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Why the HELL can't I write????!!!!!

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TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#1: Nov 11th 2010 at 5:31:58 PM

I can spend hours updating/creating trope pages. I can send texts to my friends that run almost 7 separate texts long.

I've written multiple short spoofs of almost 10 installments, each about 50 lines long.

But when I try to start my own Web Serial Novel, I fall on my face like some deer shot in the left eye.

It's frustrating.

In addition to just wanting to vent, I wanted to hear from some other folks suffering this fate, and/or tips for breaking this damn curse.

It was an honor
CyganAngel Away on the wind~ from Arcadia Since: Oct, 2010
Away on the wind~
#2: Nov 11th 2010 at 5:34:13 PM

Trying to set up a long-spanning plot might be part of the problem. You might also be forced to face up to the fact that, well, long-spanning novels require a lot more effort than short spoofs.

In a longer novel, you need character development, subpots, longer plots, and heaps of words.

There are too many toasters in my chimney!
TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#3: Nov 11th 2010 at 5:49:25 PM

@ Cygan Angel: I'd figured that part of the problem was that I was trying to go from bite sizes to a whole steak as it were.

But then, what do I do?

You ever had this problem?

It was an honor
CyganAngel Away on the wind~ from Arcadia Since: Oct, 2010
Away on the wind~
#4: Nov 11th 2010 at 5:55:38 PM

Nope.

I just keep writing.

Sometimes, I sing that song fromm Finding Nemo-

Just keep writing, just keep writing, writing, writing...

Except not really.

I'm not sure there's really a solution to your problem, Starship.

If I was to suggest a solution, I woud suggest treating every chapter as a short story in and of itself. Work out the details of the story beforehand, then write a detailed plot summary, then figure out a way to divide that into chapters.

But I'm not really sure that's a practial solution.

There are too many toasters in my chimney!
MajorTom Since: Dec, 2009
#5: Nov 11th 2010 at 5:56:55 PM

Writer's Block (the phenomena not the forum) is a bitch yes. But it can be beaten, sometimes however it requires waiting for the moment to strike that "Hey! this is how I can do X!" and then you get writing.

This can take as little as 15 minutes or as long as several weeks.

My writing schedule if you can call it that for Endless Conflict is whenever I get in the mood and have an idea. I'll sometimes spend days planning and scripting ideas in my head but am not in the mood to put it to keyboard.

Ronka87 Since: Jun, 2009
#6: Nov 11th 2010 at 6:40:03 PM

Everything I've read from professional writers says you really shouldn't wait for "inspiration" to hit— if you wait for your muse to show up and make you brilliant, you'll be sitting around on your butt forever. Waiting for the right ideas and words to come is probably what got you stalled in the first place.

The method that seems to work best is just writing. Yeah, I know, Captain Obvious, but you really just have to forge on. Set up a daily quota (something small, maybe 300 words) and hit that every day. The ideas don't have to be relevant, connected, sensible, or ever good— that's what second drafts are for. Just write every day, and every day you'll be closer to being a novelist than you were a day before.

Now, this is tough. Obviously. It requires dedication, self-discipline, and a buttload of effort. I think it was Terry Pratchett who said he had a 1000 word daily quota for himself, and it was sometimes a struggle to just get one out. But writing is the only way to get writing; waiting, even under the guise of plotting, is a writer killer.

CyganAngel Away on the wind~ from Arcadia Since: Oct, 2010
Away on the wind~
#7: Nov 11th 2010 at 6:45:04 PM

I have a quota of 100 words a day, five days a week.

Generally, I can get nearly 7k words done in that time.

Weee.

There are too many toasters in my chimney!
Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#8: Nov 11th 2010 at 9:52:00 PM

Try making the jump to short stories first. Some of the same requirements as a longer work, but it will use the skills of conciseness and punch that you've developed with your short pieces.

Morven Nemesis from Seattle, WA, USA Since: Jan, 2001
Nemesis
#9: Nov 11th 2010 at 9:55:27 PM

I'd agree with the suggestion to write something shorter; it can even be in the same world and with the same characters. Write some little scenes, some vignettes into their lives. This will help you with characterisation, too - to develop the 'voice' of the character, that feeling you know instinctively what they would do and say in any given situation.

A brighter future for a darker age.
Edmania o hai from under a pile of erasers Since: Apr, 2010
o hai
#10: Nov 11th 2010 at 10:48:16 PM

I find a series of short stories easier than one big one.

edited 11th Nov '10 10:48:23 PM by Edmania

If people learned from their mistakes, there wouldn't be this thing called bad habits.
jewelleddragon Also known as Katz from Pasadena, CA Since: Apr, 2009
Also known as Katz
#11: Nov 11th 2010 at 11:30:46 PM

Are you outlining thoroughly? A script or outline, even a very detailed one, is much easier to bang out than a complete work, and once you have one, you minimize the "Gaaaah I don't know what should come next!" problem.

Serial may also be shooting yourself in the foot. Sometimes it's easier to write out of order—just skip to whatever part you feel like working on. I write my Na No Wri Mos consecutively, but my serious works in whatever order I want.

Pinata from on your ceiling Since: Jan, 2001
#12: Nov 11th 2010 at 11:50:52 PM

There's a famous quote from a famous professional published author whose name escapes me at the moment, which goes something like "I wrote a whole sentence today. It was a very good day." So setting quotas might not be the best thing, because you will suffer from Rapid Hope Loss if you don't hit your quota, and destroying your self-confidence might make you give up writing altogether. Just promise yourself you'll write one sentence every day, and if you feel like writing more after that then write until you have to stop for whatever reason. I can usually bang out 100 words or more in a day doing this, because once you get that first sentence down things just start to flow.

The first 10 words or so are like pulling teeth... after that it gets easier, but you'll have to repeat the same process again the next day. However, just because it's inadvisable to sit around waiting for flashes of inspiration doesn't mean you'll never have them... every once in a while, lightning will strike and you'll find it much easier for a few hours to a few days before the inspiration wears off and you have to work for it again. Embrace these periods of inspiration, and get as much done during them as you can. Other times, stick to your one sentence a day rule (though most days, you should get at least the rest of that paragraph done after finishing the first sentence). It might take a while, but this is the best way to feel good about what you're doing pretty much every day. It sure as hell keeps me from offing myself.

No breasts/scrotum on that last post. Shit just got real. -Bobby G
RalphCrown Short Hair from Next Door to Nowhere Since: Oct, 2010
Short Hair
#13: Nov 12th 2010 at 9:29:12 AM

Here's one suggestion: instead of starting at square one, write the part(s) you can already see in your head. It may turn out that your idea will fit in a short story instead of War & Peace II. It's a variation on "write what you know," i.e. write down what you have. If it's worth pursuing, you can come back later and fill in the blanks; if not, you've gotten some valuable practice.

Under World. It rocks!
ShayGuy Since: Jan, 2001
#14: Nov 14th 2010 at 3:05:31 PM

Just promise yourself you'll write one sentence every day, and if you feel like writing more after that then write until you have to stop for whatever reason.

Every time I make these kinds of promises to myself, part of me says, "Who are you kidding? You're not going to keep this promise, any more than you kept the last five. You don't have what it takes."

This part of me never shuts up. And rallying the willpower to say "Well, I'll PROVE YOU WRONG this time!" doesn't work, because that other part of me is still me, and it's buried deeper, and again, it never shuts up.

Morven Nemesis from Seattle, WA, USA Since: Jan, 2001
Nemesis
#15: Nov 14th 2010 at 3:14:10 PM

Eventually, one will fail any such pledge. However, the key is what you do then. So you miss a day. Three days. A week. That voice in your head will tell you you're a failure. No, you're just human. So you fell off the bike. Get back on it. You rode it before, you can do so again. The key is not to let little setbacks "prove you suck".

A brighter future for a darker age.
ShayGuy Since: Jan, 2001
#16: Nov 14th 2010 at 3:29:54 PM

So why is it that any descriptions of seemingly good strategies and tactics (including that) get mentally filtered into "this is what other people do, which is what sets them apart from you, because they have the guts to keep going"? And on a related note, why do I keep mentally translating "There's no reason why you can't do it" to "There's no excuse for you not having done it"?

Morven Nemesis from Seattle, WA, USA Since: Jan, 2001
Nemesis
#17: Nov 14th 2010 at 3:30:54 PM

Sounds like you have the lovely condition called "clinical depression". Welcome to the club.

A brighter future for a darker age.
CyganAngel Away on the wind~ from Arcadia Since: Oct, 2010
Away on the wind~
#18: Nov 14th 2010 at 3:40:38 PM

We'd make you cookies, but they'd probably burn in the oven. We suck at making cookies, too.

There are too many toasters in my chimney!
Morven Nemesis from Seattle, WA, USA Since: Jan, 2001
Nemesis
#19: Nov 14th 2010 at 3:52:56 PM

Worth remembering that the advice we give is sometimes the advice we wish we would get around to following ;)

A brighter future for a darker age.
CyganAngel Away on the wind~ from Arcadia Since: Oct, 2010
Away on the wind~
#20: Nov 14th 2010 at 3:57:57 PM

On another note, I now can't remember if my above post was meant to be serious, humourous, sarcastic, or satirical. Man, these drugs work quick :/

There are too many toasters in my chimney!
Morven Nemesis from Seattle, WA, USA Since: Jan, 2001
Nemesis
#21: Nov 14th 2010 at 3:59:33 PM

Option 5, all of the above?

A brighter future for a darker age.
CyganAngel Away on the wind~ from Arcadia Since: Oct, 2010
Away on the wind~
#22: Nov 14th 2010 at 4:06:19 PM

Hehehe

There are too many toasters in my chimney!
Sidewinder Sneaky Bastard Since: Oct, 2009 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Sneaky Bastard
#23: Nov 15th 2010 at 9:53:41 AM

Ahh... Clinical depression. The secret to writing good angst or really horrible wangst.

Anyway, a lot of writers say that the secret is perseverance. I personally think it's not that, but the close cousin: Stubbornness. I'm like: "screw society’s expectations to me, screw normal sleep cycles. I want to write this damn thing and nothing's going to stop me."

mmysqueeant I'm A Dirty Cowboy from Essairrrrcks Since: Oct, 2010
I'm A Dirty Cowboy
#24: Nov 15th 2010 at 10:13:43 AM

Best way to force yourself to write is to find a nice quiet place with no internet access and no blaring screens, and sit down with your laptop/notepad.

You absolutely don't have to stay fixed to your laptop/chair, walk around, go for a little drive (as long as the area is safe - campus libraries and computer rooms for instance - public libraries, make sure you keep an eye on any valuables).

Just by being in a 'special writers place', especially if you have to drive a fair way to get there, DOUBLE-especially if you make a day of it, you write more.

That said, don't do your writing in a proper public place. Like Starbucks. Don't be one of those guys.

EDIT: OOH OOH OOH - if you live in England, National Trust places are a GODSEND for writers. Beautiful, well-preserved countryside, tons of history, including an emphasis on socio-cultural history and personal stories - just perfection.

edited 15th Nov '10 10:15:01 AM by mmysqueeant

Morven Nemesis from Seattle, WA, USA Since: Jan, 2001
Nemesis
#25: Nov 15th 2010 at 11:05:03 AM

What's wrong with writing in a Starbucks? So long as you pay for your space by buying stuff at regular intervals, anyway.

A brighter future for a darker age.

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