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Becoming the writer I want to be

Discussion in 'Self Improvement' started by Anakin66, Feb 24, 2020.

  1. Anakin66

    Anakin66 Fapstronaut

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    Yesterday was a better day, much more productive. I got 560 words written, but most importantly I completed the second subsection of my core results.

    I was also able to crunch some numbers, but I have to continue this task later today.

    I am really happy with how the 3rd manuscript is shaping up. Got to stay positive.
     
  2. AtomicTango

    AtomicTango Fapstronaut

    2245 words today. I really want to get this chapter done Monday but realistically it might not be possible, as I dont want to rush it. At the same time, like I said earlier, I am trying to work this out so I can take a day off at the end of next week to plan, and it will be awkward trying to fit that day in if its the week after next and not next week.
     
  3. Monday: n/a
    Tuesday: n/a
    Wednesday: 407 words

    Thursday: 424 words

    I'm going to try and write this evening as a change, hence why my word tracker's not been updated (yet). I did want to say, though, that I spent yesterday starting to type some of my poems onto word documents and got 9 poems that I've revised and rewritten in the last few months on there and it's so satisfying to see how much poetry I've written this year and I've got some longer pieces that I'll be rewriting and revising during the next few weeks alongside my chapter revisions, but I never imagined I'd be in this position a year ago. :)
     
  4. AtomicTango

    AtomicTango Fapstronaut

    Over 10,000 words this week, bringing my overall page count to 118.
     
  5. Monday: n/a
    Tuesday: n/a
    Wednesday: 407 words

    Thursday: 424 words
    Friday: n/a
    Saturday: 409 words

    Alright, so I didn't write anything yesterday (whoops) and I did write 400 words this morning. It's been hard this week because my mind's wanting to go back to my old style and I'm having to work hard to write in a way that shows more and expands the details, not just tell and be basic. I think I've done a good job so far but I'll refrain from asking for feedback until the first chapter is complete. I've got a paper to do this weekend so it'll be Monday before I write again.

    Total for the week: 1240 words

    Not bad for me only writing for 3 days this week. I've had someone bitch to me about the need to write 1000 words every day, but considering that it's crunch time for my final semester, I don't think that's bad because I'm sure that some people find it impossible to write any during busy times. I'm sure about you guys, but it annoys me when other writers say that I have to fill a certain quota, not realizing that:

    1. I'm mildly autistic and can easily get overwhelmed.
    2. I've got a busy schedule at times and have to write whatever whenever I get a chance.
    3. I'm still learning and I'd rather write good sections slowly than a shitty chapter quickly.

    Am I crazy for complaining about this? Or do you all generally agree with my assessment?
     
  6. AtomicTango

    AtomicTango Fapstronaut

    I agree with what you have said here, its up to noone but yourself to decide how much you write, within some sort of reason (for example I would and have heavily criticised GRR Martin for writing so little because he's a household name professional who has as much discipline and process as an amateur, and as a fan of the series he's inevitably going to die before he completes, that annoys the hell out of me) but as an amateur yourself you dont really need to stick to any requirements except the ones you impose upon yourself. I manage to write so much because I've become accustomed to it and have spent almost every morning for the last 8 months writing. Anyone can reach that level given enough time and practice. It also helps that I've overcome my own crippling perfectionism to write stuff that isnt 100% the best it can be, self aware of the fact I can alter it later.

    I didn't realise you were autistic, but I guess its hard to tell over text. To tell you the truth, I've suspected I'm mildly autistic at times too, but I am not entirely sure.
     
  7. Anakin66

    Anakin66 Fapstronaut

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    I cleaned up some text and did some editing for manuscript 3 over the weekend.

    Also did some prep work to crunch some numbers tomorrow. I spent some time planning how to present the results for this new dataset. I have a plan and now it's time to execute. Hopefully I have the graphs ready to get some writing done by Tuesday.
     
  8. AtomicTango

    AtomicTango Fapstronaut

    1989 words today, completing the chapter and keeping me on schedule.
     
  9. Last Week: 1240 words

    Monday: 409 words

    Ironic that I start the week off with the same word count I had last week, haha. I had a busy weekend working on class assignments and I lost the first 60 or so words when my computer refreshed the page before I saved it, but with a restart and some determination, I think I've gotten a good start so far. The revised part of the first chapter is roughly 1650 words for the moment, which isn't that bad considering how much time I've been investing in making sure that the chapter is stronger and shows more of the story.

    Atomic knows this, but I usually am very reserved about showing off my writing. However, I'm showing these two snippets because they're some of my favorite sentences I've written to date and I hope they demonstrate my change from telling to showing, which you can read below:

    Note: They're from two different points in the chapter and do not necessarily follow each other. I wanted to clear that up before any confusion came about.

    If they fail to do so, give me some advice on how to buff them up, but they've got an air about them that just took me back and impressed me with what I was able to come up with, haha.

    I appreciate the advice. Considering that I'm mostly doing school stuff at the moment, I've not had much time to write and what time I do is usually either writing poetry, sending lengthy replies to my friends, or even writing snippets for essays or something so the fictional writing is less, but it doesn't mean I don't try. You saw my first draft and you could see the potential in it. You know what I'm capable of and that for me to juggle everything I've got on my plate at the moment, it's impressive to even have as solid of a foundation on my novel as I do. Martin's procrastination and slow writing would probably annoy me because I can understand if it takes 3-4 years to write the next book but over 5? Nah. I've had a friend try to get me to read him, but I think I'll skip him at this point since if he dies before completing the books, what's the point in reading the series? Plus, I know the show goes way off course from what he had in mind so it's a lose-lose situation either way. I know when I graduate, that'll lighten up my load a bit and give me the time needed to write and read more, but it's good to see that you've been able to practice enough to establish a firm routine. I also hope to overcome my own perfectionism and learn to write stuff that I can alter later. I think I've done a good job so far, but again, things are always changing so I could be wrong, haha.

    It is. It could also be because I'm very good at disguising it and a lot of people in real life don't know that I'm an aspie because I can hide it so well. You do? What's made you think that you are?
     
  10. AtomicTango

    AtomicTango Fapstronaut

    I should clarify I have never spoken to a medical professional about this, and only have come to *maybe* suspect it based on my own introspection and research into the topic. Having said that, throughout my life I have experienced/displayed various traits that could be perceived as being part of mild high functioning autism, such as:

    Social anxiety when talking to new people, to the extent I dreaded any situation where I would have to interact with a new person. For a long time consistent eye contact made me feel incredibly uncomfortable (I liken it to feeling like the other persons eyes were burning into me) and I absolutely hate being touched unless I am aware its going to happen, even then I dont like it. I have no problem verbalising myself but I struggle with completely grasping facial expressions and other non verbal cues, but only sometimes. I often misunderstand what a person is trying to express when they arent using words, but not always.

    I have to keep to a routine and feel uncomfortable when I dont. I have extremely limited interests but I obsess over the things I am interested in. When I talk to people I dont have a problem speaking to I always end up rambling and controlling the conversation, especially if its something I am passionate about. In general I dont enjoy the company of many people, have a strange aversion to any kind of intimacy except with certain people (I mean intimacy of any kind here, not just the obvious type) and am prone to become overly emotional and have mood swings. I can behave extremely eccentrically.

    Now some of these things can be attributed to diabetes, as I am type 1, but not all of them. I think I've, unknowingly, suppressed and hidden these traits to assimilate with people without fully getting what I was actually doing. Having said all that, I could be completely wrong.
     
  11. I don't think diabetes would cause this and from my experience and personal insight, you fit the criteria just right. Everything you've said makes sense and I've done it all in some shape or form. I can't add anything onto what you've said since it's all aspects I've dealt with, but it's nice to know that there's someone similar to me on here that I could bond with and not be afraid of messing up on since we'd be on the same page together. :D
     
  12. AtomicTango

    AtomicTango Fapstronaut

    1597 words today, still on schedule.
     
  13. AtomicTango

    AtomicTango Fapstronaut

    Had a bit less time today, so got 768 words done. Still on track though.
     
  14. Anakin66

    Anakin66 Fapstronaut

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    I was able to complete my graphs by Monday as planned. I got 390 words in Tuesday and 750 words in yesterday. The last results subsection is proving to be a bit of a challenge to write. At this point I'm just trying to get all my thoughts out on the screen. I definitely need at least one more week to shape this paper 3 into something workable.

    I have a packed day tomorrow with meetings and seminars. I'll try to squeeze some writing in during the breaks.
     
  15. AtomicTango

    AtomicTango Fapstronaut

    1354 words today, finishing the chapter. No more writing this week I think, need to plan the next chapter in more detail.
     
  16. Last Week: 1240 words

    Monday: 409 words
    Tuesday: n/a
    Wedensday: n/a
    Thursday: n/a

    Okay, so what happened, you might ask? I got sick. To keep it short, I've spent the past three days fighting a sinus infection so severe that I had a major fever and was too weak to do anything. I've gotten over the sickness and hope to write some tomorrow, but this week has been brutal because I didn't expect to be knocked down as hard as I was for the first time in over four years. I'm doing much better now though! :D
     
  17. duellator4viva

    duellator4viva Fapstronaut

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    This is just inspiring. I am loving the posts from all of you here. As an aspiring writer and a First year Engineering student, I can really appreciate as well as try to garner the amount of dedication you guys have to writing and becoming better at it.

    Count me in after exams to join this thread more actively!
     
    Henryforward and Anakin66 like this.
  18. AtomicTango

    AtomicTango Fapstronaut

    Welcome!
     
    duellator4viva and Anakin66 like this.
  19. Last Week: 1240 words

    Monday: 409 words
    Tuesday: n/a
    Wedensday: n/a
    Thursday: n/a
    Friday: 351 words

    So I didn't quite write as much as I had liked, but I did get the new chapter up to 2000 words even so I figured that would be a good place to stop. I've two papers to work on over the weekend, but I hope to be able to make some notes on what I want to do to expand the chapter to around 4000-4500 words, plan on how to fill in any potential gaps with this chapter, and try to get myself ready to write 500 words again on a daily basis beginning next week.

    Weekly Total: 760 words

    Sure, the weekly total is far shorter than what I'd like, but considering that I was sick for three days, that's still not a bad amount for the week. I'm actually shocked I managed to get that much written because of my sickness, but I don't mind this kind of surprise. I hope to bounce back next week and make up for my losses and get back on track to where I'm supposed to be, but it's kind of hard to plan this when you've no idea what curveballs may be thrown your way, but I'm determined to still keep moving forward. :D
     
  20. AtomicTango

    AtomicTango Fapstronaut

    5722 words this week, new page total is 134 pages.
     

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