Bad poetry time!

In my mind
I caught a dream,
and tried to cage it
with my pen;
But it slipped away
through the black and white
taking its glory with it --
leaving me only a shadow
of that beautiful vision.


I wrote this little poem years ago in an attempt to describe the writing process. It holds true. Stories I have in my head seem absolutely amazing...until I start putting them on paper. Then all of a sudden there are lonnnng boring scenes with nothing going on, unrealistic characters, over-the-top drama, poorly written description...you name it. I don't like writing imperfectly. NaNoWriMo is a help in that, but I still go through a lot of mental struggling.

This year my struggle is that I don't have a clue about police procedures or court proceedings, so I'm reading my own writing and thinking, "Gosh, this writer is pathetically ignorant! And she reads too many old detective stories...what a bunch of hooey this is." I'm obsessing about little details like whether or not someone would be allowed to sleep in the house where a murder took place, or whether they would be asked to go, and if they had to go, would they be given a place to stay? And where would they be interviewed as a witness -- right there on-scene, or at the station? And would they be allowed to come to the station on their own if they're a potential suspect (but not yet enough of a suspect to be arrested), or would someone take them there? Etc., etc., etc. My writing came to a completely standstill for a day because I was trying to figure out that last, and I gave up without finding an answer. Ugh!