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Basic Writing questions is not a crit forum. All crits belong in Share Your Work
What's On Your Mind About Your Writing?
- Thread starter Undercover
- Start date
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- Jan 12, 2017
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- The Backwoods Of Maine
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- raiscara-avalon.typepad.com
Frankly, it's all a mess - so I'm starting at the beginning. Again. Rebranding and all kinds of things coming up, but with my writing, I just feel like I've plateaued. And getting feedback seems to be really difficult outside this forum! So, we'll see where things take me, I guess.
Found a sub-genre that kind of fits what I want to write/think I'm writing, and so I've started reading a popular book from the sub-genre by a best-selling author.
It's so bad. Like...bad. And that's surprisingly liberating and motivating. So, I read a little...then go open my WiP and happily type away, confident that I'm doing at least as good as that person did.
It's so bad. Like...bad. And that's surprisingly liberating and motivating. So, I read a little...then go open my WiP and happily type away, confident that I'm doing at least as good as that person did.
This way madness lies.
My entire life I've been blown away at how bad some books are - including quite popular books - but they were published by big publishers and my books can't even get read by those publishers. Talent and a decent product only takes you so far (of course, presuming I have those things, and I think I do or I wouldn't be wasting my time).
See! Madness!
- Joined
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That's the thing about bad books...they made you feel so confident and happy. Sounds conflicting, but it's true for me too.
Hooray for online critique group! Real people, real conversation, and great feedback. I feel like I had visitors. Nice visitors.
I think I'm going to buy a printer and print my manuscript as I write it. I just crossed the 10,000 word mark yesterday, which is the farthest I've ever gotten on any single draft of anything. I'm at the top of page 41 now, and I'll easily make page 50 by the time I finish the scene I'm currently in. Then I can print it out. 50 physical pages to hold. I think I'd like that. And I'm going to kind of make a deal with myself that once the pages are printed, they're off limits. No going back to tweak what's already printed. Once those 50 are printed, I push on through the next 50 pages. I can tweak those to my heart's content to get them ready for printing, and then they're off limits too. Rinse and repeat.
I think this might seriously give me the motivation to keep pushing through this first draft!
I think this might seriously give me the motivation to keep pushing through this first draft!
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Something I always do when printing off mss...set the page up to landscape, double column, 10 point font. It's much easier to read that way and looks kinda like a real book.
I wrote the first chapter of my next novel yesterday - then this morning I decided to trash it (archive actually), and start at a point a bit later in the story.
Totally digging a few shortcut uses of language in current reading.
"(short dialog)." And he left it at that.
Yes!!! He left it at that.
"(short dialog)." And he left it at that.
Yes!!! He left it at that.
My writing is going nowhere.
My windows laptop, which had been limping along for ages, finally gave up the ghost and it will be another month before it is replaced. On my retirement I had treated myself to a mac airbook and I now wish I had stuck with a windows platform. I cannot get used to it. It does not help my vision has gone to the dogs either; the smaller screen is a pain. I cannot even get to grips with Scrivener for Mac.
No Scriv, no writing.
My windows laptop, which had been limping along for ages, finally gave up the ghost and it will be another month before it is replaced. On my retirement I had treated myself to a mac airbook and I now wish I had stuck with a windows platform. I cannot get used to it. It does not help my vision has gone to the dogs either; the smaller screen is a pain. I cannot even get to grips with Scrivener for Mac.
No Scriv, no writing.
OUCH! I feel your pain. A few days ago, I was digging through online jokes about our state of being shut in due to coronavirus. One of them said, "It could be worse. The internet could go down." I shivered at the thought and then went on about my day. Next morning, I was frantically trying to get my taxes done online with H&R Block. As I came to what I hoped was the last stage, I heard a tiny click, and the computer died. A half hour of frantic activity ensued with me carrying that big desktop around plugging it into every wall outlet I could find, hoping it was an electrical problem, wondering if Computer Guy was open for business - what could be more essential? - and trying to remember the last backup I'd run. Long story short, even though lights were still operational, it did turn out to be an electrical brown-out. Shortly the lights died altogether, and the neighborhood was in full blackout. So then it was a couple hours of waiting to see if I was going to be able to get my darling to fire up. When everything buzzed into life again, I was able to get the computer working, though I'd lost a day's work. Anyway, it must be awful having to wait a month to replace your computer. You have my deepest sympathies.
I keep spares. Two are set up in my "writing" room. Another is resting in the closet of the guest room. I'm thinking of ordering another. Well, I buy refurbs. They are cheap. I've never had trouble with one, and I am avoiding Windows10 and, of course, Apple.
Stay sane, talktidy.
I may have to go on little bit of a ramble, here.
I have been in a rut for...well, too long. I completed Novel #4 in 2017. I was incredibly proud of it. Although it wasn't a very high bar to set, I felt that it was the best thing I'd written. I queried the hell out of that book and an agent actually asked me to send the whole manuscript. I don't think that had ever happened before. In the midst of all this, I had a very traumatic experience where I was jumped by a few guys coming home from work one night. Needless to say, that kinda fucked me up a bit. Quit my job. Finished the final draft of the book, and queried my ass off. No luck, of course. It was a big book. A sprawling family drama that covered some twenty-five years.
By the time I was done, I think it was up to 124,000 words. I'd written four novels and a few short stories in four years. They just came out of me bing-bang-boom. By the time I was querying Book 4, I was tired. I needed my batteries to recharge and then figure out what the next book was gonna be. I was living with my Dad at the time, and he decided to retire and move back to our hometown. I wasn't sure what the hell I was gonna do, now that I was unemployed and was dealing with anxiety and PTSD after getting jumped. So I stayed with my Mom for a bit, who lives in another part of the province.
I moved back to my home province, went to college, got my diploma, and got a job that's barely considered part-time and for minimum wage. Without getting too into my personal bullshit, this last year or so has been nothing but stressful. New job, new career, not enough money, on my own for the first time, deaths in the family, family turmoil that's been going on for too many years now. I wrote the first draft of a novel about a year and half ago that took nine months and it's a real piece of shit. The one I tried before that, I trunked after 200 pages. Since then I have only written a few short stories. And now I'm laid off work because of COVID and because of finances.
I have a few ideas kicking around. Just skeletons of ideas. And I mull them over in my head to add some meat to the skeeton. It happens little by little. But, for some reason, not enough for me to sit down for three or four hours, like I'm used to doing, and executing a day of 1000-1,500 words like I did for those first four novels. And I want to write them. I want to write another novel. I miss it. I miss writing so much. And every day I open up Word and stare at a blank page. Maybe write a sentence. And then my brain just...stops.
I know I was burnt out after Book #4. It happens. I don't feel burnt out anymore, but there is an impediment there that I don't understand. I know I have anxiety issues and I am certain I have some sort of depression, and that is definitely a part of it. I am hoping to use this quarantine time to work on a new novel. I just have to burrow through all of my personal bullshit and pick a story to tackle. It's hard calling yourself a writer when you haven't finished a novel in almost three years.
I have been in a rut for...well, too long. I completed Novel #4 in 2017. I was incredibly proud of it. Although it wasn't a very high bar to set, I felt that it was the best thing I'd written. I queried the hell out of that book and an agent actually asked me to send the whole manuscript. I don't think that had ever happened before. In the midst of all this, I had a very traumatic experience where I was jumped by a few guys coming home from work one night. Needless to say, that kinda fucked me up a bit. Quit my job. Finished the final draft of the book, and queried my ass off. No luck, of course. It was a big book. A sprawling family drama that covered some twenty-five years.
By the time I was done, I think it was up to 124,000 words. I'd written four novels and a few short stories in four years. They just came out of me bing-bang-boom. By the time I was querying Book 4, I was tired. I needed my batteries to recharge and then figure out what the next book was gonna be. I was living with my Dad at the time, and he decided to retire and move back to our hometown. I wasn't sure what the hell I was gonna do, now that I was unemployed and was dealing with anxiety and PTSD after getting jumped. So I stayed with my Mom for a bit, who lives in another part of the province.
I moved back to my home province, went to college, got my diploma, and got a job that's barely considered part-time and for minimum wage. Without getting too into my personal bullshit, this last year or so has been nothing but stressful. New job, new career, not enough money, on my own for the first time, deaths in the family, family turmoil that's been going on for too many years now. I wrote the first draft of a novel about a year and half ago that took nine months and it's a real piece of shit. The one I tried before that, I trunked after 200 pages. Since then I have only written a few short stories. And now I'm laid off work because of COVID and because of finances.
I have a few ideas kicking around. Just skeletons of ideas. And I mull them over in my head to add some meat to the skeeton. It happens little by little. But, for some reason, not enough for me to sit down for three or four hours, like I'm used to doing, and executing a day of 1000-1,500 words like I did for those first four novels. And I want to write them. I want to write another novel. I miss it. I miss writing so much. And every day I open up Word and stare at a blank page. Maybe write a sentence. And then my brain just...stops.
I know I was burnt out after Book #4. It happens. I don't feel burnt out anymore, but there is an impediment there that I don't understand. I know I have anxiety issues and I am certain I have some sort of depression, and that is definitely a part of it. I am hoping to use this quarantine time to work on a new novel. I just have to burrow through all of my personal bullshit and pick a story to tackle. It's hard calling yourself a writer when you haven't finished a novel in almost three years.
First of all,
Second of all, you are most definitely a writer. You finished four novels! That's a huge accomplishment! And you got a full request on a manuscript from an agent!
If you are having trouble right now, in April 2020, focusing on writing, my God, FORGIVE YOURSELF. You mention an "impediment" and I, not knowing anything about you personally, say please don't put undue pressure on yourself right now. Using this quarantine time to get some writing done is a great goal, but don't punish yourself if you don't do it. We are in the midst of a global pandemic. A piece of human history. We are in survival mode right now.
We can sometimes be our own toughest critics and in some cases, our own worst enemies. I know it can seem like "What's wrong with me?!" at times when we can't get the words down, but it's important to remember that we have to nurture ourselves as writers as well as push ourselves.
One more for the road:
I've just crossed the 70,000 word threshold and have battled through the block to the point that I can steer the ship towards the finish line and know exactly how i want to get there. Even if nothing ever comes from the time and effort I've put into it, I'm pleasantly surprised at myself for sticking with it.
HarvesterofSorrow—what ValerieJane said. Hugs. It's OK. When you're burnt out, it's OK to take a break. It doesn't make you any less of a writer.
I'm wanting to write adventure stories but then for some reason I can't seem to ever get it together other than a few bits and pieces. Good news is I'm writing pithy poems and I'm trying to be content with that but deep inside lies a much larger story. Writing almost everyday, full time because my wife supports me.
It’s been a rough week for me and I’m pretty depressed. Nothing written seems good, and no idea for future projects seems good; it all seems beyond my abilities.
Hang in there Taylor. Everyone hates what they write and first drafts are the worst a piece will ever be.
I've taken a two day break from editing because the chapters are such a mess right now. I hope to get back into editing tomorrow.
I've taken a two day break from editing because the chapters are such a mess right now. I hope to get back into editing tomorrow.
Are you holed up alone or with other people in the house? I have plenty of people to talk to on the phone or online but not seeing people for long periods of time affected me more than it seemed it should.
My doctor added another antidepressant to my meds. It's a bit much, I might cut the dose back but I feel better, a lot better.
Just sayin' consider how the circumstances are affecting you. It is real.