good observations, J7. however, this i believe:
writing is HARD. some people have more aptitude than others, and some take courses in it, read books on it or just keep at it until they make their peace with the craft. if u ask me, i'd say borrow/buy a copy of William Zinsser's "On Writing Well" and read the first few chapters.
it's nervewracking. the empty page/text-box stares at you mockingly. what RIGHT do YOU have to spill your words here?!? you ask yourself this as you go to the coffeepot...only to realize your cup is already full.
accept this and you're on your way. you say you like to share your experiences, and i'd like to read them. let me make some suggestions--you can think them over, or discard them, or whatever. or you can read that Zinsser book--altho it's US-centric (he teaches at Princeton) it's been in print since the 70s and has sold over a million copies. partly because--it's the TRUTH about writing, distilled by someone who's really, really good at it.
your first sentence is what prompted me to write this post: "in the end the style I started writing in does not mesh well with the ending." like many who CAN BECOME good writers, you know your own situation. you're self-aware. this is farther than most writers ever get, trust me.
now i can't tell u exactly where things are going wrong, but this i also believe: you are forcing a style on yourself that isn't YOURS. that's why the beginning and ending don't mesh. u mentioned u might want to give up punting (nothing about punting says u have to WRITE about it...u cd write about another topic, the web is full of opportunities), and there may be something about the subject matter, or other stuff u read on this forum, that makes u feel u have to write in an "entertaining style" or whatever. that's what's twisting up the reports. u need to find that and say NO to it. what we want to hear is YOUR voice.
i write for the same reason you do: i want to remember. if you do want to progress in writing, you will need to do some self-editing (one of my writing teachers wrote "ALL WRITING IS REWRITING" on the board before classes, that's not strictly true, but rewriting and editing DO help bring out your voice. the one you share with. and somewhere, you're trying to force another voice in there. that's all i know for sure.
it's up to you, but i've got some exercises to try:
- start a report by writing the ending FIRST. then write the beginning. now you need to go in and fill in the middle bits, but again, try to do all this in your own words. forget this forum, forget the world. how do you want to tell your story?
- take a report you felt went wrong and read it ALOUD. that's right, read it OUT LOUD. do you notice any parts that don't SOUND like you? sometimes, an out-loud reading will flag the spots where you're trying to force it.
- you ARE discussing things at a bar, just a private one, with us, your fellow mongers. it's just a bar where we get up and read our reports aloud. ten mongers will have ten different voices, and they are ALL good. we are all different: ethnicities, language skills, upbringings, ages, experience...but we share a hobby, and we like to learn more about it.
you're already writing, and yes it's DIFFICULT to write. hopefully writing a different way (start at the third paragraph, why not?) and using your own words will help get you started. but, no one writes perfectly right at the start. for a good report, u need to go over it and fix the mistakes. a spell-checker is REALLY good because it stops at misspellings and gives u a random sample. u can use grammar-checkers too, they're wrong half the time but they also give you another look. these computer functions are self-editing tools i use all the time.
what i do: as soon as i can, i write the rough draft of the report. then i edit the fotos. then i spell-check and have a look over the text. then i go in and fix my mistakes. it's still not perfect but what the hell? it's good enough! slap it online. share, as you want to do. people WILL read it.
u did mention wanting to stop punting, that's not something i can advise you on. if it's causing problems in your life at present, probably best to give a rest for awhile. but the good thing about writing is that there are so many interesting subjects to write about, and the more u stick with it, the better u get.
make sense? do u think, well that fine, but *I* can't do it? we've ALL felt that way, J7--it's normal. writing is HARD. recently i had a session with my favorite technician and couldn't maintain an erection. my reaction was: well i'm sorry it wasn't a wild dragonfuckin' session, but ya know what: i have an opportunity to write about MY FAILURE. because i do know this gal well, and i had been sick, she understood the situation and was able through great effort on her part to get me off. i didn't like being sick but i did have the opportunity to write about my human failings. but i could never do it if i didn't have a procedure i follow, having learned the principles from many, many different people.
if you want the reports, the memories, then don't stop writing. doesn't have to be this board, this subject. just don't give up. find YOUR voice. personally, i think you want to. try to not to put pressure on yourself or have high expectations. just try some different approaches. relax as much as possible. this is a MONGER board, not the Pulitzer Committee--we've read some sloppy reports that were GREAT because the writer had a fun/unique experience and just tapped on the keys until he'd described it, and filed the thing. yr taking things more seriously--that's good, but it's also more painful. different approaches may help stop the forcing and allow words to flow. it happens.
again, it's up to you, but don't worry about the Ks, don't worry about anything, just observe and write. i think if u do enough of this, rewriting/editing will seem more like a good idea than something you don't wanna do. if posting monger-reports is your thing, this board's the place. but good writing is a VERY useful skill in many disciplines. it takes time, practice, and sometimes learning from books and other writers. but it's not like sports, where you're often washed up at 40. as a writer, 40 is where hopefully yr starting to cruise, u have DECADES to get good.
keep at it, and thanks for posting.
JtB | |
