Becoming the writer I want to be

You can do it Anakin! Sending you good energies from Colombia

 

This is an inspiring thread. I'm not writing a thesis or anything as complex but I have wanted to write fiction for a long time and my writing process is incredibly inefficient, I will get a sudden burst of motivation, write something out in a few days, then as soon as I'm done lose all motivation for weeks or even months till it suddenly comes back, then the cycle repeats. I tell myself it doesnt matter because I write for fun and I do still like the things I write, but at the end of the day this writing process hinders me from writing some of the things I would ideally like to write. I really ought to put more effort into it.

Keep up the good work Anakin, may I ask what you are studying to be a doctor of?

 

You can break the cycle! Discipline, commitment, focus. Everything you need it's in this thread. I like to chat with writers so feel free to keep in touch here

 

I definitely need to. At the minute I'm in the early research stage, I'm tempted to rush into writing but its important to understand what I'm actually writing before I do it, otherwise I tend to write myself into a corner.

 

Something I like to do (before and after research) is to write an outline of what I'm about to write. I like writing essays so this is a very valuable exercise. Just write the title, add some subtitles, and for each subtitles add 3-5 bullet points.

Once that's done it's just a matter of filling in the gaps. Maybe you already knew this tactic but hope it helps somehow.

 

Yep, thats what I just got finished doing this morning. My hope is to start actually writing within the next couple of weeks.

 

I think I may have to take you up on that. With all thats been going on in the world recently theres never been a better time for me to start this properly, I have the free time most days (I think) and its something I know I can do. I've spent enough time writing short fiction that I feel like I can write something more substantial.

I definitely write a lot in my head. In fact, I've had some of the ideas that are going into my writing in my head since I was a kid, but I've never felt like I was actually capable enough to sit down and write anything with it without it turning into nonsense. I realise now, thats just negativity speaking. I can do it, and I will, I cant say how long it will take, probably a looong time, but I have no deadline and I know with enough time and effort it will turn out well. I'm still in the early stages but its probably a good idea to take this part slow. I went to bed last night thinking one character was going to play one role in the story, then woke up this morning thinking "wait hold on, it makes much more sense if the character did this", and thankfully making the change only involved splitting one character into two and changing their job, but I imagine a lot of other realisations like this will hit me suddenly, I want to be sure of whats going on with the story before I write even one line of it.

Yes, some good tips have popped up in this thread. Because of the aforementioned ideas being in my head for a long time I have a lot of the universe of the story set in stone, and it was a case of setting up an actual plot within that universe. I spent the last week or so working out the plot outline, and am now working on the connective tissue that will allow the plot to flow in a way that doesnt feel artificial. I've done this before but never on this scale, I fully expect the story to be a mid-length novel before the end of it. I also need to worry about formatting and page setup in a way I didn't really have to before, I am DEFINITELY not making the mistake of forgetting a certain necessary element and having to retroactively go back to add it in, messing up everything I already wrote.

 

I'm going to take OP's advice and write up my progress in this thread. As said before, I am currently in the early research/outlining stage, which I expect to be in for a couple of weeks yet. Yesterday I wrote out the chapter outlines to get a rough idea of how long the story will be and the various story beats. This morning I woke up and made some edits to these outlines, and assuming I dont have another epiphany I think the outlines are mostly good to go, they just need more detail added.

 

Yes this is great! I recommend the Mind Master program. You can download it for Windows and I think iOS too.

 

I have no writing challenge of my own. I want to join you guys too. I like poetry and free writing. I want to write once a day. Life's so meaningful, how not to write about it? I like short writings, I would like to publish a poetry book one day.

 

Why dont you begin by setting aside a short amount of time a day to free write, about whatever you want, maybe half a pages worth or even a page, and take it from there?

EDIT: Kinda like journalling I guess but instead of writing about your day you write whatever comes to mind.

 

I feel like the best writers are people who read a lot.

I tried to write a book right after Factotum was made into a movie.

The book was awful.

But I kept reading Bukowski.

I believe I have read 4 of his novels around 4-7x each, and about 12 of his other books.

Also, I read a lot of Hamsun, Fante, Burroughs, and others.

It's almost like there's a minimum number of pages to read until someone can write effectively.

Copying Buk's prose, I wrote 7 books, self-published.

But I don't write as much because I hate sitting.

That year of 2018 destroyed my back, writing over 1,000 pages, and editing it,

with obsession.

 

I agree, this is partly why I read so much. Last year I read 48 books and this year I'm on track to read slightly more. I read all kinds of things and most things I read inspire me in some way to write my own stuff, as well as educate me on things like prose, plot structure, and character writing.

 

Yes, pretty much

Who's Buk?

I'll see and keep you updated. This would mean arranging my life so I always have that 30min daily, which I do. I would have to commit to it though and I'm already commited to other things. I'll send an update Monday morning

 

Decided to change tack a bit today and try some writing. Got a brief prologue chapter done, just less than 500 words in total. Short, but it sets the scene and makes the novel tangible to me now.

 

I'm not a big famous writer or anything,

and I'm not that great.

But I believe quality is far more important than quantity.

Ask yourself this question:

When I am in the library, and I see that massive

stack of encyclopedias,

do I want to read that thing?

No, and that's how people assess if they want to read you.