My first con! I spent the whole day in my chair in front of 3 screens and multiple windows, frantically taking notes, listening to authors read their works. I got so many ideas on how to improve my writing… but I fear that I will slip into an “I’m not worthy” funk after all of this. There is so much to learn and understand. I mean, I get it, I haven’t taken a fiction writing class in 30 years, and even then it was only one class. I ordered books on characters and plotting and I know that I need to commit to putting words down.
My biggest fear, the thing I need to get over, is myself and my perfectionism. It’s a misplaced perfectionism because I know that the most important thing is to get the story out. Once it’s out, I can edit, but I get bogged down in my head and can’t finish what I start. I feel like I need to just get words words words, and then rely on my critique group to help me revise.
At this point in the con, I can’t tell if it would be better for me to work on form and story structure with the smaller structure of a short story or flash, or is it better for me to just starting plotting and writing one of the several novels I have clogging up my brain. Probably a little of both, but in any case, I need to write.
I will.