07 May 2012

Dust it Off Bloghop - What I Learned

Day 1 - Pitch
Day 2 - Excerpt


Dust it Off Bloghop Day 3 - Post what you learned from this WIP. We become stronger, more rounded writers with each project we take on, and we want to know what you learned from writing Ol' Shelvy!!

What did I learn from the writing The Guardians? I learned that writing a novel is a lot more involved and takes a lot more time and energy than I could have imagined. I learned that I have a tendency to "vacuum" my setting, leaving my characters standing on a dark stage with a spotlight illuminating only them, giving my readers little to no clue where the action is taking place. I learned that I need to write more description. I learned that I am good at creating characters.

I am a poet, and therefore I put as much meaning as possible into as few words as possible. Writing a novel is a completely different animal. I'm not sure I can write a traditional NaNoWriMo of 50,000 words; maybe I am meant to write short stories and novellas. I'm never going to stop writing though.

I leave you with a poem I wrote for The Guardians:
"When Darkness and Death come against us
One who is two shall save us
Eyes as the day and hair as the night
No evil shall escape his might
He bears the mark of one and two
Left and right upon his back
Darkness shall fall but Death will take all
'Til but one shall remain of the two."

4 comments:

  1. Loved this. It's so essential to be able to point out where we need to improve--also to recognize our strengths. If we can do that, there's no choice but to move onward and upward! Great work, Esther. :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Eyes as the day and hair as the night" Love that line! And so many great points, about adding setting, and knowing your strengths! Thanks for joining us in this bloghop!! :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great poem - full of promise and hope! Glad you came away with some positive lessons as well. You sound like you really know yourself as a writer :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. First off, your poem ='s Amazing! Wow. I've dabbled in poetry and even though I enjoy writing it I am terrible at it.

    "I learned that writing a novel is a lot more involved..." So true! You don't realize, at least I didn't, all that goes into it. I'm still amazed when I read people's success stories and see the ups and downs, hard work and determination that got them where they are. Like you I also lacked description in my writing and then when I realized it I over indulged. I think I have finally found a happy medium.

    Thanks for hopping with us :)

    ReplyDelete