What's On Your Mind About Your Writing?

Gearing up to shelve the first MS indefinitely, once I've collected a few more rejections for it, and work on the second one. I hate giving up on projects, but I can't afford to keep chipping away at something which won't work in the longrun, or rather I need to concentrate energy on something more sellable in the short term.

Doesn’t matter how much you get down, so much as getting diwn regularly.

Rack up 500 words evey day, and you still get 182,000 in a year.

Will I never get to The End? The more I write, the farther away the finish line looks.

Punk28 said:

Really struggling to push myself to get into this story! I didn't have this type of trouble when I was working on chapters 1-12, then did encounter something like it with 13 before returning to my usual pace on 14-21 and then, unfortunately, reverting back to having the same issue with chapter 22. Everything I write/work on feels/seems good on the day/night I write it then, on the following day, it seems uninteresting. Not every revision that I've made on this one chapter is bad, so I'm wondering what in blue blazes is wrong with me.

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Nothing is wrong with you. Did you think writing was easy? Hahahahahah. Yeah, I did too, but that was long ago.

Cinnamon said:

I have received a critique that tells me I probably have to delve into free verse poetry, or a prose poem in my short story. Because it is kinda experimental in its subject, and poeticness would, therefore, benefit it. I am completely flattened by this. I don't even understand free verse poetry - English just doesn't flow very natural to my ears when in contemporary poems, I have to adjust my rhythm and cadence every other line when I read, both prose and poetry. How in the world can I write something like that, if I don't get it?
Now I am the middle of an existential crisis in comprehending English in the first place.

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Every critique is not helpful. Every critique is not correct in it's assessments. Every critique is the opinion of one person. Opinions differ. Have an ice cream cone. Go for a walk. Have a good day.

SandyH said:

Promoting a book is as important as writing... And often harder....

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Yes, I wouldn't know where to begin. Are you promoting your book?

Deciding whether to do NaNoWriMo for the first time and whether I'll use Scrivener or maybe something simpler from this list - https://kindlepreneur.com/best-book-writing-software/

Also thinking about 'if I could only write one book for the rest of my life, what would I choose'?

James W said:

Deciding whether to do NaNoWriMo for the first time and whether I'll use Scrivener or maybe something simpler from this list - https://kindlepreneur.com/best-book-writing-software/

Also thinking about 'if I could only write one book for the rest of my life, what would I choose'?

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The Scrivener 30-day free trial is 30 days of use If you only write on weekends, it would take 15 weeks to use it up

WriteMinded said:

Nothing is wrong with you. Did you think writing was easy? Hahahahahah. Yeah, I did too, but that was long ago.

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Whew! Had me worried there for a moment.

Due to computer issues, I've decided to postpone any further work on my WIP until a new one is purchased and then set-up and everything from this one has been transferred to it. I just can't write/edit on this thing! The keys are either fragile or falling off the keyboard or the computer's slow or something else happens to distract or frustrate me.

I think I've come up with a book release plan that will work for me over the next couple of years. I'm a fast writer, but the publishing schedule I was trying to keep up is simply too much for me. Slowing things down a bit will be a lot less stressful, and I won't put out an inferior product because I feel rushed.

I'm also planning on releasing the second book in my series this week. It's not quite as scary as releasing the first book, but it's still a little terrifying.

I’ve been reflecting on my writing career so far as I rapidly approach my sixtieth birthday in January.


There have been many ups and downs over the years, but back when I started out in early 1992, if I’d been offered the publications I now have, I’d have sold my soul for them.


When I first started, all I wanted was to see my name in print. That was fine for a few years. I placed a whole shitload of stories in the small press for just a copy or two of the publications. I got quite cozy down there before I realized I wasn’t actually getting anywhere.


So then I wanted to get paid. Then I wanted a pro-rate story sale, then a novel sale, then a sale in a pro anthology, then a story collection…in hardcover… then I wanted to go full time… and lo and behold, it has all come to pass, and more, especially in the last 5 years. ( I also wanted to sell a film script to Hollywood – but let’s not go there. Okay? )


There’s still things I want to achieve – a story in one or more of the Year’s Best anthologies, a mass market book deal, a luxury yacht so I can just sail round the world all the time – that kind of thing. Some of them might even be achievable.


I recently sold my 80th pro-rate short story. Now I’m wondering whether 100 is feasible. Given that 25 years ago I was wondering whether 1 was feasible, I guess I’m doing something right.


But it’s in the nature of the beast that I’m never satisfied, always looking ahead to the next gold ring. ( I also get jealous of some of my fellow writers. Shush… don’t tell them.)


This past eighteen months has seen a necessary realignment for me with both Dark Renaissance and DarkFuse going out of business, bringing with that a load of stress I could have done without.


But the orphans are rehomed, and the new babies have also been adopted, so today I again decided to count my blessings and look at what I’ve achieved. I can’t quite say I’m content… but I’m happy.


For now, that’ll do.


In the meantime, I’ve got new and old works coming from Crossroad Press, a novella in the big I AM THE ABYSS antho from Dark Regions, a new collection, THE GHOST CLUB coming from Crystal Lake, a big bug novel, and another novel to write coming with Severed Press, I'm in discussions about a collection, and I’ve got a large secret project in the works that's two-thirds of the way done. So it looks like I’m busy for a whole longer.


Onward and upwards.


To infinity and beyond.

@ williemeikle: Methinks you've had an interesting journey thus far, and shhhh, some of us are jealous of you. Happy is better than content. Onward and upward, indeed.

Looks like my computer decided to speed up the process of when I'll begin writing again. It died on me on October 25, and I been using my brother's ever since. A new one's been ordered, and I presume is coming in the mail soon, so I'll be writing again in November (with my brother's computer also being an ASUS, I'm taking advantage of the opportunity to learn how to use its available programs and, of course, it's keyboard). While I saved most of the big files on my old computer by emailing them to me, I didn't do the same on around 60 other minor but still needed files so I'll be taking my old computer in to get them retrieved.

I look forward to writing again, but the process of learning this brand of computer after using a Compaq for so many years is tedious. I find myself not liking the set-up of WordPad, and am trying to figure out a way to either fix it so it looks more appealing to me or accept that this is how the program is now set to look like. There's just so much space present when one goes to separate paragraphs, and there's also that uncalled for space when one goes to separate dialogue too that gets to me.

I'm at the end of my first book. I've been at the end of my first book forever. I think it's done, then I get feedback and fix it, then get more feedback and fix it etc. The last bit of feedback I got has me revamping a large part of my book and I'm at the point now where I just want to throw it away and start over. I have no time to write and I'm so tired of the endless rewrites, that part of me just wants to give up. Don't get me wrong. I knew I was going to have to revise a lot, but I really thought I was done this time, then my CP points out all these flaws (and she's right) and now I feel overwhelmed and exhausted. I just stare at the page and struggle to fix it. Then other days I feel like, this isn't so bad. I can do this in a couple sittings. Then I sit and stare at the page again and get back to feeling like crap.
I think if I could just have real time to work on it, I would be okay, but I work full-time and have two kids and the time is just not there. All I want to do is write, but life really gets in the way. Anyway, thanks for letting me vent. Feels good.

With three minutes to spare I managed to finish organizing my worlds major religion, name twelve sub boss-er Secondary Antagonists and do a quick draft of the most popular seasonal/yearly festivals (minor ones I'll worry about another time). Tomorrow is my last day of vacation. I won't get to start actually writing right away, but I will probably start and finish note card scene drafting later today.

So scenes, scene crafting is tough. To which I know the response will be "well yeah no duh"

I have completed line edits on my first draft, and will promptly begin more in-depth ones! I'm excited.
I thought of participating in NaNo, but haven't written a single word of the next novel I'm planning. Lots of elaborate backstory, too. It's nice to plan, and anyway, my current novel took me years to actually start writing, so.
Hopefully I will also clean up my current play a little. Maybe plan a new one? Side note: Dammit, a year ago, a director I worked with as a stage manager read my first play and immediately asked when I was going to write a second. "(Director), I don't think I have another play in me," I sighed. He waited, eyes sparkling. I hesitated, and sounded out ideas I had. Yeah. Planning the third play. I could be (gasp) a playwright.

Side note 2: JFC, writing a novel is -exhausting-. I just--I--people do this for a LIVING. How? How do you not--I--(indignant huff). Every good author I've read is getting a letter from me, I feel like, after all this. "And you do this for a LIVING!"
I am so glad to be creative, though!

My two main characters just got into a huge fight.

I started crying and now I'm trying to drown my sorrows in corn chips.

Simpson17866 said:

My two main characters just got into a huge fight.

I started crying and now I'm trying to drown my sorrows in corn chips.

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I can relate!

I was thinking this morning. Yeah, it happens sometimes. I thought of handwriting a story. Just the story. No dialogue, no characterization, just a few boring pages of this happened, that happened, he did this and then he did that. I'd have an outline, wouldn't I? Maybe I'd be finished with the never-ending first draft of Aberrations by now if I'd done that way back at the start. As it is, the final scene of the current wip stays forever out of reach. It's like trying to step on your shadow.

WriteMinded said:

I was thinking this morning. Yeah, it happens sometimes. I thought of handwriting a story. Just the story. No dialogue, no characterization, just a few boring pages of this happened, that happened, he did this and then he did that. I'd have an outline, wouldn't I? Maybe I'd be finished with the never-ending first draft of Aberrations by now if I'd done that way back at the start. As it is, the final scene of the current wip stays forever out of reach. It's like trying to step on your shadow.

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Sounds like a good thing to try

I'm burnt out and the new mystery story idea I'm working on is a whole lot better than the one I was excited about. Nano burnt me out and I lost a bit of passion for the project. I'm going to start working on short stories until I'm curious about the other project again lol. I also need a writing buddy because all of mine are inactive . I really wanted to work on the fantasy WIP(the one that burnt me) but maybe I just have to set it aside and start freewriting.

World building mostly done, as is the plot - still have character letters to write though.

Right now I'm working on deciding where to start writing.. finding that beginning place is a little difficult to me. It's like the story is a tapestry in my head, but I need to find that one loose thread that I can pull to make it all unravel onto the page.

Long spells of intense depressive thoughts are the bane of creativity so I've been basically psychologically incapable of doing anything for what feels like an eternity now.

I am going to have a whole 4.5 days to write. That means I don't have to do anything else. No cooking. No chores. No bill paying. Just me and my workroom, my computers, and my book.

Remember to stretch, WriteMinded!

I'm suffering what some might call a crisis of creativity... others might call it a complete breakdown of any self-confidence in any ability I may have and metaphorically falling into an endless abyss of misery and self-loathing.

It's not even worth making a thread about any of the bigger details of my current writing predicament because at this rate I'll never get to the point where I need to tackle them extensively because I can't seem to decide on even so much as the basic setting of my fantasy story and am questioning how I can even remotely claim to be even an aspiring writer when so basic a thing is completely messing my head up, and pretty much always has.

I took a whole big break from even thinking about writing because all I was doing was beating myself up and achieving nothing but it seems like all that break has done is give me renewed strength with which to beat myself up.

This shouldn't be so goddamn difficult and I just hate myself for letting it even be a problem.

WriteMinded said:

I am going to have a whole 4.5 days to write. That means I don't have to do anything else. No cooking. No chores. No bill paying. Just me and my workroom, my computers, and my book.

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YES!

That sounds AWESOME.

I'm considering alternating narrative styles to further my creative toolkit.