WITD is like the old storytellers, not the Bards/Skalds/History keepers that repeated the same things generation after generation, so they wouldn't be forgotten, but the ones that made the world outside the firelight a little more exciting, a little more fun, a little scarier! They stoked the fires of exploration and ingenuity in the upcoming generations, and passed along tidbits of information within the stories. The pre-cursors of song, culture and music.
I'm looking forward to the start of the year, the wrapping up the old year along with the presents under the tree (okay, we currently don't have a tree, but I'm trying to actually decorate this year, things that the cats and dogs won't destroy! But, go with me for the sake of the metaphors.) And the tossing of old routines and old blockages along with sweeping out the dust of the old year before New Year's day to start fresh and unencumbered.
I have cover art and formatting to wrap up for some other authors, a couple of stories to finish and turn into anthologies, lists and tables to make (I'm not good at spread sheets), household knots to tie up and "stations" to create (Stations are going to be lists of steps to do something that I may not do for months, and so not to forget how to do them, and have to spend hours on youtube looking it all back up again, I'm going to record the "Stations", so they are ready for me, like an artist's taboret.) And the yearly Feng Xui cleaning that must be completed by December 31st.
And then... chomping at the bit, restless in the starting gate...I'm going to hit the track (metaphorically) with a headlamp on my forehead, and run into the dark (on horseback, because I don't like running). I'm pretty excited about it. And why not start now? Because I don't want the guilt that I'd feel if things aren't tidied up first. Quirk of my personality, maybe a girl thing, who knows?
I gave WITD a fair try in September and wrote the most fiction words in one month that I had ever done in such a short time! So, no more proofing the dough, it will be time to start baking!
"I gave WITD a fair try in September and wrote the most fiction words in one month that I had ever done in such a short time! So, no more proofing the dough, it will be time to start baking!"
I'm excited for you, Tiff! It's good to have a plan. The best part will come later, when you keep the critical voice from rearranging the plan. Let no excuses intervene and stop you. Go for it! Wondrous rewards await. I envy you.
I like the word "pantser." It brings to mind pilots in the early days of the airplane ss they barnstormed from small town to small town across the country.
I've never minded the term either, because of the same symbolism you think of, Bob. I've also resonated with the terms "organic" and "intuitive" since I first saw those years ago. People can call WITD whatever they want, whether they mean it in a positive or negative way. It doesn't change what I do and how I work. I no longer care whether they approve of my way of writing. While they spend time fretting over it (and plotting their hearts out), I'm writing. LOL
Yeah, I know it's supposed to mean "flying by the seat of your pants," but I don't like it as applied to writers by other writers (most often plotters). Every time I hear it, it makes me want to call them "plodders" since they outline, revise, rewrite, seek criticism, etc. as they plod their way toward a finished product. Just different strokes, I guess.
The term also brings to mind the bullies in school who used to "pants" weaker kids just to laugh at their humiliation. I was neither a pantser or a pantsee back then, but I got into a lot of fights defending kids who couldn't defend themselves.
WITD is like the old storytellers, not the Bards/Skalds/History keepers that repeated the same things generation after generation, so they wouldn't be forgotten, but the ones that made the world outside the firelight a little more exciting, a little more fun, a little scarier! They stoked the fires of exploration and ingenuity in the upcoming generations, and passed along tidbits of information within the stories. The pre-cursors of song, culture and music.
I'm looking forward to the start of the year, the wrapping up the old year along with the presents under the tree (okay, we currently don't have a tree, but I'm trying to actually decorate this year, things that the cats and dogs won't destroy! But, go with me for the sake of the metaphors.) And the tossing of old routines and old blockages along with sweeping out the dust of the old year before New Year's day to start fresh and unencumbered.
I have cover art and formatting to wrap up for some other authors, a couple of stories to finish and turn into anthologies, lists and tables to make (I'm not good at spread sheets), household knots to tie up and "stations" to create (Stations are going to be lists of steps to do something that I may not do for months, and so not to forget how to do them, and have to spend hours on youtube looking it all back up again, I'm going to record the "Stations", so they are ready for me, like an artist's taboret.) And the yearly Feng Xui cleaning that must be completed by December 31st.
And then... chomping at the bit, restless in the starting gate...I'm going to hit the track (metaphorically) with a headlamp on my forehead, and run into the dark (on horseback, because I don't like running). I'm pretty excited about it. And why not start now? Because I don't want the guilt that I'd feel if things aren't tidied up first. Quirk of my personality, maybe a girl thing, who knows?
I gave WITD a fair try in September and wrote the most fiction words in one month that I had ever done in such a short time! So, no more proofing the dough, it will be time to start baking!
"I gave WITD a fair try in September and wrote the most fiction words in one month that I had ever done in such a short time! So, no more proofing the dough, it will be time to start baking!"
I'm excited for you, Tiff! It's good to have a plan. The best part will come later, when you keep the critical voice from rearranging the plan. Let no excuses intervene and stop you. Go for it! Wondrous rewards await. I envy you.
Thank you, thank you!
I like the word "pantser." It brings to mind pilots in the early days of the airplane ss they barnstormed from small town to small town across the country.
I've never minded the term either, because of the same symbolism you think of, Bob. I've also resonated with the terms "organic" and "intuitive" since I first saw those years ago. People can call WITD whatever they want, whether they mean it in a positive or negative way. It doesn't change what I do and how I work. I no longer care whether they approve of my way of writing. While they spend time fretting over it (and plotting their hearts out), I'm writing. LOL
Yeah, I know it's supposed to mean "flying by the seat of your pants," but I don't like it as applied to writers by other writers (most often plotters). Every time I hear it, it makes me want to call them "plodders" since they outline, revise, rewrite, seek criticism, etc. as they plod their way toward a finished product. Just different strokes, I guess.
The term also brings to mind the bullies in school who used to "pants" weaker kids just to laugh at their humiliation. I was neither a pantser or a pantsee back then, but I got into a lot of fights defending kids who couldn't defend themselves.
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