A question for those who somehow made writing into a habit...

[The Dark One]

Very similar to the way I work CM. I never force it and spend a lot of time with my brain (apparently) in neutral while it finds solutions to problems without any help from me. Having said that, I do write nearly every day but mainly because I've done it for such a long time it has become second nature.

 

[Caged Maiden]

Yeah. I've found my most productive time is 10-noon, but whether I can utilize that particular block on any given day is up in the air.

I have written almost every day for the last three years. And by "write" I mean outline, type hand-written manuscripts, or edit, too.

 

[Twook00]

After a solid week of writing at least 500 words every day (and, yes, a week is a big deal for me), I'm beginning to learn a few things. Obviously, take this with a grain of salt because, let's be honest, a week straight is not all that impressive.

1. Your internal editor must be turned OFF. The problem is that my IE's on/off switch appears to be broken, so I've had to tape his mouth shut.

Really, though, I'm starting to see just how liberating it is to write a crummy first draft. By not focusing on the words, I find it much easier to lose myself in the story I'm creating.

2. 500 words isn't all that much. It takes no time to do and I still make progress. It doesn't seem very substantial, but if you consider 500 words a day for 365 days a year, that's over 180,000 words.

Plus, if what I've come up with (story wise) is terrible, it doesn't hurt all that much to scrap it since I'm not losing much work to begin with.

3. Planning ahead has been very important, at least for me. I typically do not like outlining because I lose interest afterward. I enjoy writing off the cuff but often find myself in corners or too tired to think of anything worth writing. So, my compromise this week has been to plan the next 500 words only. I have the overall story loosely plotted in my head, but not the details for any given scene until the day I plan on writing it. So far, its been effective.

4. This one is obvious, but is something I'm still coming to terms with. Writing can be fun, but it's an awful lot like exercise. It can be very intense and takes loads of effort, even in small bits. The thing to remember is that getting started is usually the hardest part. Once you sit down and start putting words on the screen, the day is yours.

I'll add that this thread has been immensely helpful this week. Thanks again for all the great suggestions!

 

[Bansidhe]

I'm glad we could help, Twook! I tend to refer to my internal editor as the Infernal Editor (horns and all), so I've elected to arm my Divine Muse with a crossbow to keep him quiet--then I do my prep work, grit my teeth, and dig in. Planning ahead DOES make all the difference in the world, and I'm glad it's working for you.

Remember, above all else, that you aren't alone. We're all right there with you, at all levels of this gig, struggling right along side. It's only in pulling together the struggling doesn't seem quite as hard!

 

[Helen]

A question for those who somehow made writing into a habit...

Learn to write anywhere, anytime, in any condition. If your flight is delayed, whip out your iPhone writing app and knock out a page. When you're filling up at the gas station, go to the restroom, sit down, do your business and knock out a page.

Write one page a day. It can be a small page with big fonts. More if you can, but not if you don't feel like it. Soon you naturally exceed the one page minimum. Try and write that page on a scene that'll be in your story. Else write that page about something/whatever and see if you can use it later.

Works for me.

 

[Caged Maiden]

the thing to remember.. and I really believe it, is it takes a million words to really get good. I did it, many others here have done it, and it shows. I crit for a lot of peopel nd it's blaringly obvious on the first page, whether someone has their foundation behind them or not.

Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. I just recently read a story that blew my socks off, and I was dumbfounded to find out that writer has been at it for a very short amount of time. Unfortunately, it didn't come as easy for me. While i was happy with the tales I was spinning, I realized I have severl weaknesses and several strengths. The goal for the last few years has been to overcome (or avoid) my weaknesses while I slowly learn to turn them into strengths, and to use my strengths as often as possible to make my stories better.

So, if you find you are terible at fight scenes and they turn out as flimsy, choreographed messes... write a bunch of them. Do them as short stories or challenge entries. Just keep writing them. And ask people here to read theirs. Ask someone who's confident to explain how they do it. That's how I learned to overcome my weaknesses. I actively tried to work through it, using help from others and my own intuition, until I had something I'm really proud of. Fight scenes were one of them, that's why I used it as an example. Research and practice go a long way.

The thing is, if you can set aside one hour a day to write 500 words, you'll soon become in a habit of writing. Soon, that hour turns into two or three, and 500 words turns into 2k or 3k. I write about 1k words per hour in first draft. If i get hung up on a name, i sinmply use placeholders: "BROTHER looked at Austin and shook his head, disapproving with his frown..." It doesn't hurt the flow of the writing and then I can find-replace the word if i need to later.

I would say I've written most days of my life, since 2001. Again, that includes time I drew pictures, doodled a map, created name lists. The point is, my mind was figuring things out and words came later. I might have taken weeks or months off in those years, but I was always thinking.Sometimes a random thought would turn into a scene. Sometimes the old lady with the hunched back in the doctor's office, would turn into a secondary or background character. I've been a writer for twelve yers and I'm ready now to become professional. It was a long road for me, longer than most, because I was mostly writing for amusement, not a goal of getting published. I believe everyone's rad is as long as it is. Finding shortcuts through the woods is part of the fun and the people you meet along the way are sometimes friendly and good fr company, or sometimes they share their secrets and help you find a shortcut that speeds your journey r get's you back on track when you've ocme off the road.