Becoming the writer I want to be

The birds chirp and tweet.
Ruffled feathers, oh such peace
To fly, to be free.

Calm, crisp evening breeze.
Momma bird carries a worm.
Home, to feed her young.

The deer roars loudly.
It's love that his heart yearns for.
She will hear his voice.

 

Honestly I'm not sure, I have then in a document but I'm not keeping track.

 

Oh, I love these. I scrapped one of the Christmas ones I wrote because it didn't sound quite right, but I saved the last line and I've got another one I'm working on, but the second part is what gives me the most trouble. How many are you up to?

 

That's cool man, I hadn't thought about writing any Christmas ones. Maybe I will if I get inspired.

Not sure must be quite a few I should compile them to my laptop.
I have so many random poems on my phone would be good to get them all in one place.

 

I'm sure that you'll get inspired. There's always inspiration wherever you look!

You should. I find compiling them together is better because it not only has them on there, but you never know what might happen to the versions handwritten or your phone so it's a good idea to have some extra form of security. As for me, I wrote 3 haikus yesterday so, in the past 3 days, I've done 7 haikus. That's wonderful considering that I'm done with my degree program.

Plus, I'll be returning to article (and novel) writing tomorrow.

 

Two very different haiku tonight. Hope everyone is doing well.

Boundless temptation
simmers beneath the surface.
Stand against the tide.

Lone star in the sky.
Man's redemption close at hand
Season of our Lord.

 

I've been resting fairly well lately after completing my degree program. I've had some time to think about some essays to write, but I've got a nice batch of haikus I'll be editing this morning and unless anything else comes up between now and New Years, it might be the last batch for I'm wanting to turn my attention to working on my novel. I may get to resume work on it this evening, but tomorrow for sure.

 

I love this. I've written one about the adoration of the Magi and then one over the flight of the angels. I consider the latter to be one of my favorites from the winter batch I've been working on. I'll have to let you guys my final number of haikus for the year soon.

 

How's your philosophy book coming along? @aricking

 

Not that good,i was delaying recently but good thing is i am about to finish an essay on enlightenment,wrote 1490 words today,,a problem is i have low confidence in terms of writting,i had negative thoughts that my writting is dumb

 

Now, no writer's dumb. There's writer's block, but you're not a dumb writer. You just need a boost of confidence here and @AtomicTango's the best person. He gave me the confidence to revise my novel and not throw it away and his guidance has seen me write more than ever before. We've all got advice that we can shower you with.

 

Most importantly i now find writting very interesting,and i would love getting advice from you guys

 

Nobody is a good writer right from the off, its not a talent you are born with, its a skill you can learn and practice at. I wrote things a few years back that, objectively speaking, were not very good and were extremely amateurish. Last year I wrote a short novella and this year I wrote two short stories before starting and finishing a novel, and now I am writing the second novel in a planned series. Now, to be fair, do I think anything I have written is absolutely amazing? No, but I can tell you that every time I write something new its inherently superior to anything I wrote before it, because it has the added benefit of experience poured into it.

To cut a long story short, my advice is to do three things before you start writing what you consider the "main" thing you want to write about.

1. Take the time to read other books by a variety of authors. They dont need to be in genres you actually want to write about, just things you are interested in. Reading other peoples work will educate you on what you like, what you dont, inspire you with your own ideas, as well as give you a better grasp of what and what isnt "good." I was actually inspired to write my own novel by reading a sci fi novel so bafflingly mediocre yet so well received it mad me realise I could write something better, and so I did. If you read a lot of books you will stop holding to yourself to such a high standard as you will see even famous, beloved authors have issues or noticeable quirks.

2. Planning is your best friend, and is technically tied to tip 1. Reading and planning are all "research" in the sense you are researching external sources as well as your own imagination for the best way to write something. Keep notes and write down every idea you have. From now on EVERYTHING you experience in life is research for a possible book or story.

3. I dont advise writing something massively complex or ambitious first. You arent Tolkien, and shouldn't try to be, you probably cant just sit down and churn out something like he did in the way he did and get away with it. And thats fine, because 99% of people cant. You need to hold yourself to realistically achievable standards. Starting with short stories or even flash fiction is a better idea than jumping into something long and complex right away, realising its bad midway through, and then being dejected. And remember, the more short stuff you write, the more you can experiment and find your own style within the confines of something that wont take years to write and finish. Once you feel confident, then you can move onto something complex.

 

Some more haiku today. A more sombre one, a more uplifting one, and as a change, one that is horror themed.

Windswept horizon.
Muted sky meets faded earth.
Where did colours go?

Polychromatic
sky flashes to life as the
lights of heaven dance.

Swirling, shifting, the
unknowable moves closer.
It slept. Now it wakes.

 

Well, I submitted my second article to the editor and I've now written more than 5000 words for one publication. It's something that's going to be done on the side that I can see helping me improve my ability to write articles, but I love it since I've free reign to write on what I want and since I'd give myself about a month to work on a piece, plenty of time for research and contemplating the angle I'm going for.

I'm going to try and resume work on the novel next week. I meant to this week, but I wanted to finish the article first and then return to the novel. Meanwhile, today's the day I'm supposed to graduate so it's time for me to find a job in some shape or form.

 

Why are you moving back home? o:

 

Finally got through the chapters I have written so far. 248 pages and just over 88,000 words for act 4. I think in future I will take the time to have a break and read my work in-between acts as opposed to at the end, because bloody hell that was tedious.

Still, now thats done I can take the next two weeks off for real. Merry Christmas everyone!

 

Oh wow! That's impressive my friend. I'll be getting back into writing my novel tomorrow. I've revised two poems I wrote in Feburary. I've got a poem I'll write soon, but the rest of my creative energies are going toward revising and rewriting the next chapter of my novel for the rest of the year.