pleasantly surprised and mildly deflated

it always surprises me, this resurgence of will for writing. no matter how disillusioned, how tired or discouraged i become and tell myself to take a break, not to pressure myself so much--i always return. i can't seem to make myself work on the novel, but this seems to be more of a self-confidence problem than a writing lust problem. no fix for that but to jump in and fricking do the thing, i think. *sigh*

a friend recently suggested i schedule one day a week to work exclusively on the novel--no matter what, if only for an hour or two. i want to try this; progress is progress, and a whole hog's butt better than what's happening now.

i wonder sometimes about fixing up my short fiction and submitting collections for publication, too--one horror collection, one magical realism. i know getting short fiction collections is even more difficult than novels, but i have the stories written. i know how to edit short fiction.

one thing i've noticed is my waning interest in critiquing others' work--for me, critiquing takes much more energy than writing. i need to project myself into the writer's mind, to intuit their intentions versus the product, and gauge whether they've achieved their goals with the work and if not, why? and if so, how? it's a lot of thinking, and each new critique reveals to me my own weaknesses with story structure. also, it's difficult to keep putting effort into critiques for people when i rarely receive one more than a step above, "dude, this was cool. rock on!"--on www.writing.com--not helpful, although i appreciate the sentiment.

even my goto critique site, www.scribophile.com, has its limits; and i notice myself posting for my critique fix and then feeling bitter because i just don't get the rush i used to from receiving critiques. i need to step back from so much interaction and focus on deepening my stories. and, of course, facing my novel demons. gack. well, i hope the writing life is good for everyone here, amidst the ups & downs. i admire you all, who plod onward in your effort to connect with readers everywhere.

the corn conspiracy

official monday prompt:

i've been perusing ted.com again. love that site. great for thinking about topics i wouldn't otherwise encounter. like, here's one that struck me:

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/michael_pollan_gives_a_plant_s_eye_view.html

michael pollan ("The Omnivore's Dilemma", "The Botany of Desire") speaks about agriculture in a way that most people haven't considered: what if, instead of mankind manipulating the crops, the crops are manipulating mankind? silly, right? well, give michael a listen and see where you are.

great exercise in shifting perspective.

it's prompt monday!

official monday prompt:

this week, try exploring the first kiss. can be romantic, sure. but how else could it be? terrifying? disgusting? hilarious? parasitic? i'm just sayin'.

i challenge you to evoke this universal first experience, but to do it without resorting to the cliche. make us live this kiss in all its technicolor glory.