Do you spend too much time here as a novelist?

Maryn said:

Maybe Stephen King isn't always right about everything.

I don't think spending time talking writing, socializing with writers, learning and teaching writing techniques, and all that I do here is a poor use of time when I could be writing. I think it benefits me, so long as I don't waste so much time here I have no time left for writing.

Maryn, who does

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I know it benefits me, has improved me as a writer just as much as if not more than reading and writing. I can see a difference between the writer I was a year and a half ago and the writer I am now. It's in the conversations I can now hold with writing friends, where I understand what they mean and what events are happening in the publishing world. It's in the half-dozen completed short stories I've written since I was encouraged here to try one. It's in the fact that I actually have rejections, proof that I've been trying when before I didn't even know what to do with a story and couldn't finish one.

As long as there's still time in the day to write and you're using the threads here for more than idle chatter, it'll never be a waste of time. The more you know, the better you can be, and some of the stuff you get on here, you won't get from any book on writing.

It's a matter of discipline

Conversing with other writers (wherever it is) is invaluable -- critting others' work, discussing techniques, a bit of the camaraderie that talking among people who love what you do, especially in a profession where we work alone so much...

Yes, you need to be firm with yourself. But all the things noted above, and a place to blow off steam sometimes, will help you immeasurably. As long as you're not blowing off steam more than writing! AW found me my beta readers, my irl writers's group (which I no longer have time to go to ). I can probably safely say that without this place I'd either never have been published or it would have taken a LOT longer.

It's a great place, but use it wisely

TanbirMuhammad said:

Hello guys! Hello!

Do you ever think that you spend too much time here, when you should be reading books or writing instead, following your dreams? Yes

And if being part of a writing community is good, how do you get the right balance between the time you spend here, and the time improving as a novelist? It's obvious; I need to get myself banned.

Tanbir

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Seriously, though, AW has improved my writing tremendously. I've only been here half a year, but I feel as though I've been on a writing crash-course (it's all the critiquing). But, I am a great procrastinator, and sometimes I'll spend time here, when I should be writing (like now). This is where self discipline comes in (I have none). *grabs hammer* *eyes router*

This place, or Twitter, or Reddit, or blogs, or Facebook, or...

Yeah, the writing community is not the problem. The goofing-around-on-the-internet is the problem.

If you're going to goof off, it's probably better that you do it here rather than Cracked.com, but the trick is in not goofing off at all.

It depends. If the writing is actually getting done, and a lot of it, and if you're still reading as much as you should be, then whatever else you do with your time matters not.

If you have a nine to five job, along with a family, and free time is scarce, then AW, and everything, should take second place to getting the writing done. AW can't help anyone who isn't actually pounding out words on a routine basis. Neither can how-to books, or anything else.

Writing is a business, and unless you work first and play later, that business will almost certainly fail.

jjdebenedictis said:

If you're going to goof off, it's probably better that you do it here rather than Cracked.com, but the trick is in not goofing off at all.

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I don't think not goofing off at all is good for most people's mental or even physical health. Both creative writing and revising/editing are focused, mentally draining tasks. Our brains need downtime or they'll start to object by burning out or leaving us exhausted.

I think AW is a great use of my relaxing time. The discussions are great for learning about the craft of writing, and without this place I know I would never in a million years have learned publishing-related skills like how to write a decent query letter.

Getting critiques has been enormously beneficial to me, and it hasn't impacted my daily word count.

The time I spend here is not time I could be writing anyway.

There are many times during the day when I have a few minutes waiting for a query to complete before I can go to the next step. It's not enough time for me to write anything useful in my book, but it's enough time for me to read a bit about writing, and maybe contribute.

AW has done more to help my writing than hurt it.

King has a point. I mean, I do find a lot of helpful info here, but when I keep switching between AW and my WIP, there's a problem.

The first thing I would do when reading someone's answer to this question is look at their post count.

The second is understand their titles and how successful they are as an author.

The Internet is a great way to waste a lot of time. It can also be a source of really good information, or a source of really bad information if you are not careful.

Take everything with a grain of salt. Evaluate, educate and then eliminate that which is not of value.

Good luck in your writing. Now go write!

Good point Tanbir. I know I should be writing right now but I should also be doing a lot of other things, too. Think of it this way: aren't you accomplishing something right now? Aren't you accomplishing something when you take out the trash and clean the house and wash the dishes, too? While you're doing the mundane but necessary things, aren't you also telling yourself "I could be writing right now!"

Procrastination serves its purposes. The good thing about this site is that you're actually learning while being entertained, as long as you know when to stop. All about discipline.

Maryn said:

Maybe Stephen King isn't always right about everything.

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He's not, at least not in the way he thinks he is.

For instance, in On Writing he says to write 2,000 words a day and that 180,000 words is a "goodish length" for a book.

I still think he is crazy about the 180,000 words thing, but on the 2,000 a day the core of his message is right. The discipline of writing every day is what matters-- whether that is 2,000 or 1,000 or 500 or 250, the point is to sit down and write and making a meaningful contribution to your manuscript every day.

So he is right that if writing communities get in the way of your writing, they are a waste of time. If they don't, then it is not a waste of time.

Keep in mind that Stephen King the writer has been STEPHEN KING, WRITER for 41 years now, so while a lot of his advice may not connect as much as he might hope (though as I said there is good advice in there once you take away the core message).

And, to come back to the 180,000 word thing, I seem to remember Carrie being under 200 pages.

I most definitely spend more time here than I probably should.

As a positive though, there hasn't been a single day since I've joined the community that I haven't found at least one nugget of information or inspiration.

There are a lot worse ways to waste time and procrastinate!

When I am writing a fair amount and disciplining myself to write a good amount, it does not take me 24 hours a day to do it. It takes one or two, on average. Sometimes that two or so hours is spread out over an eight hour spread, but more than two hours a day and my brain jumps ship. That leaves 8 hours for sleep and 14 for other stuff, including AW (or Facebook, or calling my mother, or bad television...)

Honestly, surfing the internet (and, now that I'm here, checking AW) is how I gear up to start writing. I fluff around before I get down to work. I need to fluff around a bit. It's part of my process. And it doesn't interfere with my writing unless I allow it to.

I've learned so much in the short time I've been here, that I'd have to say it's a good thing.

King's quote (as typed in the OP) said it "can be a bad thing" - so I agree with King, it can be a bad thing. But that doesn't mean the same as it's always a bad thing. People tend to read one thing, miss words like "if", "can be", "might be", "sometimes" and take it as a black and white proclamation either 100% for or 100% against something. And then people fall into these polarised discussions.

It can be a bad thing if it's taking time and energy away from your actual writing.

It can be a good thing if it's helping you develop and improve your writing.

Those two statements are not mutually exclusive.

Personally, I've learned a huge amount since coming here. In my life, my writing has benefitted the most from critiquing others' writing and getting my own writing critiqued by others. That goes for both "in person" writers groups and the critique threads/sections on here (lurking as well as critiquing). So I'm sticking around. But I do need to be aware and make sure I'm not on here so much that it takes me away from actual writing. So it's a matter of being aware of the issues and good time management.

TanbirMuhammad said:

Hello guys!

A couple of years ago, I read Stephen King's On Writing, a truly great book, and I remember him saying that, if you want to be a novelist, participating in writing communities can be a bad thing, because you should be spending your time writing and improving your craft (or something like that).

I have only been here at AW for a few days, but I can already see myself spending a lot of time here, when I should be doing what Stephen King said.

So my question, I suppose, is this: what do you think of what Stephen King has to say on this? Do you ever think that you spend too much time here, when you should be reading books or writing instead, following your dreams?

And if being part of a writing community is good, how do you get the right balance between the time you spend here, and the time improving as a novelist?

Tanbir

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The same Stephen King who's a member of that writers' band?

In other words, what neandermagnon said.

Stephen King's writing advice works great for him, but not for everyone.

This site has been an enormous help to me as a writer. The amount and quality of my writing is directly proportional to the amount of time I spend reading and participating on AW.

Joining AW is a little like a drug early on. It's really exciting to meet so many people from all over the world who like the same things you like. So yeah, you'll spend a lot of time here at first. But if you're going to write as a career, meeting other writers and interacting is part of the life, so it's good experience.

As someone who has been here for a decade, I promise it'll taper off to a comfortable level soon and you'll be able to fit this in with your writing.

Enjoy the rush of learning and growing for the moment. No need to beat yourself up for indulging. And hey, if you find the addiction is too strong, we actually have a "self-banning" program, where you can ask a moderator to have the owner of the site lock you out from posting for a set period of time so you can get back to writing. We always have a few self banned members at any given time. But they always come back.

Mr Flibble said:

a matter of discipline

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If this isn't the name of a stern-toned book on writing by Robert Heinlein--it should be

Afterthought: it should be Jamesaritchies title, when he writes that book. Which I, for one, would surely read!

Do I spend too much time being distracted by the internet - yes. However, that isn't just down to writing sites.

Having said that my writing breakthroughs and improvements have all happened because of the internet so swings and roundabouts.

neandermagnon said:

King's quote (as typed in the OP) said it "can be a bad thing" - so I agree with King, it can be a bad thing. But that doesn't mean the same as it's always a bad thing. People tend to read one thing, miss words like "if", "can be", "might be", "sometimes" and take it as a black and white proclamation either 100% for or 100% against something. And then people fall into these polarised discussions.

It can be a bad thing if it's taking time and energy away from your actual writing.

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I know I WAS in a writing group that was harming my ability to do my own writing. I was so caught up in reading and critting other people's stuff, I never found time to write my own.

I dropped that group, and while I'm still in a low point as far as my creativity goes, I've got the time I need to write.

One way I keep AW, Facebook and Twitter from interfering is simply not having access to the Internet when I'm writing. If I come across something I need to research, I mark it and check it during my early morning research time, or during my down time at work.

I feel like I could spend way more time posting on this forum, chatting with other writers, Tweeting, blogging and otherwise social networking! Oddly enough, if I don't do enough of it, I feel like I'm not in 'writer mode'.

I see AW as a way to network. And not only do I learn valuable information, seeing some of the good stuff that others post spurs me to get some good stuff down too.

I'm "on" AW a lot, but that's just because I leave it on in the background while I'm doing other stuff. And I still get writing done, even if I am a slow writer. And even though I don't make it a point to plant my butt in chair on a consistent basis, I usually end up writing for like an hour or two a day.