so I guess since a.g.s isn't the only one who needs to have a bit of encouragement, I will repeat the Wheaton's words using my own words.
For form of writing, there is a syntax which helps the reader recognize what he/she is reading. An autobiography has a specific set of language rules, most noteably that of being written in the first person. A fictionalized autobiography will be in the 3rd person and while it will be about events that occurred in an author's life it will read differently. A personal autobiography will also read differently than one that outlines a career, or one's involvement in a part of world history as it will be more conversational than instructional. Fiction, memoir, non fiction and technical writing all have a different way of relating to the reader. It stands to reason that the author's mindset needs to be programmed for the kind of work being written.
Wil writes review/critique, memoir, fiction and blog. In each of these writing sessions the mind has to be tuned to the task at hand. And that is the problem. Writing is a creative endeavor as much as it is a discipline. When you do the creative stuff, peppering a critique with humor or developing a character or painting a new world for your reader to get lost in, it is hard to write a blog post in which you attempt to analyze the experience of writing. And every time he does he fails. So when he is writing fiction and memoir he is silent on the web. But when he is writing short essays and kvetching with us, his readers, he is doing little else.
The creative mind doesn't like changing gears in mid stream. I know fom the cretive perspective that while you are working on a piece your mind is always working even when your hands are idle. So it makes the task of transitioning indanely difficult. And editors don't like it when their clients do this either. It messes up your tenses, thoughts wander and entire chapters begin to lose the kind of continuity that makes editing a nightmare.
So if you write on a multitude of topics in a cariety of styles, you're going to have to be patient with yourself. Personally, if you can find a short ritual that will help you make the transition from style to style without feeling like an idiot... do so. Deep breathing doesn't always work for me. Sometimes changing form a hot to a cold beverage helps. Weird? I'm not weird because I think writing fiction is the kind of task that requires hot tea or a mocha. Blog writing is a Dr. Pepper kind of task. And memories put to paper scream for some comforting hot chocolate/chocolate milk. That's just my thing to do. Every author does something different. But you need something to help you change gears. Being a trekkie I like to imagine my mind as an Okudagram and using verbal commands to get the computer to change tasks in Geordies voice. THAT is weird.
So writers, lighten up, find the ritual that lets your get to your voice and quit worrying about the future. It takes care of itself. And everything takes time.
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