Binge Writing

Feel ya

I suffer this daily.
I'll even do things to avoid writing sometimes.
Like drink!

Unpleasant Practice?

Who says the practice has to be unpleasant?

Just kidding, I understand. But I must say that I've enjoyed writing even when the inspiration hasn't come. I've slogged my way through 2,000 words only to look back and think every one of them was wretched. But I had fun putting them down, and they turned out to not be so bad after all.

I definitely agree that practice must be done. I'm not sure I'm through with my practice yet. In fact, I know I'm not. I won't ever be. But it's nice to think that I have a decent start.

"You can't wait for inspiration.

You have to go after it with a club."

-Jack London

I'm right there with ya. When an idea hits me, it hits hard, and I've had days when my production-driven job has suffered because of it. It seems like it's feast or famine around here, though. Its not so much that I don't have the motivation to do the writing, my brain just keeps rejecting the ideas my heart throws out, or won't let me get started on them. It is quite frustrating.

WVWG

Kinda. I won't write for two days and then can write at least 1,000 words (I usually write 500 words a day). It isn't a real problem though.

Yes, Brady. This happened to me quite often until I made my mind up to set a daily word count for myself. Even with that I sat looking at a blank screen. Now I do a daily writing exercise every morning while I have my coffee. Normally that exercise gets my creative juices flowing again.

Joanne

i don't have a word count, but i make myself write for a hour everyday--on whatever the current project is (these days that's a dissertation), and then when i get the "drainage" out of the way i write on whatever my heart wants. and sometimes, that's pretty raunchy.

seriously, just try making yourself write something everyday . . . i know lots of people that works for--page a day syndrome.

BradyH1861 said:

Do posts count as the daily writing?

Brady H.

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If they help you to get warmed up for your writing, then posts count.

Personally, posting on the internet does nothing for me as far as getting warmed up to write... if anything, they are simply a distraction.

The only thing that really works for me is sitting down and banging out a page or two... once I do that, it's much easier to be focused on the real writing.

- Anatole

BradyH1861 said:

Okay,

Does anyone else have this "problem"? When I am "inspired", I can lock myself upstairs in my office at home and write 15 to 20 pages of decent stuff. And then not write another thing for weeks.

I dont think I have a writers block problem, really, I think it is more of a lack of motivation. Anyone else struggle with this?

Brady H.

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I used to get this. I tended to dry up after 10 pages because I didn't have enough conflict in place.

In fact, 20 pages is probably as much conflict-free lyrical description, observation, character sketch etc etc as it's possible to write without losing motivation.

My cure was making sure there were enough competing players in the pit before the games began. (This eventually led me to outlining, but you can set things up properly and still write from the inside if you prefer).

BradyH1861 said:

Okay,

Does anyone else have this "problem"? When I am "inspired", I can lock myself upstairs in my office at home and write 15 to 20 pages of decent stuff. And then not write another thing for weeks.

I dont think I have a writers block problem, really, I think it is more of a lack of motivation. Anyone else struggle with this?

Brady H.

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"By making writing a part of your daily routine--just like brushing your teeth--you'll discipline yourself to work as a writer instead of a hobbyist who only writes when there's some fun to be had." --Theresa Grant

"The difference between a pro writer and an amateur writer is quite often very small. The pro writer is simply one who has learned that Inspiration and Motivation are the laziest of muses. Both will sleep for days on end, and the only way to wake them up is to go to the keyboard and make so much noise they can't sleep." --James Ireland.

Seriously, I think the only solution is to work, to make writing each and every day a habit, to learn that writing isn't about inspiration or motivation, it's about planting your butt on the chair and writing. They say it only takes twenty-one days for the average person to form a habit. Do anything for twenty-one days in a row, whether it's smoking, drinking, or writing, and it becomes a habit.

Then again, I may not be the one to talk about this. I enjoy the process of writing, and of all the ways I have to spend my time, writing is the one I prefer. If I didn't love coming into my office and writing, if I had to depend on Inspiration or Motivation, I'd probably find some other way of using up whatever hours life has allotted me.

If I ever needed Motivation, I suspect time is it. When I was born, someone forgot to tell me how many years I would live, how many hours I would have to get something done that mattered. More than anything, I'd hate looking back at my life to find I'd wasted the hours I had because Inspiration or Motivation didn't show up to nudge me along.

And if all else fails, try this: http://www.bethpattillo.com/id8.html

Anatole Ghio said:

If they help you to get warmed up for your writing, then posts count.

The only thing that really works for me is sitting down and banging out a page or two... once I do that, it's much easier to be focused on the real writing.

- Anatole

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When I sit down to write, I start in a journal. Writing with a pen seems to get my brain flowing faster than hitting keys. Plus, in a journal, I am allowed to write utter crap, which frees my creativity up. When I start out thinking I have to write my best, I get sucked dry fast. Sometimes it's page of crap, sometimes it's four or five, but it works for me. And lately, often as not, I'll find a thread of something in my journal to turn into a story.

Yes, Brady! This is exactly what happens to me on a regular basis. I will sit down and start on my WIP and get lost in it. Last week I wrote 12,000 words in 3 days! And, amazingly, they were mostly decent words, actually flowing the correct direction and leading the story where it needs to go. Then, I stopped writing for one day, and then couldn't seem to be able to motivate myself to write more on it. Now, I haven't touched it in a week.
I know that if I would just force my butt into this chair for long enough that it would all start flowing again and i could pick right up where I left off. I think maybe it's the binge part that's causing some of the problem. Since I know that if I sit here and actually get off into it again, it means my house will not get clean, my husband and kids will feel neglected, and I will not be able to stop myself because I cannot type anywhere near as fast as the story is coming. I look forward to the writing, I dread the being stuck at the keyboard. So i continue to put it off.

I have no suggestions how to solve this problem, just thought I'd share my situation.

I have a different problem. Sometimes I have to wrestle with phrasing. I can get a ton of material written, but when I go back to edit, I do a first edit to fill in what needs filling, and delete what needs to be deleted. Then I go and do a grammatical edit, then I re-read to make sure I didn't miss anything.

Unfortunately, I do miss things. Well, even if I love my story, I dread having to re-read it in such a short space for a third time. I've had to force myself to stay with this, because its much easier for me to go and write a whole new book than edit one.

BlueTexas said:

When I sit down to write, I start in a journal. Writing with a pen seems to get my brain flowing faster than hitting keys. Plus, in a journal, I am allowed to write utter crap, which frees my creativity up. When I start out thinking I have to write my best, I get sucked dry fast. Sometimes it's page of crap, sometimes it's four or five, but it works for me. And lately, often as not, I'll find a thread of something in my journal to turn into a story.

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This is exactly how I've been generating material for my blog. I write a page or two in my journal, always with some technique I want to practice, in order to warm up for working on my other stuff. Then I come back later and pull out anything that can be turned into an actual story and put it into my blog... the really great thing about this is not only do I warm myself up and practice a new technique or two, but all the journal pieces clock in around 200-300 words, the perfect length for a blog entry.

So not only can freewriting help to get you into a more creative mind, it can also generate material for later stories. Win, win!

- Anatole

Timer

Jakalyn said:

I have no suggestions how to solve this problem, just thought I'd share my situation.

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The solution is to sit down and write. This is always the solution. If you don't want to write so long that husband and kids are neglected, then download a timer and use it. You can even download a program that will automatically turn off your computer after a given time.

Nateskate said:

I have a different problem. Sometimes I have to wrestle with phrasing. I can get a ton of material written, but when I go back to edit, I do a first edit to fill in what needs filling, and delete what needs to be deleted. Then I go and do a grammatical edit, then I re-read to make sure I didn't miss anything.

Unfortunately, I do miss things. Well, even if I love my story, I dread having to re-read it in such a short space for a third time. I've had to force myself to stay with this, because its much easier for me to go and write a whole new book than edit one.

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OOo, I hate that. I'll be cruising along and then the word I'm looking for just jumps out of my head and runs away. It doesn't even have to be a 50 cent word either. Yesterday I couldn't think of the word "impatiently". I knew what I wanted to say, but the word was just... gone.

Yesterday I couldn't think of the word "impatiently". I knew what I wanted to say, but the word was just... gone.

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That's an hourly occurence for those of us over 40. :Smack:

WhisperingBard said:

That's an hourly occurence for those of us over 40. :Smack:

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Hourly? How about every 5 minutes? *sigh* I've taken to writing things on my hand again, like I did in 5th grade.

I did a binge of writing about a month ago and then life took over again and I've not written much since. I do believe that the BIC method propounded by Uncle Jim in his learn writing thread is a great idea. Write, don't re-write, for two solid hours or stare at a blank piece of paper/blank screen but stay in that seat for the entire time, every day.

Now I just have to follow that advice myself.

I write in spurts. I may write most days for a few weeks, then not write for a week. When I'm not writing, it isn't because I don't want to (in fact, I'm always writing in my head)--it's because other things that are equally or more important require my attention.

I don't need to feel inspired to write. There are days when it comes easy and days when it's a slog, which is true of most things.

Do posts count as the daily writing?

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Heck no.

I take my laptop to Bob Evans every morning and write for an hour. I usually only have coffee, so it costs me $1.38 plus tip ($1 -- I figure the waitress deserves at least that after filling my cup 23 times!)

I find it helps to get out of the house. I used to try to get up an hour early and write at home. It didn't work. Then I tried going in to work an hour early, but I got distracted by work stuff. Going to the restaurant worked perfectly for me. I'm usually able to write between 500-800 words in that hour.

The odd thing, though, is every morning I hate writing. I drag my laptop out, turn it on, stare at the screen for a bit, read what I wrote the day before, and the next thing I know, words start coming. By the time I have to leave for work, I love writing and don't want to quit.

Maybe if you're a binge writer, you should try going somewhere else to write and do it on a regular basis.

Over forty.

WhisperingBard said:

That's an hourly occurence for those of us over 40. :Smack:

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Ain't it, though! I hate using a thesaurus, but I forget so many words so often that I often have to think of an alternative, and then run it through the thesaurus just to find the one I wanted.