On FaithWriters, there are often "Challenge" topics put forth to inspire us to write, and if we do well, we may land a spot in the book they publish each year of top challenge entries. We never know what the prompt will be and last quarter's prompts didn't inspire me too much, so I didn't write too much, and I didn't get distracted too much. Unfortunately, this quarter the first topic has sent my head whirling and these little pieces of fiction- not meant to be more than 750 words has got me staring at a piece with well over 450 words to slice away.
I enjoy it, it helps me hone my craft, helps me learn the art of only using what needs to truly be said without all the fluff (the sort of stuff that fills my blog!), and helps me learn to get a story down to its meat.
The downside is it takes away from the limited writing time I have anyway. And... the sad thing is- I might get this story pretty well finished and decide it really shouldn't be submitted for whatever reason (usually because I don't think it needs to be "out there" in the e-world, floating about). It's then I feel I've wasted time- it's still practice but even so- it feels wasted.
So, tonight, after I've got supper made, the family fed, the kids in bed, a load of laundry started, and the kitchen tidied, I will have to sit down with this week's piece and decide if I want to spend the time hacking away at it with my keyboard's machete (the delete button) or if I'll just let it be. It'll be sitting there, simmering in my Lynn's Document's file until I have time to pull it out someday and either delete it for good or polish it into the gem it might be.
Time will tell, but for now, motherhood beckons and I have no choice but to answer.
Till next time.
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