Shouldn't time make one better?

Mr Sci Fi · May 22, 2008

In my case, the more I work at writing and the more time I put in, the worse I get. I just went over a few manuscripts that I wrote a year ago and compared them with more recent work. Needless to say, the stuff I'm producing now is Grade A crap.

Is this common? Maybe I've got too much stress on my mind. (I'm in the processing of transfering colleges right now). Either way, this past month has been nothing but a struggle with writing.

I suck.

Maryn · May 22, 2008

Mr Sci Fi, we all suck, some of us mightily. A few days, weeks, or months later, we all sparkle--and sometimes it's the same piece of writing we're judging by, too.

I suspect that the people who don't get better might fall into a few groups. The biggie is the group which continues to write but either doesn't get meaningful feedback from people who know their stuff, or ignores good critique, so they keep making the same damned mistakes or even allow their weaknesses to flourish in their writing.

Others who don't get better do, actually, but they can't see it because as writers, givers and recipients of critique, they view their work with a more disparaging eye than they once did.

Still others fear a loss of quality when they're comparing today's second drafts with yesteryear's polished seventh drafts.

What to do? Give yourself permission to write utter crap. Irredeemable drivel. Get it down, start to finish, because then you've got something to edit or rewrite.

Maryn, whose writing is often asstacular

dawinsor · May 22, 2008

I used to teach writing to college students, and it's a paradox, but often their writing got worse before it got better. They knew how to do some things and as long as they stayed safe with what they knew, they did all right. But when they tried something harder, for a while their control of even simple things slipped. It was as if they had only so much attention and it got spread too thin. But that was a stage they had to go through or they'd never have learned to do the harder stuff.

Matera the Mad · May 22, 2008

Most likely you are in a phase where you are far too self-conscious to write freely. The old enthusiasm and freshness are still there, just waiting for the mud of rapid development to settle. "This too shall pass," said the constipated elephant

poetinahat · May 22, 2008

It could just be that, as you've gotten better, you're more aware of how you can improve.

It's been said that people come out of high school thinking they know everything, but after college and grad school, they realise how much they *don't* know.

I'll be you really are much better, but you're also more aware - that's daunting in the quiet moments.

Excelsior, dude.

Sunshine13 · May 22, 2008

Hey, I still know everything, please.

But yeah, I've been in your shoes, totally. It's a phase/stage, what have you, and a hump I eventually got over. So some of my chapters are pretty sucky compared to others, but it gives me something to work on when I finally finish this baby. Stick in there, there is a light at the end.

Mr Sci Fi · May 22, 2008

Man, I really wish I were back in the days when I didn't care how bad my writing was. I was so much more productive then.

Danger Jane · May 22, 2008

Sometimes, you have to become more highly aware of faults in your work before you can begin to correct and prevent them.

lucky8 · May 23, 2008

I think it's pretty common when looking back at past work, especially when it's from a period when you could write without any consideration for form or style. A lot of my old stuff is better than I would have expected after all these years but I would say more in the ideas and a few nice passages. Hopefully as a complete piece of work my current writing is better. Regardless, the key is to keep writing and you will find the way.

Exir · May 23, 2008

I think learning is NOT a linear process. Instead, I think learning happens in jumps. It is not like climbing a ramp or slope, but more like climbing a stair.

Have you ever had the moment when, while you were struggling to learn something, a bulb suddenly clicks on, and you curse yourself for not understanding it before? Almost like a moment of epiphany? Well, I think that happens when there is a "jump" of learning. You leap, then you plateau, then you break the plateau, then you reach a new plateau, etc...

What I think happens is, once you take in new information, (in other words, get taught something) you will not be able to fully comprehend and internalize it instantly. You will grapple with it, and wrestle with it, and you will spend time trying to use what you were taught without knowing how to use it. And that will actually make your writing worse.

However, it is only a temporary setback. After countless experiments, you will finally hit upon the "correct" way. And it is at that point that you actually internalize the new information. (In other words, learn something.)

So during the delay between getting taught something, and actually learning something, I would say your writing would actually suffer momentarily.

Phaeal · May 23, 2008

Your Inner Editor is also getting smarter, and meaner. Just shut him in the closet as before and finish your work. Then get some fresh eyes to look at it.

It could also help you to free-write more, to let go of control and let the current of words take you where it will. Cynical and tight-assed as I am, I'm always amazed at what free-writing can do -- you will be, too!

KikiteNeko · May 23, 2008

We all suck from time to time. I like to think I've gotten better over time, with perserverance and a willingness to accept my flaws and to improve, but I have moments where I think my present writing is crap and my past writing is better. And I have moments where I think my present writing kicks dust in my past writing's face. And I have moments where I think it all sucks and I should jump off a bridge.

A lot of it could be psychological, but something that's always helped me is to get a beta reader with an unbiased opinion to shed light on things.

But even brilliant and famous artists have experienced what you describe. I think it just happens.

brokenfingers · May 23, 2008

What type of keyboard do you use? This has a lot to do with your skill and creativity levels dropping.

Make sure you use a non-saturable keyboard. (Make sure it’s certified and labeled as such also. Some unscrupulous manufacturers might claim their keyboards are made of non-saturable materials, but without the label certifying it as such, you have know way of knowing for sure and often, they’re not.)

The reason you need one is that, as time progresses, if your keyboard isn’t specifically created from non-saturable materials, then your writing skill will slowly leak out through your fingertips and spill onto the keyboard by a process of osmosis.

And often, the faster you type, the more creativity and skill gets flung out. A non-saturable keyboard won’t soak it up and so it’ll pool there for you, allowing you to be able to recapture it all later when you’re goofing off crusing the web or performing non-writng related tasks.

(A side-note: Sometimes, if too much creativity and skill is flung off your fingertips and not captured by your keyboard, it can affect objects around your desk. This is often why you wind up with missing objects from around your desk: pencils, notebooks, keys etc.

If they get too much of your creativity/skill on them, they’ll become animated and literally wander off somewhere until it wears off. Then you have to spend valuable time searching for them.)

If you don’t use a special non-saturable keyboard, then after a while, you’ll wind up finding yourself seeming to have less skill than before, and eventually you could even wind up staring at the screen with a bad case of writer’s block! All because you used the wrong type of keyboard!

So be careful. And always use the proper equipment and type wisely. Writing ain't easy.

MumblingSage · May 23, 2008

It's not time that makes you better, it's practice. You might just be out of it right now.

MsK · May 23, 2008

I think everything I write sucks, initially. If I give it a couple of days and go back, I , sometimes, surprise myself that much of it doesn't suck, after all. That is one of the reasons my earlier writing can appear so much better then the work I am currently doing.

Mr Sci Fi · May 23, 2008

brokenfingers said:
What type of keyboard do you use? This has a lot to do with your skill and creativity levels dropping.

Make sure you use a non-saturable keyboard. (Make sure it’s certified and labeled as such also. Some unscrupulous manufacturers might claim their keyboards are made of non-saturable materials, but without the label certifying it as such, you have know way of knowing for sure and often, they’re not.)

The reason you need one is that, as time progresses, if your keyboard isn’t specifically created from non-saturable materials, then your writing skill will slowly leak out through your fingertips and spill onto the keyboard by a process of osmosis.

And often, the faster you type, the more creativity and skill gets flung out. A non-saturable keyboard won’t soak it up and so it’ll pool there for you, allowing you to be able to recapture it all later when you’re goofing off crusing the web or performing non-writng related tasks.

(A side-note: Sometimes, if too much creativity and skill is flung off your fingertips and not captured by your keyboard, it can affect objects around your desk. This is often why you wind up with missing objects from around your desk: pencils, notebooks, keys etc.

If they get too much of your creativity/skill on them, they’ll become animated and literally wander off somewhere until it wears off. Then you have to spend valuable time searching for them.)

If you don’t use a special non-saturable keyboard, then after a while, you’ll wind up finding yourself seeming to have less skill than before, and eventually you could even wind up staring at the screen with a bad case of writer’s block! All because you used the wrong type of keyboard!

So be careful. And always use the proper equipment and type wisely. Writing ain't easy.

I'm surprised nobody thought of that for a scam yet.

Polenth · May 23, 2008

brokenfingers said:
If they get too much of your creativity/skill on them, they’ll become animated and literally wander off somewhere until it wears off. Then you have to spend valuable time searching for them.)

I'd like it if that happened. Right now, all the clutter on the desk sits there peering at me. None of it wanders away, so I end up with more clutter. I'm sure some of the clutter comes from other people's desks. It's decided my desk is more interesting.

Kalyke · May 23, 2008

When I was just getting started with writing, I was fixated on sentences. The actual sentences I wrote was much more intellectual and in a way, convoluted. I stopped being so in narcissistic love with my sentences, and began to look at the entire structure of the story, whether it was long or short. I started to think about the larger story, not just about the words I put down. I also care more now about whether people can read and be comfortable with my writing. So I guess my focus has changed, and as my focus has changed my writing has changed. It is simpler now, which in a way I equate with being poor writing. I wish I could be thick and make sense at the same time. I read it and keep thinking that I used to write better, when in fact, now I write better because the story is the most important part of story telling.

maestrowork · May 24, 2008

Sometimes you just need to slog through the muck to find the gold. Keep writing. Wasn't it Bradbury who said he went to work every day and wrote... thousands and thousands of words and sooner or later, something good may emerge from that nice big pile.

To expect everything you write is gold is pure delusion. To work through it regardless is the true testament of a writer.

jannawrites · May 24, 2008

Mr Sci Fi said:
Man, I really wish I were back in the days when I didn't care how bad my writing was. I was so much more productive then.

Productive, maybe in word count and such. But I echo the others. Now you're aware of what it takes to be a stellar writer, you just have to get over the stumbling block, the one telling you you aren't worthy of such writing. Keep running and eventually you'll hurdle that train of thought. Before you know it, you'll realize how good you really can be. Oh, you'll still have moments of high suckitude (I think those are inevitable), but overall you'll be pleased with your capabilities.

Good luck!

Brutal Mustang · May 24, 2008

poetinahat said:
It could just be that, as you've gotten better, you're more aware of how you can improve.

Yeah that. When I go back and read my old writing, I discover it's not as great as I thought it was.

MumblingSage · May 25, 2008

It takes competence to see incompetence. People who are unsure of thier quality are more likely to be qualified than people who...aren't.

Rowdymama · May 26, 2008

This is where a mentor can really help; this awful floundering around in the material without making any progress can go on for years, without one. Of course the mentor needs to know what she is talking about, so be careful in that regard, if you hire one. Ask for samples. I tell my "clients" and writing students: the only critique that is any good is the one that tells you what works and what doesn't, and why, and how to fix it. Most of you have probably heard that before.

MitchMauldin · May 27, 2008

Yes, over time you tend to gradually diminish in your skillset. My best advice would to just simply take and spend time away from your writing and enjoy an extended period of relaxation. You will then return to your writing rejuvenated and hopefully be able to write much better material. Also, as mentioned above it is a good idea to have a mentor or at least someone that you can bounce ideas back and forth with that can keep you on the right track to your Successful writing accomplishments.

Shouldn't time make one better?

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