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What's On Your Mind About Your Writing?

blackcat777

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I've been so wound up (tense) the last few days that I haven't been able to write clearly... having too much mental energy has never prevented me from writing before, and I'm confused. Wondering if anyone else has had this?

This is my brain at least every day I have to work, and coffee is a mixed bag because it can take me in either direction. A nice warm bath or physical activity goes a long way, anything to shush the mind, calm the body, and sharpen focus.

Do you have lots of stuff going on IRL? Do you find some times of day are better to write than others? How is your sleep schedule? All of these things definitely my ability to put words clearly and efficiently to a page.
 

Devan Isra

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This is my brain at least every day I have to work, and coffee is a mixed bag because it can take me in either direction. A nice warm bath or physical activity goes a long way, anything to shush the mind, calm the body, and sharpen focus.

Do you have lots of stuff going on IRL? Do you find some times of day are better to write than others? How is your sleep schedule? All of these things definitely my ability to put words clearly and efficiently to a page.

Lately, yes, life has been hectic, and it's been putting my anxiety on end, too. I definitely write better at night, but I'm careful to not stay up late. Sleep is fine. Though lately I've also felt like I'm just... mentally disjointed, if you will. Probably the anxiety. Most of the time, I'm able to just "get in the zone" with writing, but it's like I'm not able to shut off (or maybe turn on?) the right part(s) of my brain to get things flowing. Maybe I just need a break for a few days... but thanks for the thoughts, and thanks for listening blackcat777, just airing it out has helped a bit. :) (And I love your username, by the way.) It's nice to have someone understand.
 

Reservoir Angel

Angelic by name, fiendish by nature
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Steampunk. Or 'science fantasy' in a more generic way. It seems the best way to balance my inherent love of writing fantasy with my inherent desire to write science fiction but both steampunk and science fantasy are just things that I don't seem to "get" in any kind of proper way.
 

Devan Isra

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I thought of a hilarious story idea in the shower last night - that was just dumb enough to work - and even thought of a great title, characters and a brief plot. I didn't write it down after that.

It's completely gone from my memory. And it's making me want to stab myself a little bit. What do I even have notepads for?

EDIT: I GOT IT BACK.
 
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Taylor Harbin

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It is hard to believe in yourself when you were burning both ends of the candle. I just concluded a job interview for a very promising position, and if I get it it will have many positive impact on my life. But, silly me, one of the first things I thought about is how crazy it will be moving to a new place and settling in. I have had multiple positive rejections over the last few weeks. I feel like I'm throwing myself against the wall, and I can see the cracks, but I just cannot break it down and make that first big sale. Once again, for the one millionth time in my life, I ask myself "what am I doing wrong?" Time seems to be my greatest enemy: have to make time for job, family, and all of the writing projects I want to do. No matter how much work I invest in my stories it seems to have very little payoff. How guys like Harlan Ellison and others published so many is beyond me. I will be lucky to write a few hundred stories in my lifetime at this rate…
 

blackcat777

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I was operating under the false assumption that coffee equals progress.
 

Blinkk

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I broke my months long writer's block this week. I'm slaying this first draft. It's been 80% done for about a year now and it's seriously about time to get this thang done! My writing sessions have been great, and I'm now just a few scenes away from the ending. It feels good to be back. :D
 

edutton

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I broke my months long writer's block this week. I'm slaying this first draft. It's been 80% done for about a year now and it's seriously about time to get this thang done! My writing sessions have been great, and I'm now just a few scenes away from the ending. It feels good to be back. :D
:partyguy:
 

DrDLN

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I am not putting all those new ideas into writing some more books in addition to what I have written...
 

Devan Isra

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I broke my months long writer's block this week. I'm slaying this first draft. It's been 80% done for about a year now and it's seriously about time to get this thang done! My writing sessions have been great, and I'm now just a few scenes away from the ending. It feels good to be back. :D

Congratulations!

---

It seems like whenever I'm working on my novel, there's this new idea that comes around and whispers, Heeey... why don't you spend some time on me, instead? And I reply respectfully, "Can I finish this novel first?" But then it slowly pulls out a knife...
 

Blinkk

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I broke my months long writer's block this week. I'm slaying this first draft. It's been 80% done for about a year now and it's seriously about time to get this thang done! My writing sessions have been great, and I'm now just a few scenes away from the ending. It feels good to be back. :D

I'm pretty pumped, as I keep writing, a whole other unknown character showed up and assaulted the MC, and I'm going on a side-plot tangent just to see where this all goes. Hope you guys are all doing well with your writing this week.
 

AliceL

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Sometimes I feel like I can't nail down light-hearted character interactions to the level I want to. I see works that inspire me and have the general feel I'm going for and they just feel so much better. Maybe I should try taking a pen and paper and actively breaking down and analyzing to figure it out
 

iszevthere

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Months ago, I hit a wall with my second play and haven't been able to move past it. Three women struggle with grief/losses as they try to stay clean from drugs. I don't know how to portray "healing/moving on" in a visually or verbally interesting way. Two characters' backstories--things they will never discuss--are far more interesting than their present selves. The protagonist is a poorly-done character despite my best efforts. This is a character study, but I don't know how to pull it off without jamming exposition into every syllable.
 

Taylor Harbin

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I've got a 6000 word short with betas that I wrote for an upcoming contest. My enthusiasm has diminished in the month and a half I've worked on it. I've been trying to incorporate the invented setting and backdrop the magazine encouraged, but somehow feel that has resulted in a story which is bloated. Heck, I had to cut 500 words just to keep it within guidelines. The submission window opens in nine days. I have faith in my abilities, but to come up with a new story from scratch, bang it out, and then polish it before the deadline was over? Please no...please let the other one be great...
 

Marumae

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Now here comes the hard part, my protagonist is in the place I need her to be. The main setting for the entire novel and I need to find away to avoid the dreaded "as you know, Bob..." info dumps. Damn that's harder than I thought!
 

flarue

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The following thoughts have been on my mind today:

- Is my protagonist going to be perceived as a total idiot for falling for her sort-of new boyfriend's manipulations?

- Why won't a certain character cooperate with me? It seems that because I made him a more well-rounded character, he's not acting entirely like I want him to for the sake of the plot, and I'm starting to wonder if his future actions in the story will feel like they came out of left field. I might have to go back and write something that foreshadows what he's going to do later on. :Shrug:I'm getting attached to him, since I've gotten to know him better as a character, so it's kind of a pity he's going to die at some point; I almost feel sorry for him now.

Now here comes the hard part, my protagonist is in the place I need her to be. The main setting for the entire novel and I need to find away to avoid the dreaded "as you know, Bob..." info dumps. Damn that's harder than I thought!

Tell me about it. I feel like I've had more of those lately since secrets are starting to be revealed in my story. Any tips?
 
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sideshowdarb

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I finally made a story I started in 2003 work today. I think.

My current WIP novel may be 15 years from being finished.

Sigh.
 

Rob40

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I'm feeling that not just the WIP, but any of my shorts or flashes are there in idea and content, but I just can't crack into and expose as much of the piece as I need to to make it good. I've got a bomb sitting there, ready to tear everything up around it, for the witnesses to say out loud, "damn, man!" when it goes off, but I can't find the right detonator. That all encompassing world that fills out the all encompassing story that only breathes life with an all encompassing character. It's there. It's not alive enough.

2017 wrecked any writing with not only a new house move, but the packing and unpacking associated as well as crap family health stress forcing my time into doctors ofices. All good and all behind now, but still, I'm having to reread the 35k words of the WIP to make sense of where I am, plus reread all the resource material of the world components that make the story itself as functionally far fetched and believeable as possible. Meanwhile....the other ideas for the next project and the next keep popping up....I love the dayjob but it does get in the way.
 

rwm4768

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I think I might try to set a daily word count goal again, but maybe I'll set it nice and low (like 500 words). That way, it's relatively easy to obtain, and I'm still likely to write once more. The hardest part for me is getting going.
 

Rob40

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I think I might try to set a daily word count goal again, but maybe I'll set it nice and low (like 500 words). That way, it's relatively easy to obtain, and I'm still likely to write once more. The hardest part for me is getting going.

Patrick DeWitt, writing The Sisters Brothers, had that goal. As far as I know, still writes like that.
 

indianroads

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My PC crashed this afternoon, fortunately I am obsessive about backing everything up. I reconfigured everything and am back up and running.

Lesson of the day... back your work up.
 

Will Collins

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Yes, my goal is at least 1000 words a day and I find it works with making sure you can work on the manuscript daily.
 

iszevthere

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I finished all my vignettes! I am so pleased. I feel a little down about returning to my novel--long story short, when I do finish the first draft, I am likely to get a major case of the blues--but also mostly eager to be writing it again. Got more plans for my second play, and I might begin on Phase II of vignettes, and another story, a possible Calypso/Odysseus fanfiction that is dark, and someday I really will submit something on here for feedback.

The final vignette wound up being around a thousand words, so, wrong description. It was supposed to be bland and straightforward, but meandered for a few pages and had an ending that broke my heart (a rainbow at dawn, and the dead character is freed). The ending was...some of my best writing. I'm pleased with myself.
 

The Black Prince

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I guess this sounds like a good problem to have... I've had three novs published with small houses in Australia but have been aiming for that contract with a major. Have had a commissioning editor at one of the biggies interested in one of my new projects for a couple of years - she finally read it and just asked me to make amendments.

Thing is, my head is completely full of another (completely different) book I've nearly finished PLUS something completely new. There is no brain space at all to make complicated changes to a story I've not been living in for months.

Part of me keeps saying: you idiot, this is what you wanted. Get it done or she'll forget you.

The other part says: she can wait. Write the story you want to write at the time you want to write it. If you don't you'll stuff up two stories.