Chaotic UnAuthor Confessions…

Welcome back everyone, to the Writing My World blog!

I was watching a movie the other day when I got an idea for a post in the same vein as “UnGoth Confessions” which if you don’t know, is where goths make a video and admit to things that aren’t very goth, like secretly loving country music or wearing bright frilly tutus when they’re alone in their house.

Considering Halloween is only a few days away and I was inspired by goth things, this is the perfect post for today. Not only that, but my last one was a little heavy, so let’s have something a little more lighthearted, eh? Just a small disclaimer, I am not an author yet, but I’m an aspiring one, and these are a few of the things I do that don’t really go along with that career trajectory.

With that prelude out of the way, let’s jump into my worst offenses of “UnAuthor Confessions”!

1:) I don’t actually read that much

Yes, this is definitely a red flag. Any author worth their salt will tell aspiring ones to read all the time. But I never quite figured out where I should draw the line between doing the damn thing (writing) and reading to improve my skills. Seeing as I can’t read and write at the same time, I struggle to sit down with a book and actually focus on reading. My mind tends to wander towards what I want to do more, which is write. To me, it makes quite a lot of sense, but most people would disagree. I’m also guilty of chronic rereading of the same books over and over again, which obviously doesn’t introduce me to a lot of new books. I’m a very fast reader and when I do decide to read I usually mow through entire novels in a day or so. So luckily, when I do decide to go on a reading binge, I can get through quite a lot in the few days that it lasts.

2:) Grammar is not my forte

I was exceptionally good at English when I was in school, but unfortunately a lot of those lessons didn’t stick. I know the basics like the differences in word uses, (they’re there and their) apostrophe usage, commas and other punctuation for the most part, but anything involving formatting or the more involved grammar rules pretty much flew out of my head the second I graduated. Not only that, I often overthink and find myself googling basic grammar rules just to make sure I’m still remembering correctly. You’d think my obsession with writing would have caused these rules to stick, but apparently not.

3.) I absolutely love criticism in all forms, and that includes of my own writing

Authors are typically sensitive creatures involving their own work, but I happen to be the opposite. I am passionate about critiques of art, and performing an autopsy of any type of media is my definition of a fun afternoon. That includes my own work, and often I’ll critique my own work for hours. I am honored whenever someone wants to critique my work. The harsher the better. Debating and coming up with defenses and offenses to critiques is exceptionally fun for me.

4.) I have only ever finished one novel despite my enormous collection of started ones

If you’ve been around for awhile, you probably already know this, but it still makes me feel like a fraud sometimes. I’ve been writing almost nonstop for about 15 years now and I have only ever finished a single book. I have huge swaths of other books complete, but getting an ending out of me is an exercise in endless suffering. I plan on practicing being able to end a book a few more times before I’m ready to get serious about publishing, but I’ve got a few in the running for the next elusive ending to happen to them. And trust me, it’ll be a huge announcement when I manage to finish another one. I will probably celebrate with a big old Margarita and a decadent meal complete with some giant chocolatey dessert. Something deep fried and smothered in chocolate, if you will.

5.) I struggle to talk about my own work in person

This is something I’ve discussed on the blog before as well. I have a post about it here if you’re interested. I’ve become a lot better at sharing my personal writing on this blog, but I still get nervous when people ask about it in person. Perhaps I should periodically write up a short explanation and print it off to keep in my pocket, ready to be whipped out and recited at a moment’s notice. It certainly wouldn’t contribute to the growing suspicion that I am, in fact, some cryptid of the night doomed to mimic human behavior until I inevitably fade into ethereal memory.

6.) I have only started exploring genres outside of high fantasy this year

This may sound insane, but once I discovered high fantasy at a very young age, it never really occurred to me to explore other genres while I was writing. I’ve only just started doing that in the last couple of months, and I’ve been having more fun than you can possibly imagine. I mentioned one of my new projects in my last Lightning Update, but the one I’m having the most fun with I haven’t even shared with you all yet. Exploring other genres is so important when you’re writing, and it’s a great way to flex your creative muscles, so I highly recommend it if you’re like me and you haven’t even made an attempt. And don’t worry, I’ll be sharing my fun project with you at the end of this year!

Those were a few of my UnAuthor Confessions. A bit of a short and sweet post today, but I hope you enjoyed it all the same. I hope you have a great Halloween, and I hope I’ll see you next week!

Happy reading!