I kind of came to see the lost of interest or author’s block as my subcontscience trying to alert me that I took a bad curve and need to fix/rewrite or abandon the story before it is late.
Once I asked Chat-GPT-chan for help, it wrote a paragraph using Ernest Hemingway prose. I told it it sucks. It dared me to do better and I re-write it more accordingly to what I think Hemingway would write and GPT-chan was like: “not bad, are we done for today?”
And I was like: “Hmpf! Yeah I am done!”
So I finished my script myself and kind of felt relieved… Ha ha.
Sometimes is good to have a editor, even if it is a AI in constant state of delirium and no long range memory.
The overwhelming amounts of text do not necessarily mean it’s good. The hardest thing is to often trim the fruits of your labour down to peels and seeds and throw away the mush.
It really sucks, too. At times I spend most of my writing WiP hours on editing stuff alone and it ends up ballooning out of control the second I want to write distinct scenes for semi-important choices.
Of course, I’m afraid. I think everyone would love to finish their work, but the reality is that life and unexpected events can get in the way. Though, that thought alone is what stops the “perfectionist mindset”—specifically mortality and nihilism. I understand that I have a finite time on this planet and anything could happen to me. I don’t have time to be worried if this scene is 100% or if the story is perfect. Also, the idea of nihilism where nothing matters also helped.
It may sound weird when I explain it, but if nothing matters, then that means everything equally matters. And if everything equally matters, then that means I get to choose what I should care about and what I shouldn’t care about. I chose not to care about the ‘toxic perfectionist mindset’ and instead chose to care about the process of creating. It helps a lot and it was pretty liberating once I realized that.
[Note: I only use the idea of nihilism in my relationship with the arts]
Though, I can understand a perfectionist mindset is quite hard to get out of, so that will take some time to get out of. I still struggle through it sometimes. However, just know that there’s nothing wrong with dropping a WIP if you don’t want to work on it. Don’t force yourself to do it, that’s how you get burnout. I think the fact that you bothered to create and struggled through it is worth celebrating. Not everything has to be a ‘finished product’. At the end of the day, it helps to give yourself compassion. Hope this helps : ]
I hate EDITING! I wanna write only. Why can’t the freaking story edit itself huh?
Its like watching a Good movie. And before you get a chance to gush about that ending you just saw…someone come and kill the fun! Now write why that movie was so much fun…
But I wanna gush about it…I don’t wanna write why it was fun! I wanna tell how it was fun…
Noooo…write it down, point by point! from the beginning. And don’t skip anything, come on! Fun homework…
If I don’t edit what I write, I usually devolve into incoherent screeching about things I enjoy. I feel it’s important to make educated explanations of the source of your interest that don’t devolve into “GIANT ROBOTS PUNCHING KAIJU WITH POWER OF LOVE GAY SCIENTISTS HOLY SHIT NEWT AND HERMANN WERE MADE FOR EACH OTHER!1!1?1!1”… it really doesn’t leave much space to continue the discussion for me.
Yeah but see, the Giant Robot punched Kaiju because he had the Gay Scientist controlling him from the LOVE Tower! And Kaiju was getting in the way of GAY SMOOCHIES! That’s why he got punched!
Well, I saw that one coming from a mile! Everyone know Newt and Hermann were gonna end up together! Like didn’t you see the Goo Goo Eyes? And those damn corny excuses Hermann had to come off with to be with Newt? Like hello…there are others peoples that could use some support!
I used Pacific Rim as an example of me generally devolving into incoherent screaming the second it’s involved and it being necessary to rein myself in into something more readable.
If Hermann and Newt won’t kiss in the third film, I’ll fill the void in my soul with something else. Maybe fanfiction. Maybe I’ll just keep dreamily staring into a wall.
I hate Editing.
