I Am the Kind of Writer Who...

an unprofitable one.

A busy one. One who writes, edits, fires and forgets.

In fiction, it's like I knitted a blanket with a big hole in the middle and now am having to unstitch half the fabric to fix the whole thing. Ugh. Don't ask.

An unreasonably proud of my own work one, despite it's been read by few.

Has spent a lot of time on my first query but still need to marshall all the materials to send it out.

Most of the time, I write and submit rather than query and then write. Probably not an effective method.

. . . gets easily distracted and interested in some new story idea that I've just come up with.

That's why I've had to develop ways to correct myself, or at least to keep me from doing it too often.

An obsessed one.

--I churn out big wordcounts every day
--I create huge worlds--there are maps and storyline charts all over my study walls.
--I tend to work for 16 hours a day.

A methodical one.

--I schedule my day between writing, rewriting, editing, and world planning.
--I schedule specific blocks of time for different projects.
--My MLA is always open beside my computer.

A dedicated one.

--I write when I don't want to.

In other words, I'm just a big ol' mess.

I am the type of writer who can usually pick up where I left off the day before without reviewing my stuff.
-Usually has more than one project going at a time.
-I've written five complete novels and I'm working on getting them published. Number one is coming out sometime this fall.
-I love creating the scene and letting the characters do all the work.
-wish I could type as fast as I think.

doesn't write when he should.

...watches the inbox and mailbox compulsively, even tho' I know that a watched box never fills.

...loves coming up with article ideas from the most offbeat places.

...thanks God every day that she was born with a talent to do something she LOVES doing (and can earn money at...big bonus).

...dreams of the day she lands that first book contract.

...needs an outline or I end up wandering off and losing the story. I'll spend a month or more crafting an extremely detailed outline that is almost a rough draft.

...finds characters fully-formed. I don't fill out charts or think about them. They are just there.

...needs to re-read no more than the previous page to click back into the story (if I have my trusty outline).

...works best when my internet is down.

...has a very orderly desk that sits in a very messy room. But I can't write on a messy desk anymore than I can cook in a messy kitchen. I just can't.

...likes to write in dribs and drabs instead of large chunks of time.

...works better with a deadline. Otherwise, I stretch a project out.

- I'm the type of writer who loves to write but will always find a way not to
- I'm the type of writer who is in the middle of an exciting scene, with the words bursting out of her fingers, and stops mid-sentence to play Minesweeper or check her mail

...struggles with a very messy desk.

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I can't actually see my desk -- it's covered with little bits of paper with notes I can't read scribbled on them.

I'm the kind of writer who is disorganised?

You know, we could turn most of these around and give ourselves a pat on the back.

IdiotsRUs said:

I can't actually see my desk -- it's covered with little bits of paper with notes I can't read scribbled on them.

I'm the kind of writer who is disorganised?

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No, you're the kind of writer who can be productive in any environment.

KTC said:

doesn't write when he should.

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No, you're the kind of writer who thinks things through thoroughly before wasting time on dead-end projects.

It's a thought anyway.

...wastes a lot of time in forums

Like to help other writers, and spend maaaaybe a little too much time on it?

Like Jenna, I have to go back over what I wrote, like a car rocking out of a sand pit, and I edit at any time whatsoever.

Have my own way of doing things, fsck Word! I use a text editor and make every chapter a webpage so I can switch to my browser to proofread (well, it works for me)

Use beta readers and adore them

Spellcheck once a month or less

Write best when I have just gotten up, but might go into Chaotic Fantasy Mode after midnight and do something cool

...has difficulty writing linearly.

I'm the kind of writer who's decided she's not going to get anywhere by allowing herself to use her typical time-wasting ways. So I'm the kind of writer who, every day, packs up her laptop and goes to the library from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. I sit in a quiet corner where there are no distractions, plug into my accustomed wall outlet, and get to work.

I used to have a hard time with needing to re-read what I'd written the day before and all the other problems you described. Spending all my time getting started? Yeah, that was me! Now that I've made a definite routine for my writing, with a space I go to specifically to write and to do nothing else, I'm happy to report that I'm the kind of writer who gets a minimum of 2,000 words per day out.

It took a lot of being really strict with myself. A lot of inserting notes in red text into my manuscript that I can refer to when I'm ready to revise (such as, "The correct Egyptian word for 'harem' is actually 'ipet.' Go back and change all previous incorrect references to 'ipet.'") That way, I don't stop myself to correct problems now. My goal right now is to get to the end of the first draft, so that's all I'm allowing myself to care about at this point in time. It was hard to do, but I finally gave myself permission to write a devastatingly imperfect manuscript. It has actually made me more productive, although I'm sure the revise will be a lot of work. At least I'll have a completed ms by that time, though!

Of course, I'm really lucky that I have the luxury of being able to structure my day so that I can make myself write when I'm at my most alert and creative. I am self-employed and work from home, so I can juggle my schedule as needed. I don't have any kids. My husband works at an office so I don't have to deal with taking care of him when it's time to write, either. I've even managed to escape my cats' demands by going to the library.

If you have a hard time with structuring your writing time, I strongly recommend picking a quiet, distraction-free place you can schedule yourself to be in during "writing time." It has made me so incredibly productive and happy with my work.

....still writes my initial research notes in longhand, in fountain pen.

...doesn't really have Golden Word Syndrome, but still saves old drafts, just in case.

...is easy for an editor to work with.

...has to have my own space in which to write (no cafes or bookstores for me!).

...doesn't set a daily word deadline, but keeps a regular writing schedule.

...eats at my desk while working.

...doesn't outline, but usually knows where I'm going.

...often enjoys preparing to write more than the actual writing.

...talks on the phone to my editor and agent about non-project-related items.

...cares what reviewers and readers say (and thus hoards my clips).

...writes in a defiantly non-academic voice.

...is longwinded, both in speech and in writing, and thus makes my editor work hard.

...loves doing it, but still has to hold down a full-time job.

...has a lot to learn!

...ends up hating every single thing I write at least once during the process.

...still wonders where, exactly, she fits in this whole thing.

...has only gotten a few rejection letters, but feels overwhelmed with trying to find an agent.

...wishes humor wasn't so subjective.

I am the kind of writer who

… is easily distracted and spends much of my writing time posting on forums and googling useless information.
… goes through highs and lows with my work, at times, thinking its witty and interesting and at other times, thinking I need to hit the delete button on it all and never touch the keyboard for the purpose of creative writing again.
… questions my grammar and punctuation so much that I end up changing it from the correct way to a wrong way quite often.
… uses too many …’s
… writes in a more conversational style.
Fun thread!

...Writes the way he talks.
...Over-corrects his mistakes.
...Learns from his mistakes slowly, but retains what he learns.
...Chickens out after the first two or three rejections.
...Thinks his work is horrible because one or two people out of ten or twenty have said so.
...Needs to get a life.
...Wants to be a big name in the business, but is afraid of both failure and success to a crippling degree.
...Is learning that he does not have to do everything the way he's always done it.
...Is changing his ways to meet his needs.
...Has many talents, all of which he needs to focus some attention on.
...Needs to work at a slow but steady pace ... regardless of what online job applications tell him he needs to do.
...Likes to write to music.
...Prefers not to be ordered to read, but rather to be allowed to read when he feels the urge. He feels he has no need to read a book if he's not enjoying it.
...Admits he's in a learning process, and will never be perfect in this life.
...Is a good writer and storyteller, but is so darned confused about what he wants or can do, that he does not know how to go about his life.
...Has learned he can decide whether or not to write a story, instead of waiting for a feeling to goad him into it.
...Is unpublished, and acknowledges that he has a long way to go.

- an unpublished one. Need I say more?

- who struggles between outlining and not

- who can't decide his best genre, nor between fiction and non-fiction

- who has trouble on, most of the time, concentrating, for more than 30 seconds, on anything

- who loves to read

"...works best when my internet is down."

I can relate to that.

I always go back over what I've written and keep looking for anything that needs correcting. (I have to stop that as I think it's called procrastination.)
I can't write at home. I don't know why but every time I write anything at home it just seems utter drivel. My favourite place to write is the Starbucks cafe in my local Barnes and Noble with a strawberries and cream frappucino. So I go there to write for a good 3 hours. Always productive. Trouble is I can NOT go there and not buy at least one book. I don't know why, but it drives my wife nuts lol. So I guess I'm an expensive writer?

I am the kind of writer who is racing to make up for lost time. Too much lost time, maybe. No way to know for sure until all the time there is runs out.

I am the kind of writer who writes because he has to write, not because it's a fun thing to do. It's like a junkie sticking a spike in his arm -- it's not that it makes me feel good to do it, it just hurts so bad when I don't.

I am the kind of writer who occasionally thinks that it would be nicer to be a writer who has written than a writer who is writing. Then I could sit on the back deck with a stiff drink and pat the dog on the head and reminisce, saying "Damn, I was good, wasn't I?" And the dog would wag his tail and pretend he understood what I meant.

Master procrastinator.

Gets easily bored.

Wants to do many different things, different genres, different themes, different styles, different lengths...

Slow.

Has to be "inspired" -- then writes like a storm.

A little highbrow.

Needs to reread the previous day's work before starting on new stuff...

Has to fight the internal editor while writing first drafts.

Good with characters; okay with plot.

Over-thinker.

Harsh on himself.

Prefers to write with minimal outlines (but needs something -- can't completely write organically).

Doesn't keep notes. Everything's in his head.

... occasionally needs to drop everything for a while, then come back to whatever I'm working on with a clear head.

... sometimes has so much fun planting trees that I lose track of what the forest is supposed to look like.