Writing

[B.]

Who else here writes creatively for fun?

I have some questions for you.

[Optimism is my Phil-osophy]

Me too

[the panopticountolaf]

Me! Problem is, I hardly ever finish anything (if my posts in FFiction are any indication)

[B.]

Okay, so I have the exact same problem with finishing stuff. I'm currently nearly 20k words into a personal project, which is by far the most I've gotten into something in nearly ten years lol

How do you discipline yourself to write? It's one of those things that I really enjoy doing but still procrastinate sometimes. I've been timing myself for 15 minutes each morning, and just doing it in short, sharp bursts, and it's working okay, but some days I still don't get round to it.

So those of you who do write regularly, what's your routine like? What helps keep you motivated/stick with a project?

[Optimism is my Phil-osophy]

Dec 3, 2021 11:07:42 GMT -5 B. said:

Okay, so I have the exact same problem with finishing stuff. I'm currently nearly 20k words into a personal project, which is by far the most I've gotten into something in nearly ten years lol

How do you discipline yourself to write? It's one of those things that I really enjoy doing but still procrastinate sometimes. I've been timing myself for 15 minutes each morning, and just doing it in short, sharp bursts, and it's working okay, but some days I still don't get round to it.

So those of you who do write regularly, what's your routine like? What helps keep you motivated/stick with a project?

Nothing motivates me more than having to wait in a queue, in a waiting room, or having to wait for something. I used to carry a notebook with me where I used to write the stories. This worked much better than my current method of taking my smartphone and writing on my smartphone. Something on the device distracts me, probably the internet or other apps. I need to be bored to get really creative. I remember writing a lot in my theoretical driving course, and boring and unnecessary theoretical training in my work. It still felt like I was taking notes about the course... Well then... When I want to write, I look for something that I'm really bored with, or a place that I'm really bored with, and people that I'm bored with. It helps me abstract from the real world and get into my world of imagination, and then I start writing. 2020 and the beginning of 2021 were years when I wrote more and better, precisely because the opportunities to get bored were not lacking.

[Skelly Craig]

I write little poems whenever I have a bit of an idea or just an interesting pun come to mind. I don't have a regiment, though, because I'm an undisciplined bugger. Though I do force myself to expand on an idea even if I can't think of anything good, sometimes. The key is having a single thing, an idea to go on (even a vague one). Prevents staring at a blank page, which I've never done. I think just keeping at it is what successful writers/people do. When the results are negligible, chalk it up to it being a writer's workout. Congrats on 20k words on a single project!

[bear]

yeah, i never try to write something new without an idea already in my head. it's usually as small as a phrase, which i want to incorporate into something somehow, and i work around that. if i want to write but have no new ideas, i can revise old things.

[MisterM]

So obivously I write. A lot, way way more than i could possibly describe.

I used to be very strict about writing only when I had my ideas 'developed' enough, or at a certain stage. And then when I did sit down to write i had to write for x amount of time and reahc x number of words. It worked in some ways, but on reflection i think ti was holding me back creatively.

When i wrote 'Black Ink' earlier this year it was a good example of how I've compeltely changed. I sat and thought 'I want to write a snicket fic' and wrote the whole thing with no planning, no notes, no structure. I literally made it up as I went along. I had no limits except to write, and I think thats the only target you should set yourself. If you have an idea, then great. If not, it doesnt matter, the idea will come.

Oh also, I know this isn't always possible, but I try to never set myself a time limit. I generally leave myself an hour or so, but I normally won't need to use it all to get through 5 or 6 pages.

I write every single day, but to varying degrees. Most days I will also do what i call 'casual writing' for an hour each evening, normally onlv at about 25% writing most of the time brainstorming ideas. I will do this whilst listening to other things and looking at the internet, so its not verz focused, but i see it as building blocks. This is often tossing around ideas, concepts and thoughts that ive built up throughtout the day and getting them onto paper into words and formalising them a bit. Izs all very conceptual I guess. I would class this is not very formal or structured.

In fact, I was talking at work the other day about the fact that i spend 50% of the time im talking to people mentally noting down words, phrases, interactions, character traits etc so then I can write them all down when i get home, and then I wondered - how do people who not write see other people?? And, like, what do they think about in the day?

[B.]

Thanks for your answers guys, really interesting/helpful to hear.

I guess it's like a muscle- sort of the more you do it, the better you get. I freelance write on the side for work, but with that there's always the pressure of a deadline and someone paying me, and it isn't the same as doing something creatively for myself.

And I also totally relate to writing down things based on what happens to you/people you meet in real life. It's like a way of processing the world, and what happens to you, and I think I've pretty much always done that since I was a kid.

[Optimism is my Phil-osophy]

Dec 3, 2021 18:09:21 GMT -5 MisterM said:

So obivously I write. A lot, way way more than i could possibly describe.

I used to be very strict about writing only when I had my ideas 'developed' enough, or at a certain stage. And then when I did sit down to write i had to write for x amount of time and reahc x number of words. It worked in some ways, but on reflection i think ti was holding me back creatively.

When i wrote 'Black Ink' earlier this year it was a good example of how I've compeltely changed. I sat and thought 'I want to write a snicket fic' and wrote the whole thing with no planning, no notes, no structure. I literally made it up as I went along. I had no limits except to write, and I think thats the only target you should set yourself. If you have an idea, then great. If not, it doesnt matter, the idea will come.

Oh also, I know this isn't always possible, but I try to never set myself a time limit. I generally leave myself an hour or so, but I normally won't need to use it all to get through 5 or 6 pages.

I write every single day, but to varying degrees. Most days I will also do what i call 'casual writing' for an hour each evening, normally onlv at about 25% writing most of the time brainstorming ideas. I will do this whilst listening to other things and looking at the internet, so its not verz focused, but i see it as building blocks. This is often tossing around ideas, concepts and thoughts that ive built up throughtout the day and getting them onto paper into words and formalising them a bit. Izs all very conceptual I guess. I would class this is not very formal or structured.

In fact, I was talking at work the other day about the fact that i spend 50% of the time im talking to people mentally noting down words, phrases, interactions, character traits etc so then I can write them all down when i get home, and then I wondered - how do people who not write see other people?? And, like, what do they think about in the day?

You inspire me.

[Skelly Craig]

Dec 3, 2021 18:09:21 GMT -5 MisterM said:

In fact, I was talking at work the other day about the fact that i spend 50% of the time im talking to people mentally noting down words, phrases, interactions, character traits etc so then I can write them all down when i get home, and then I wondered - how do people who not write see other people?? And, like, what do they think about in the day?

That's interesting to hear. I sometimes find myself mentally drawing people with my eyes. Sometimes I use a sketchbook, but it's not always out in time and/or I know I wouldn't be able to draw as quickly as I can in my head. I'm more of a visual artist than writer, so it makes sense. I think I'd go coocoo if I was consciously noting down the things you do whenever I interact with someone, lol.

[bear]

if i see something interesting i often immediately think about how i would describe it, but i have little interest in trying to replicate chat or behavior. i should qualify that i don't write fiction, so M's technique of writing with no "ideas" could well be good advice. as i understand it, the sheer volume that you produce is an important factor in the early stages of a prose work.

[MisterM]

Yeah. When i write something more finished and complete it tends to be a bit slower and controlled than at the earlier stages.

[counto]

One thing that's important with writing is having research to help back it up. Especially if what your writing involves anything trivial related

[Skelly Craig]

I think that just applies to journalistic writing and non-fiction, no? In fiction, research can be either useful or distracting, depending on the subject and the writer's priorities.