The Hardest Part of Any Project
The Hardest Part of Any Project
The second hardest part of any project is getting it out there, the hardest is starting. Or at least that’s how I feel about it. This week I started up my next novel (working title: The Heap), which is actually the second draft of the first novel I ever wrote, but never released. On Tuesday I sat down to write the first thousand words. On Wednesday I sat down to write the first thousand words, again. And on Thursday I did the same. Starting projects is hard for me, which might be why I find myself so drawn to flash fiction right now, I can write it and get it out of the way within an hour. For longer form projects there’s planning involved, there’s drafting and redrafting. Things that I enjoy, but my perfectionist mind has a hard time letting me just go forth and create.
This perfectionist tendency has held me off from starting the projects that I really want to write. The epic scifi / historical ficion / time traveling / universe hopping / space opera that has been in my head for over fifteen years, the reason why I write, to the more introspective speculative deconstructionist literary book that has been in my head for years. These stories are hard to start because my brain keeps on changing the smallest of details to make it “better.” The Heap is supposed to be the bridge between where I am now and where I want to be, an exercise in world building, winging it when the details aren’t solid, and most importantly: getting started on those epics I want to write, and yet my perfectionist brain just keeps on getting in the way between me and starting it.
I don’t have a magic bullet to solve this issue, but I do know of some tried and true methods that I plan on employing, starting with everybody’s favorite: deadlines. So after sending this newsletter out I plan on picking a deadline to finish this second draft by and hopefully another. Ideally I’d like to finish The Heap by the end of the year and the only way I’ll be able to get there is to have some hard deadlines. But I won’t keep any promises yet. Next in my toolbox is suppressing the inner editor in my head, what matters more are the words on the paper and not how they sound yet, editing is for afterwards. And finally, the hardest one, is that I realize that I’m a much better world builder in prose. I have some notes for this story, but not enough. I like to discover through writing, I don’t like following a preplanned outline and character bios. It works for some - and I wish it worked for me - but that just isn’t how my brain works. So I need to embrace that side of me and embrace, what I call, “messy drafts.” And keep notes as I’m writing to keep it consistent.
Starting is hard, but nothing will ever be complete if you don’t begin it sooner than later.
Flash Fiction & Short Stories
Less stories here this week, but hey at least I got two for you. One about an introspective comedy about a wise man sitting on top of a mountain conversing with a donkey, and the other’s a medieval horror story inspired by Junji Ito. So you know, the usual you can expect from me. 🙃
⛰️ A Donkey’s Wisdom
I have granted wisdom from my roost of stone and cloth on the highest point of the highest mountain since time immemorial. People have come all around the globe for centuries seeking out my advice, and yet I’ve grown indifferent towards my own teachings. Until I decided to confront an immortal donkey.
🌀 Within the Tower
My journey has been long, painful, yet valiant one. After I had slayed the dragon all what was left was to save the damsel from within the tower. Instead, all I found was an endless void and something much worse at the bottom of the tower.
Recommendations
What I’ve Read
The Electric State by Simon Stålenhag
Continuing from my theme of seeking out fiction that makes me feel alone and hopeless in a desolate hostile world, and yet be inspired by awe and wonder at the same time, I just finished The Electric State by Simon Stålenhag. There are literally no words to describe the melancholy and beauty Stålenhag portrays in his work. This is a book that’s best to go in as blind as possible (I should know, I spoiled some of the experience with watching a YouTube video about it before I picked up the book). So I’ll just leave you with a random quote to help entice you to pick it up.
Lighthouse keepers were once warned they shouldn’t listen to the sea for too long; likewise, you could hear voices in the static and lose your mind. It was as if there were a code in there—a code that could, as soon as your mind detected it, irrevocably conjure demons from the depths.
That’s it!
Thank you for reading this edition of Dispatches from Quadrant Nine. See you in two weeks for another edition! For more, you can follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Reddit. I also have a small subreddit dedicated to discussing all my writing over at /r/QuadrantNine that you can subscribe to. There’s also my writing website where I post writing updates and short stories, and my personal blog where I share my own musings occasionally.
See you in two weeks!