Desktop Dynamo

It was a dark and stormy night...

When folks talk about really bad fiction, that line is often cited as an example of just how bad bad can get. Say that line around a writer or editor, and eyes will roll or heads will nod. Every writer has probably written a clunker or two that never should have seen the light of day. We've all got a few lines...or entire stories...we regret writing.

In my case, I've got Charles Henry.

I wrote that story in a hurry. I was probably more concerned with meeting a contest deadline than I was with the quality of the work. I'd also just gotten a favorable response in a contest with another piece of fiction, and that likely clouded my judgement. The good showing made me a bit cocky. I was sure my days of writing drivel were finally gone.

When I submit something I know in my heart is a good piece of work, I feel a sense of accomplishment. I'm proud of what I've just sent out to an editor.

The second I finished submitting Charles Henry to a fiction contest, I felt nothing but regret. I'd made the deadline, but I was worried the story just wasn't quite up to snuff.

The only way to be sure was to wait a week or so and read it again. A little time and distance might change my perspective.

It did.

When I finally re-read the story, I realized it was just plain awful. It also contained my own incarnation of "It was a dark and stormy night." In Charles Henry, that line is: "Who fights over grape jelly?"

Well, gang, once we're out of second or third grade...no one fights over grape jelly.

So why is the story still posted on this site?

To maintain a sense of integrity. To keep me honest.

Writing (for me, at least) is a one step up and two...sometimes three...steps back endeavor. Charles Henry was a solid half-dozen steps backwards. This reversal rattled me to the point that a new short story I'm in the middle of right now...one I believe has real potential...has been derailed due to an erosion of self-confidence. I'm only now picking up the pieces and trying to get things rolling again. I think it's important to let other writers know that most of us are going to hit rough patches...dry spells where nothing magical seems to be happening in our writing, where every word seems labored, dry and flat. We just need to work through them.

I've said that I am sharing my creative process on this site. Sometimes I am also sharing the most painful part of writing: Failure. Missteps like Charles Henry are a necessary part of my growth as a writer, I suppose. I will learn from it. And...perhaps...you will, too.