Simplicity

I have a problem with simplicity in my writing. That being that I have too much of it. I recognize this fact. A lot of my stories are very simple, very straightforward, and very easy to follow. I'm not really any good at making branching storylines that tie back together, or having multiple things going on at once. I know this. To some extent I can argue that it's a stylistic choice, but that can only go so far, and that is far beyond what it is that I do.

The problem is that I struggle with keeping up with complicated stories. I'm not all that bright, so I quickly forget things that are happening, and if a character disappears for an extended time, I can forget that they exist entirely. Time in a story stretches out much longer when you are writing it, and so I forget things far more frequently than a person who is reading the story might. Therefore, I pull things back, make it simpler so that I can keep track of what is happening. The story becomes one track, and there's not a whole lot of substance to it.

In theory, this is something that might be able to solved in the editing stages, but as I've mentioned before, I've never been particularly good at that. I struggle with knowing where things can be added and where things can be cut. In some ways, it would probably be worth attempting to edit every day the way I write everyday, except that I would have even less of an idea of where to start than I already do.

There is also something to say about spending more time in the writing stage. The more you write, after all, the more you get ideas of what to write, and the more you attempt to add things into your story. This can be rearranged, reappropriated, whatever. Point is, just by writing more the story can in theory become more complicated. With my habits of writing quickly, becoming frustrated when I have to slow down for any particular reason, this can be problematic. There are even times where I get to a point in the story when I simply do not know what else I can do with it because I have progressed through it too quickly. This happens at times when writing these blog points, which either results in a short post or a post with a story that seems disconnected. Which is pretty sad when you consider how short these posts are to begin with.

These are all things that are often pointed out to me by people, either directly or indirectly. I often become defensive and try to explain myself, generally with the reasons I've listed above, but I know inside of me that they're right. My stories are too simple for the interests of most people. I want to be able to write stories that people of all ages can enjoy, not just middle schoolers, which I have sometimes been told my stories remind them of. There's nothing wrong with writing for that age group if that's what you want to do, of course, and in part I do want to. But I don't want them to be the only people who enjoy those stories, is the problem.

Getting a product that a wide range of people can enjoy is no easy feat, however, and takes years of practice. Which, obviously, is what I'm trying to do. But I have to try and challenge myself to do things differently. Too often I feel that I write in the same style of story that I always have. I try to improve myself, but it can be hard to do that. This is work for me, after all, and it can be easy to just want to get it done so I can move on to other things. But I need to be more conscious about the choice that I'm making.

Nothing is simple. So neither should my stories.

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A quick note. I was out camping this weekend, and thus did not have a consistent access to the internet. I did have my phone, however, and I did write for the blog every day as I have. So, despite what the blog may say date-wise, I have not missed a day. So there.