Welcome to Morning Pages — it’s time for a monthly roundup. I hope you’ve got your pencils sharpened and ready to write. Wanna join in on the fun? Read the prompt, set your timer* and get ready to let the words flow. Feel free to post the results of your work in the comments below where we chat about writing and (if the mood strikes us) get a craft discussion going.
If you want critique from other commenters, use #YESTHANKS in your comment. Otherwise, you can tell us about the flash fic and the process you went through to write it. And of course, I’m always open to hear what you think about my excerpts!
*you can write for as long as you want, but most folks choose 15-30 minutes.
Things I learned this month: Being a dyed-in-the-wool perfectionist who struggles when things don’t go right the first time is a *trip* when one is also a writer.
I think perfectionists come in two breeds: procrastinators and tinkerers. I’m the first breed. If something isn’t going well, or if I’m concerned it won’t go well on the first try, I’ll put it off until time ends and the oceans run dry. While it goes without saying that this is a self-destructive habit, it’s also a helluva tough one to try to break. The only ‘hack’ that helps is a hard and fast deadline.
Over time, I’ve gotten better at honoring the deadlines I set for myself the same way I honor external time pressure, but some days it’s more of a struggle than others. I had a lot of those days throughout the past month, none worse than the day I wrote the piece of flash fiction this post is named after. If it weren’t for a very real deadline (I had to write another flash fic the next day!) it’d still sit unfinished on my hard drive.
I could beat myself up about this tendency, I suppose, but I don’t think it’d get me anywhere. Throughout the time I’ve spent as a writer, I’ve had to come to grips with all of my little idiosyncrasies. If needing to game myself into finishing work is one of them, so be it — better to accept this is the way I am and work with it than to fight against my nature.
And ultimately, that’s what a writing process is, isn’t it? Finding a way to produce good work within the boundaries of one’s nature.
The Prompts:
“Your new ring likes to give you questionable advice that only you can hear.”
Mostly about the stock market.
“There was madness in her bloodline.”
Which doesn’t bode well for her subjects.
“Shatter”
What if a heart really could break like glass?
“Secret + Autumn + Ice”
Neveshir from Dark Arm of the Maker visits the shrine of an old friend.
“A rare flower is required to cure a plague. It is deadly if handled carelessly.”
“Deadly Flower“: A brave knight saves her kingdom — but at what price?
“Secret”
A young bride learns something most welcome about her new husband.
“In three days, a planetary alignment will cause the barriers between the planes to become thin.”
Grief doesn’t get lighter; we grow strong enough to carry it.
“Bone + Copper + Vulture”
“Bones“: Beware the mirages in the drylands. They will lead you astray.
“You should not underestimate her. She has exquisite aim.”
An Oceana ‘verse from long after the story ends. Imran’s daughter knows what she’s doing.
“Star + Ink + Rescue”
“Shipbreaker“: A rescue swimmer encounters a man who isn’t worth saving.
“Sin”
I’ve always wanted to write a Zorro-inspired Fantasy.
“Now that you see what I am, do you still love me?”
What if Cinderella’s stepsisters weren’t the monstrous ones?
“Protector + Veil”
When the King has triplets, two become protectors and one becomes a queen.
Picture Prompts
“Don’t Look“: Sirens prey on sailors who acknowledge the beauty of their voices.
“Blackberries“: A man remembers a lover from long ago.
“Merfolk“: Arden from the Oceana ‘verse tells a story about a long-forgotten creature.
Get Involved!
Answer the prompts or dive straight in and respond to others’ comments — let’s share our knowledge, our experience, and have a discussion we can all learn from! Don’t want to miss a post? Subscribe to the blog in the sidebar to get notified about new posts.
Questions
- Do you write well under deadlines?
- Why or why not?
Editing for Atmosphere
The Inside/Outside Trick
Patreon Updates and Tier Changes
Is it intentional that you first say he’s 23 and then that he’s 19? (Loved the story, by the way.)
For me, it depends on the exact situation. Deadlines can help me to get those words out and I’ve written a few good things under pressure, but more often than not, they diminish the quality of my writing. Sometimes they also take away my enjoyment. I often write better when I have the time to let my thoughts drift. Especially when I start from scratch and don’t even have an initial idea, I need time to play around with possibilities and let it grow. I have a few short stories where the deadline gave me such a trauma that I can’t even look at them anymore. Deadlines only work if I still have enough time to be comfortable and relax and enjoy the process.
Probably not! (Those are the exact kind of details I will never catch when I self-edit, alas — thank you!)
I definitely agree that ideas need a certain amount of time to percolate — but once I’m in ‘execution’ phase, or doing the actual writing, I find deadline pressure really helpful to get me working. Different strokes!
CEE, THIS FICLET, I—
Omg
?
<333
Do you write well under deadlines? Why or why not?
I do. So much so that I self-impose them, or at very least set myself up with wordcount-tracking systems that give me the illusion of having them. I’m a very challenge/competition/goal-driven writer, and I learned to hack that fact the moment I realized it was true at all. My competition can be others, myself, a deadline, anything—just as long as it’s there!
Honestly, I think I can only write under deadlines. Sometimes it’s refreshing when that deadline is far in the future and I don’t feel like I’m sprinting down the street while setting myself on fire, but no deadline = nothing gets done.
Stumbles across this comment again in the midst of a month-long, personally-initiated flash-fiction challenge.
I’m laughing too hard right now.
Amen.