The other day I decided to write for a story competition that has been running for many years. It was something I hadn’t done before, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try. They wanted the theme to be free and the genre of the story to be generally horror or fantasy. I thought about it a bit and after an hour or two wrote a story of 2000 words.
Even though they asked for a maximum of 1500 words, I realised that was the most I could cut my sentences. I haven’t edited it yet, but I’ll finish it tomorrow and submit it. The good thing is that it was my first time writing a horror mini story. I liked it. I hope to post it here after the contest is over.
But the thing is, the story made me think for a few seconds after I finished writing it. Why shouldn’t I write a story like this at least once a month?
Of course, apart from the articles I’m writing here, I’m nearing the end of the book I’m trying to get published, but these shorter stories, which will be independent and perhaps in completely different genres, will certainly not get in the way. Besides, if it feels good to write such a story in such a short time, doing it regularly will continue to give it that flavour.
On top of that, I have taken into account to raise this expectation a bit more. I have decided to write at least 1 but no more than 3 stories of different genres every month. Imagine, if this is done regularly, in 1 year there will be at least 12 but at most 36 stories of different genres.
Although the idea sounds like I’ve made a very revolutionary invention, I bet it doesn’t feel that way when I put it into words. You might think, “What’s the big deal, it’s not that unusual.” or “Shouldn’t you be doing this anyway?” No, although I try to write something every day, being organised is something else entirely. At this point I would like to come to the subject I mentioned in the title.
I don’t know about you, but every new year brings with it a different set of wishes for me, and of course there have been years when there were dozens of them. Months later, when I realise that my New Year’s wishes did not or could not come true, I get frustrated. Of course, that was in the past; now I can say that I have learnt to draw smoother boundaries.
If you are a person who is not frustrated by this situation, unlike me, then the excess of your desires is not a problem, but the fact that they are outside the perception of reality can be annoying. When people are at the height of their emotions, they make different choices than they normally think. The choices you make when you are very happy, angry or sad are usually not the right ones. If you don’t think so, ask yourself and I’m sure you’ll come up with some.
This is also the reason why most New Year’s expectations are not fulfilled. There are also very deliberate and determined thoughts, made before going to bed at night, which are notorious for disappointing them.
Since it makes the most sense to have some serious and planned plans, it sounds more positive and doable to write at least 1 story a month instead of 1 story a week. It gives you more time and the freedom to write as much as you want. This is also the reason why I kept writing here every other day instead of every day after a certain point.
We talked about expectations. Let’s talk about speed. I’ve written an article about whether or not you should write too fast. Everyone should write from the heart, in a relaxed way, and make sure it’s easy to understand.
This means that every writer’s perception is different. Some people like to write at the weekend, others at the beginning of the week. You can pick a special day and focus on that day only, or you can be a night owl. The fun of the creative process is to act according to your mood, according to your ideas. Whether it takes hours or days, the pleasure you get when it is finished is great.
Whether you’re reading a novel or writing one, break it down into pieces to complete it. You don’t have to rush through life all the time. You can if you are committed to it, but they are your creations. If you don’t work on them the way you want to, what can give you the same sense of pleasure?
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