How do you make yourself write?
 

I am writing a book. My first one.

I'm actually looking for ways/reasons other writers out there make themselves write. I'm like, THE worst procrastinator in existence. I enjoy writing (omg really? You had to say that when ALL your posts are giant?), but now that I've made a decision to ultimately write this story that I've grown and made in my head for over 2 years now, its become a chore to sit down and start writing. Once I get into it, I'm fine, but the smallest distraction and I'm gone, or alternatively my writing sucks and I spend twice as long editing the damned thing.
Any hints about what I should do? I even bought shitty laptop so that I'd write not on my gaming computer (the whole keep work/fun separate.) Again, don't get me wrong, I like writing, and I don't have writers block, I just haven't been able to write for more than at most 2 hours/day. And weekends? Hah, that's playtime. Its so bad that even if I get an itch to write, I'll be like 'nope, gotta do laundry' or something instead.

Re: How do you make yourself write?
 

Well as author myself. i find that it all depends on the story. what is your story about thats my first question? and what ever that subject is i find it brings great inspiration to immerse yourself in that subject until the ideas smack you in the face thats how i wrote my first book. but thats just me i would like to know others opinion about this topic though.

Re: How do you make yourself write?
 

If what you are writing seems like a chore then maybe it isn't the right idea. Try to play around with outrageous ideas that will make writing fun and they don't necessarily have to be in your final story but it'll make whatever you're writing seem "fun". Also, all writers go through the gray period. The dread middle is always hard to write. You just have to grin and bare it and make it through so you can get to the fun parts. Do little bits at a time so you don't feel overwhelmed. :) Eliminate distractions and just get at it!

Re: How do you make yourself write?
 

Helpful hints:

Write the story out in a variety of formats. Write a full copy, but make it so that a child could read it. Write a plain version of it. No flowery writing. Write it like a map. Write it like a series of events. Write it like a journal from the eyes of one of the characters. All of these ways will help you get down and writing, and find certain ways that you written it and like how it represents your idea. This is especially useful if you don't know how and when to set up dialogue, and how to make a character's key sentences be the right amount of impactfulness (lol bad English) that you're looking for. Once this is all done, you can derive from all of these to write it in the format you want to do, and have already have a clear idea how and where you're going to start it, take it, and end it.

Second thing, have fun. While doing this little drafting process, have fun. Keep stress out of it. It's also good to balance out other hobbies and obligations in your life. Having a good mix of other things in your life, and succeeding at them, will help you actually feel freedom and stress free of other things in your life when in your writing time. Writing is just as essential as anything else is in your life IF you're actually serious about writing.

Lastly, and most importantly, don't set expectations. I read an interview from Stephanie Meyers about how expectations can kill an author from writing a story. I'm not giving the best version of this advice here, because I'm not getting into detail about it, but that's because I don't remember how she worded it. But when I read it, I knew what she was talking about it, and experienced it myself. It seems like that's what you're doing now. You have this expectation because you love the idea of this story. You want to get it out there and share. That mentality makes it hard to actually work on it. I'm going to go back to that interview and share it here later.

I'll probably add more advice, but for now, this is probably the best I got.

I wish you luck, my friend.

Re: How do you make yourself write?
 

Well, as to it being a chore, that would have to do with the expectation part of it for certain. Its not the fact that it is a chore, its a fact that its something I have to do. If I had the expectation of myself to eat a bowl of icecream everyday, hell it would probably be a chore for me after day 1.
As to writing it out in a bunch of different styles...that would be useful except I feel like I'm already past that stage, at least for the first large chunk of my story. The second chunk is still being drafted up, but so far I've done all my drafting in my head. For instance, this first part is going to be totally written from a 3rd person view of the main character, except for a few snippets which will be about someone else entirely. Furthermore, the amount of story I've got in my head for this thing is huge...I'm already thinking my first section (or novel if it is this long), will be far more than 80,000 words.
And lastly about this, I think I can only write in one style...my own. I'm sure I could write in specific ways, I used to highschool, because i thought they sounded better, or neat, or fit what I was writing. But my English teacher cured me of that, because I got better grades when I just wrote without doing that, and I do believe my writing was better too. Perhaps that's not the case with a story though. My most recent experience in writing anything beyond forum posts is science journals. :-p

I have tons of ideas, but I didn't get them from writing, I enjoyed myself while thinking about them beforehand. I will likely do this the same when figuring out all the second part. I have lots of ideas, and I write them down so I won't forget, and when I find I have a minute now and then, I'll ponder my story. I'm completely open to newn ideas I get when I begin writing, and have already added something different than what I figured in the first place.
I suppose I am concerned that if I don't figure out what I want in the entirety of the story, that I will have to go back and alter huge sections of the first one if I find a good idea later on that doesn't quit fit. But that is probably expectation issues again, but in a much different way than just procrastination, because I shouldn't expect it to all fall in place after a first write-through, no matter how good my planning is. I could also totally see that at some point in the future, I go back and read and i think its crap, I would tell myself to stop writing. That's what I've done with music-making...although that's a little different because I don't possess all the tools/skills to create what I hear in my head, and there would have te be a lot of time involved to learn it, etc., although that shouldn't be an issue with writing...I know words, I can write them, I know how to use a thesaurus.

I don't want to create crap.

I will say very little about my story because if...err, when, yes when it comes to fruition, and any of you do want to read it, I want all the surprises to, well, surprise you.
The setting is in a city where people mind-feel (not mind read, they can't know thoughts, only other's emotions), and the story will follow a teenaged girl who has this ability, who will undergo huge changes in her life.

Gah, its also really frustrating to not be able to share what the story's fully about with everyone, although I have told a couple people who I don't mind if they're spoiled for it :-p

Re: How do you make yourself write?
 

Yeah, I've considered setting myself intermediate goals for word count. 2000 seems like a good starting number for a day. I'm hoping that I will 'ramp up' to more the more I get used to writing though. So far I've pretty much been writing every other day, (with me guilting myself when I haven't written as much as I should in between) and would like to change that to 5 days a week, everyday, at least.
The only problem with making myself write when I don't want to, is that I'm not sure I really can. It's not like doing a mundane task, just plow through it. I find it very hard to force myself to do something creative, because you really have to immerse yourself into it.

As to finding a writing buddy, yeah right, that ain't gonna happen. I have few enough friends in the first place, much less writing friends. Hell, I've hardly wanted to tell anyone I'm trying to take up writing seriously, for fear that I will fail at it like so many other things, and if I give people the expectation that I will write something, I will feel like I've failed them too if I fail. Writing everyday is the best way for me to succeed, and I am focussing on doing that.

Ah well, thanks for the advice guys, I will keep it in mind. Perhaps I will post my first couple of chapters when I get comfortable with them.

Re: How do you make yourself write?
 

There is no bit of knowledge that's going to make this process any more effortless. Sure, it might make the workload slightly easier, but the amount of effort will be the same. The only key to writing is to write, write, write, and write some more.

I think there are people who get ideas for great stories all the time. However, a lot of these people probably don't even acknowledge them, or even care to write them, because it's something they don't want to do. Then there are people who like writing, whether it's journals, or observing, or creative, but don't care to sell stories. This is what sets authors apart from writers, and writers apart from non-writers. Being an author is making your writing a form of art, to share with all types of people. It's not just writing. If this is attractive to you, then you're an author, not a writer. You have to get in that mindset and write, write, write. Only you know which one you are.

I sympathize with you, though. But you should really try to invest in taking some time to write, even if it's not going to be in the finished product. I take notes of all the new ideas I get, but they're not as useful as actually writing something to reflect the form of something readable, and not a mash of notes. You might have a great idea for a story, but imagine just explaining it to someone from beginning to end. Sure, it will be fascinating, but that's not like experiencing a written product. So you can't expect the written process to be an effortless dump of your mind that can be shared for the world to read. You have to present it in the form that makes the experience enjoyable, too. Now, I'm not saying that you have to focus on being a good writer, but you have to "write" it to get it out, which is different then just explaining, forming ideas, and taking notes.

I am certain you have a lot of great ideas, but that's all they are - ideas. You might have a clear idea how it goes from beginning to end, to the point it's almost like you can actively read the book in your head, but still, it's just a formless mess that only you know the way to organize.

I suggest taking MrPopadopalis25's advice, because he has some good ones. Setting a goal of writing the story out (even if you realize you're going to revise it later) is very useful because you're making tangible progress in intervals, which is more than having nothingness. Which, as MrPop said, is great because you actually have a clearer picture of what a finished product can be, and not blank pages.

I know that you fear of having poor writing or story telling, but there's a remedy for this. Just like being a musician, we might hit some bum notes, but at least they're out there. If we know what the story should be like, or what the big picture is, we can go back and fix those. Also, with having something for others to read, we can get feedback on parts that are lacking. Maybe a section isn't provocative enough, or lacking suspense where it should, or the pacing is dragging. With this feedback, we can make necessary adjustments. And, you probably don't need a proof-reader, because we can proof it ourselves, and refine it until it fits our image.

Lastly, once it's in a form YOU'RE comfortable with, then give it out to some people. Don't consider it FINISHED yet. Things can still get revised that might be weak. I know that Beethoven revised several bits of his music after they've been officially performed. Once you locate these weak areas, you can always revise. No worry about feeling bummed out, it's part of the process. Not sure how helpful this is, but the guy who did Pan's Labyrinth took 30 years to get it in the form it is now.

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Here's the interview I was talking about. Might be helpful:

Re: How do you make yourself write?
 

How do you make yourself read?

this page contains too much text...i can't make myself read all of it lmfao.

Re: How do you make yourself write?
 

Agreed. :D

Re: How do you make yourself write?
 

I will be an author only if I publish. The intent to publish isn't nearly enough imo to call myself an author. I intend to publish though. I have definitely set aside time for this, and I assure you I am serious. I wouldn't be saying anything about it here if I weren't. I am not expecting this to be easy.

The interview, the author seems to hold the opinion I have about the little bit of music I've made; I make it for myself, and if someone else enjoys it, if they ever hear it, then hey, that's awesome. I will admit that I don't experience this with writing, not since I was 10 and wrote in my diary about myself...ah, the narcissism. The intent of my current story is for other people to experience it, hopefully enjoy it, and pay me money for it, not so much for myself to experience a written version of what I've already thought about in my head.

If this book(s) ends up being the least bit successful, and the process of writing the entire thing doesn't turn me off of writing entirely, (I don't expect it to, but you never know), then I will have accomplished my goal. I will have found myself a job :-p

Re: How do you make yourself write?
 

I make myself write. I sit down and literally make myself write. It's not always easy, and I don't always want to do it. Sometimes, I hate it. But I force myself. Because I want this to be my life. If I only felt like writing when the muse hit or when I know I'd be hitting a stride, I'd be waiting around forever, and it's never good to wait for such fickle superlatives and parameters to hit. I get my ass out of bed, I go to my writer's office, and I sit down until I have something on the page.

It's hard. It most definitely isn't something easy, but it's not always going to be, and no one said it ever was.

Re: How do you make yourself write?
 

I very much agree Mal. That's exactly how I do it. And even though it might be a taxing process, boy does it pay off at the end of the day! When I go back later that night to proof-read, and fix errors, it's such a joy! I have this tangible thing, a real connection, that's a reflection of myself. I love knowing that this exhausting morning has brought a brighter future, a future I would much rather have had I not done it.

Cavernio, I see you're well on your way. I have one last piece of motivation to share. This is a video from a good friend of mine's. Him and I are like-minded in a lot of ways, but I find him to be more eloquent. I can't word and express myself very well, and at times I feel I just lead people to misunderstandings. I feel he can say it better than I can.

Best wishes, Cavernio! It will be a treat if we get to read some of your writing in the future, whether it be this particular story or not.

Re: How do you make yourself write?
 

yeah i do what Mal. cause writing is my life besides smashing arrows and i would love to spend the rest of my life writing

Re: How do you make yourself write?
 

Not sure this post could be any more dramatic.

I've read your writings and it's obvious you tend to try and fill the void with rather uninteresting and bland sentence structure, rather than think it over for a bit and come up with something creative, which is why I disagree with your writing style.

Re: How do you make yourself write?
 

Seems to me like you just need to dedicate more time to writing instead of playtime. It's really that simple.

Re: How do you make yourself write?
 

Different strokes for different folks is all. I don't usually wake up wanting to write a story that Dorby is really going to like, so... there's that, I guess.

Re: How do you make yourself write?
 

I'm in an English class right now, and the teacher has a few books as well as a regular column out there somewhere. The best piece of advice she has is to allow yourself to "do the dumb one." It doesn't have to be perfect, the point is to get the whole task of putting your thoughts in a more concrete form out of the way. A brain dump, if you will. Once that's done, you can edit and revise as necessary.

Also, she had a good point about right brain vs. left brain thinking. The right brain perceives things as a whole, whereas the left brain breaks everything up into parts. (It's a gross oversimplification, but bear with me.) To write a good story, you first have to visualize what it's like as a whole and the important events that happen along the way. Only then should you have your left brain kick in and work out the details.

Re: How do you make yourself write?
 

Priceless.

On topic though, I'm kinda in the same boat as Cavernio. I love the idea of writing, I (mostly) enjoy doing it, but when I sit down with a "grand" idea lurking, I suddenly feel overwhelmed and become annoyed/afraid, etc. I just don't know if I can/will finish, I lose confidence etc.

However, what I've found is that working on some short stories and stuff, completing things you start, fleshing out ideas originally very simple, seems to give a nice ego/confidence boost. Sure, they might not be the greatest stories in the world, but you're an amateur, they're not going to be the best stories ever, nor are they supposed to be. You just have to start somewhere.

Wow, at second glance, this reply seems very conflicted. Yeah, I'll stop.

P.S: I also find that showing some of your work and getting even a couple of encouraging remarks really can help you get through a rough patch. You should try it out.

Re: How do you make yourself write?
 

To keep it short:
I used to write stories by telling a tale from beginning to end. I find now that writing is much easier if you start writing a summary of events, starting from the middle. Figure out where you want the story to have a turning point, and write in both directions from there. Spread yourself out, and do not focus on one thing.