What's On Your Mind About Your Writing?

[Fidel]

What's on my mind about my writing? Well, a lot. I can't seem to stop thinking about writing. Sometimes it sucks thinking about it so much and writing too on top of it! ha!

Usually, I write out 1,000 words a day, but lately, it's barely 500. It seems like I can only do 500 in a sitting and then I get antsy to read it and look back on it. Like I said, I have an outline, and notes and I'm up to the 19th chapter, but I feel like I am forgetting what I write, it's nuts. Then the rest of the time, when I'm not writing, I friggin' thinking about writing. Like I said, it sucks. It's this vicious circle. And I know it won't stop till the novel is actually done, which could be a couple more months.

Anyway, your turn...

What's on your mind about your writing?

 

[Avery Moore]

I'm a step below you on that ladder. For New Years, I gave myself the resolution to write a minimum of 500 words a day. For January I was pretty good, managed to get it done most days, but through February, I've been terrible. Looking back through my diary now and I only wrote 11 days out of 27, so less than half. I decided to change my resolution to writing for a minimum of half an hour a day, instead of writing a minimum of 500 words a day, so that I could focus more on quantity rather than quality, and even that I didn't manage to get done most days.

It's so frustrating because, I know I want to write this book! I want to write this book so bad... So why am I not writing it? Ahhh!

Anyway, thank you for giving me a platform to rant about my frustrations.

 

[pmmg]

I'm a step below you on that ladder. For New Years, I gave myself the resolution to write a minimum of 500 words a day. For January I was pretty good, managed to get it done most days, but through February, I've been terrible. Looking back through my diary now and I only wrote 11 days out of 27, so less than half. I decided to change my resolution to writing for a minimum of half an hour a day, instead of writing a minimum of 500 words a day, so that I could focus more on quantity rather than quality, and even that I didn't manage to get done most days.

It's so frustrating because, I know I want to write this book! I want to write this book so bad... So why am I not writing it? Ahhh!

Anyway, thank you for giving me a platform to rant about my frustrations.

Cause you have a strategy that assures bad feelings and failure.

That why I say promise to do only one sentence a day.

 

[Karlin]

It has gotten very difficult to find time to write. I find myself thinking about my writing at odd times, but I've got too much going on in my regular life now to actually sit and pound away at my Olivetti.

 

[CupofJoe]

Recently I can write 2-3000 words in a sitting, but NEVER on what I'm supposed to be writing.
Sunday mornings are good. I can get a lot done before the day kicks off.
I need to finish something. Anything.
As soon as I have the story drafted out then... Oh a butterfly! and I'm lost.

 

[Avery Moore]

Recently I can write 2-3000 words in a sitting, but NEVER on what I'm supposed to be writing.

Vibe.

 

[pmmg]

I can pop up about 2000 words of forum posts, no problem, but writing...I dont think I ever get that much in one sitting. My average is about 700 words a day...but at 700 words a day, I just completed book 4 at 250K, so....


Biggest bane of my existence is missing words, and small errors. I cant trust my own writing to be what I think it is, and I cant trust my brain to see the errors even in proof reading. It is very vexing to me. But so many small things, likes 'is' instead of 'it', and 'of' instead of 'on', and 'an' instead of 'a'. It makes me very gunshy about publishing cause I know there are so many errors.

After that, its just interruptions. Getting interrupted while in the flow. I find it very aggravating. To the point, I don't even try to write at home anymore.

 

[pmmg]

Along with this, I wish I could read faster. I read so slowly, it is also vexing. There are so many stories I would like to read, and so many I would like to help by giving feedback and reviews to, but I am so slow at it. There a is girl on Goodreads right now, who is popping out almost a book a day. I could never do that. I am more like a book a month, slower if I am writing, and slower again, if I am editing for someone else. I put a high premium on keeping my promises, but knowing I am slow at it makes me guarded about giving them.

 

[Dylan]

Along with this, I wish I could read faster. I read so slowly, it is also vexing. There are so many stories I would like to read, and so many I would like to help by giving feedback and reviews to, but I am so slow at it. There a is girl on Goodreads right now, who is popping out almost a book a day. I could never do that. I am more like a book a month, slower if I am writing, and slower again, if I am editing for someone else. I put a high premium on keeping my promises, but knowing I am slow at it makes me guarded about giving them.

A book a month is still great, especially if you’re savouring the story or juggling writing and editing. Quality over quantity, right? That Goodreads girl might be blazing through books, but taking your time means you’re really absorbing and appreciating them. And hey, being guarded about promises shows you care about doing things right.

 

[Gurkhal]

The usual stuff. I've stated them before and shall not bother you with them again right now. Sigh...

 

[Karlin]

I can pop up about 2000 words of forum posts, no problem, but writing...I dont think I ever get that much in one sitting. My average is about 700 words a day...but at 700 words a day, I just completed book 4 at 250K, so....


Biggest bane of my existence is missing words, and small errors. I cant trust my own writing to be what I think it is, and I cant trust my brain to see the errors even in proof reading. It is very vexing to me. But so many small things, likes 'is' instead of 'it', and 'of' instead of 'on', and 'an' instead of 'a'. It makes me very gunshy about publishing cause I know there are so many errors.

After that, its just interruptions. Getting interrupted while in the flow. I find it very aggravating. To the point, I don't even try to write at home anymore.

Interruptions are huge problem for me. I write slowly (read fast, by the way), and I find it hard to get quiet time to write.
about proof reading: it's a different skill than creative writing. You can ask a friend or relative to proof read, or , if you can afford it, pay someone to do it.

I've paid an editor to edit my work (by this I mean find unclear sections, plot inconsistences and the like.) As well as proofreading. I am fortunate that I can afford to do so. I'm in the creative but sloppy category, and I am aware of this.

 

[skip.knox]

What's on my mind is whatever it is I'm writing. (Aside: no one writes a book a day, so don't let that trouble you)

I am not a fan of goals, targets, or any of that. My guideline comes from an old Unix cookie:
To be sure of hitting your target, just shoot.
Whatever you hit, call that the target.

Seriously. Unless you are writing to a contractual deadline, what is that target number to serve? And even if I hit the target, it's inadequate as a measure, for after the draft comes all the rewriting. Am I to count changing one word as one word "written"? If I delete a whole section, how does that score? What about proofreading? Because all that is part of the process of creating a finished work. Then there's formatting and publishing and marketing. It all is necessary, by which time the very notion of word count seems rather quaint.

pmmg's target is fine. One sentence; reminiscent of Seinfeld's one joke a day.

Sure there are times when I wish I could get more stories out than I do. Those times I refer to as "always". But for me there's no such thing as not writing, so I try to think more about what I write and how I write it, than how much I write. It's about the quality, and per Robert Pirsig, there's no good measure for that, outside of my own judgment.

 

[Mad Swede]

Hmm. I don't ever really think about my writing. I think about the story I want to write, think it through in detail. Then I sit down and write it. My dyslexia makes me a slow writer, and it also means I'm a one pass writer. Which is of course why I think the story through thoroughly before writing. I don't have targets for a certain number of words per day or anything like it. I just write.

There have been a couple of occasions when publishers deadlines have resulted in my writing far into the night, and then I had to be very focused on getting the words down on the page. But it wasn't about writing a certain number of words. There have been occasions when I've got so into the story that I've written all night, but that's been a sheer pleasure and I haven't given any though to how many words I wrote.

In my experience and from talking to other authors I'd say that everyone has a different process and different reasons for writing, so I wouldn't worry about setting any sort of target for the number of words to be written. Just write.

 

[minta]

I'm bouncing between many ideas in my head, but writing every day is tough for me too. I find it rather hard to get myself to stay focused on my writing. Some days I feel a bit inspired, and other days it’s hard to sit down and focus. I’d say I’m easily distracted.