Vicious Cycle

[valyssia]

Does anyone else ever get the sense when they’re writing that what they’re really doing is making a mess? Is that just me? I can’t produce much more than a thousand words without going back to remove the rough edges and sort out the chaos. And even after I do that, I feel like what I have is still just a mess.

Nothing I write is ever worth reading until I’ve gone over it enough times that I can bear to look at it anymore…which of course means it’s not worth reading.

Comments

[adrianneb78239.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you're not the only one who writes like this. This is the reason why takes me forever to post something. I even do that when I posting comments like this. I often have to go back and add a word that I missed or delete some passage to make what I'm trying to say come across more coherent. Writing, I think is the only section of my life where I become a I exert this level of perfectionism on.

[valyssia]

Well, it's nice to know I'm not alone...in a couple of ways. I'd fix the word salad for you if I could. Don't stress. Happens to me all the time. I pick up chunks of text and move them somewhere else, or edit a new idea in...and 'presto' instant beta badness. You have to feel for Howard.

I actually find that if I let something I've written cool for a couple of weeks and pick it back up, a lot of the problems pop with a quick skim.

Val

[adrianneb78239.livejournal.com]

Yep, you're diffidently not alone. I also agree that you if leave something wrote alone for awhile and come back you'll be able to see your own work with a new preceptive.

I was laugh at the fact when I read something I wrote from a long time ago that it either not as bad or good as i thought it was originally

[shebooya.livejournal.com]

I'm the opposite, the more I read/edit what I've written, the more I dislike it and notice all the flaws.
There's a word for this, isn't there? Encroachment, maybe?
So I figure your 'vicious cycle' and my 'thingy' are they're own conclusion. That's not a bad thing! It's the way the cookie crumbles... or I guess, the way the cookie is vciciously chewed to be swallowed easily? lol

[valyssia]

The flaws you see are exactly why I keep going. I hammer on the piece until I've knocked them all out. It's a process, an arduous one.

Nothing's ever good at first draft. Or so I'm told.

Val