Week #2, let's see.....
Well I'm really grateful for the group meeting we had on Friday because I was able to talk about the two ideas I had for my project in more detail with my group and ultimately decide on one - the personal narrative about getting more in touch with my Japanese heritage. Talking with Mia, Tessa, and Heidi definitely helped me sort through my ideas and my hesitations about which one I should pick and I'm really excited about it, about all of our projects!
Of course, it's still a little scary embarking on something new as opposed to continuing the stories that I've had in my head for three years, but it's a good scary I think! My mind has been going crazy about how I'm going to turn these random memories and moments from my journey into something coherent and cohesive, but I'm trying to ignore it and just go with the flow and trust that it will all come together as the process of writing it continues!
I felt like I did have a moment of serious hesitation over the weekend though. My older sister had been asking me to send her some of my work so she could read it, and I finally got around to sending her the three inter-related stories I've written. Her excitement and anticipation for more of the little series started to make me question whether I chose the wrong project, whether I should be focusing on continuing these stories instead. But then I had a little moment of clarity when I realized that just because I chose not to pursue those stories for my thesis doesn't mean that I can't/won't still continue working on them. I seem to have had it in my head for some ridiculous reason that this decision was like life or death for the two projects; as if, picking one meant the end of the other, which of course is never the case for a writer! SOOO even though I have chosen to focus my attention on this new project, I know that it is not the end of the fictional world I created within my stories :)
yea, you can have more than one project and i think you're taking this moment to get guidance and feedback on something which might be harder to brave alone. You may have the short story thing down??
ReplyDeletegood luck Rebecca!
Apologies for the late response. I'm becoming human again after a vile illness last week.
ReplyDeleteYes trust yes! Are you sitting into specific moments? Into scenes?
Once there's content to work with, the order will start to be more apparent and/or you'll get to make choices that offer meaning through specific ordering, and probably both. While it's work, it can be magical.
And yes to what Elmaz said.
And to repeat what I said when we met, all of the learning you've done in writing those stories will be of service to what you are working on now!
Yay!