go back and tweak a few very old posts but, for the most part, I can let them go. I try to be consistent now moving forward. Keep up with the blog and don't be discouraged.
ReplyDeleteFang, it's scary to put yourself out there but it would probably benefit you to tell yourself that you CAN'T go back. The idea of finality will greatly change your writing process. You can hold onto the draft until you're "sure" but there is a point where you should say, GAU DIM!, and toss your post into the ring. I think it takes a certain amount of guts to be a writer; I'm sure the guys would agree!
ReplyDeleteI'm hearing that, achillesgirl! Thank you! ;o)
ReplyDeleteThank you, duriandave! :o)
Thank you, Glenn! :o)
I must be improving, then; I'm feeling certain I'm done with my tweaking for River of Fury only hours after posting it!
(Did I mention I did three pages of notes for the thing? Yeesh!)
You're not alone. For reviews,I vomit pages of free-writing until I can discover what I actually think. Only after that can I begin to construct something that makes any sense. The more you write, the better you get at the process. Henri Bresson said, "Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst." :) Is this actually your first stab at writing? I'm shocked - excellent flow, very nice voice.
ReplyDeleteThank you,achillesgirl!
ReplyDeleteYou have me blushing! ;o)