Lost in the wilderness

Have you ever had an idea you desperately want to write about but the words refuse to flow? For a year I’ve tried to write a short story but all I have to show is countless discarded drafts.

To stimulate ideas for expression of my short story I’ve explored different writing genres including poetry, narrative and creative writing.

Reader feedback from my poetry writing attempts tells me my style is too obscure because my intended meaning is usually missed or misinterpreted.

My dabble in creative writing wasn’t much better than poetry and produced lots of chunky paragraphs containing over exaggerated description. When I read my creative writing it reminds me of someone trying to use superfluous words to appear more intelligent.

This led me to narrative style that better suits how I want to write, with characters and a plot woven into a story with a beginning, middle and end.

Recently my interest has peaked in folk tales because they appeal to my simple nature. Traditional folk tales use unsophisticated language and have a moral lesson as the underlying purpose of the story.

Usually folk tales have animals acting like humans, a problem and a virtuous message.  The setting is often in the wilderness, as the woods represent a source of mystery, danger and excitement.

“Writing original fables is a good way to use creative writing to develop critical thinking about ethical issues, consequently building moral reasoning within children”.

So what seems like a lovely simple form of expression is presenting more difficult than I thought. I’m not sure my story lends itself to animal characters nor the wilderness but let me mull it over for a while and I’ll come up with a new draft.

Somehow I will write this short story before I die, I promise.