cj Sez: It used to be that I worked better when I had a
short-term deadline. That said, I thought if I gave myself a deadline, I’d have
the incentive to keep going on the WIPs I have on my computer. Found out that’s
not true.
I have managed to bury those deadlines under weeks of
procrastination that I called “research.” It seems that the more I research,
the less creativity I have. I’m getting bogged down in discovering fascinating facts,
and the stories are suffering. I suspect I’ll be scrambling in the last few
days to get finished.
I suppose some of you might call that procrastinating. Nope,
I’m calling it delayed discipline.
How about you? How do you kick research to the curb and stay
on track?
///
Speaking of research, I try to make it my job to learn
something new every day. Today I came across the word "bildungsroman"
while I was spiraling down a research rabbit hole looking for more information
on coming of age stories. In literary criticism, a Bildungsroman is a
literary genre
"Bildungsroman is the combination of two German words: Bildung, meaning
'education,' and Roman, meaning 'novel.'
Fittingly, a 'bildungsroman' is a novel that deals with the formative
years of the main character - in particular, his or her psychological
development and moral education. The bildungsroman usually ends on a positive
note with the hero's foolish mistakes and painful disappointments over and a life
of usefulness ahead.
"The term coming-of-age novel is sometimes used
interchangeably with Bildungsroman, but its use is usually wider and less
technical."
I’ve seen the word before but never committed its meaning to
memory until now.
///
“The Apprenticeship of Nigel Blackthorn” is a coming of age
story from author Frank Kelso, a friend of mine: https://amzn.to/2V3gmZT
In 1853 Texas, thirteen-year-old Nigel Blackthorn is the
spoiled son of a Protestant preacher. When his missionary family fall victims
to a Comanche attack, his easy childhood crumbles in an instant. How will he
find the grit to survive?
///
You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the
same.
cj
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Little note: Print copies of Choosing Carter and Deadly Star
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Drop me a note to sign up for my quarterly newsletter: cjpetterson@gmail.com
Simon&Schuster
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Bildungsroman. I'm not sure if I'll manage to commit that one to memory but I will tuck it away in my research file. Thanks.
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