Overthinker's greetings

Welcome. I'm also 22 and write speculative fiction. There are a lot of unpublished, inexperienced writers here, as well as those who have published quite a bit. It's a nice mix. Hope to see you in the Science Fiction/Fantasy sub forum.

welcome, your english is good. Are you russian or an expat?

Hello there, and welcome to the forums.

Hello and

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Hello, and welcome!

Welcome! I'm new as well.

Welcome aboard

Welcome!

Excellent moniker. Welcome

Welcome to AW!

Hi WIH!

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WritingIsHard said:

I .... have an unfortunate tendency to get stuck thinking about my work instead of doing it (hence the title). So I joined hoping that being among writers will help me get in gear and finish stuff quicker.

Click to expand...

Hello and welcome. I’m a noob here too, just starting to dip my toes into this font of writing wisdom.

Considering the overthinking issue, I have a few thoughts to share. There may be better advice from more experienced writers available, but I can share what seems to work for me. I’m nearing the end of my novel’s 3rd draft and I ran aground many times. It seemed to happen when I became aware of inconsistencies, which, as the story unfolded, became more evident.

I found that the best way to get moving again, is to try to mindmap the problem. Sorry if you already know this technique, but if you don’t here’s a starting point: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map

Get away from your usual environment and find a quiet place, for instance a corner in a café. Start brain-dumping the different elements of what is bothering you onto a blank page. Try to use short phrases and spread the comments around the page. Try not to rush to conclusions, since when you have laid out all the troublesome details you can think of, you may find that the true problem is not what you initially thought.

After you have laid everything out, try to create a diagram linking the elements. You may need to make several attempts.

Then, when you feel that you have more clearly defined the problem, in plot for instance, decide what actions you will take. If this part is complex too, you may wish to mindmap that part of the process too. In all cases, don’t leave until you have defined what you are going to do next. Your mind should be just about as charged with the detail of the problem as it will be at any time, so make use of that.

There may be better methodologies available, but this seems to work for me. I have to repeat this process a few times per week in order to keep moving.

Good luck

Overthinking is rough

Someone else - and for the life of me, I cannot remember who - said these words of wisdom:

"You cannot revise a blank page."

That struck a big chord in me, and hopefully will be of help to you, too. I get stuck, remember that phrase, and words appear on my page!

Welcome, fellow new person. Writing is hard, I certainly agree.

Welcome