Hello back!

By jazzabel · May 6, 2017 · 371 · 11
  1. Dear friends,

    I must apologise for taking such a long time away from the forum. The truth is, I found the forum super helpful when I was still wallowing in writer's insecurity, wading through murky depths of my subconscious that held the story I was trying to write. Having a community of people who are all striving toward the same goal, and willing to help each other along the way, is a true gift and has seen me through many a writer's block. But in the end, writing stories is meant to be a lonely task for a reason, and I realised the forum was distracting me from what I came here to get help for in the first place.

    I am super excited to tell you that my novel is written, and in the beta-reading stage! 131k words, 88 scenes, 33 chapters plus an epilogue, it's a faithful representation of all that was brewing below the surface. The feedback has been better than I could ever have hoped, and my writing skill has now matured into something I can use as a tool, rather than being a compulsion with a will of its own that I'm desperately trying to tame. I'm looking forward to what comes next, and I'm already planning my next story. And I couldn't have done it without the help and encouragement of so many people on this forum.

    I hope you are all doing well, and that your writing projects are flourishing also! Take care and see you around xx

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  1. obsidian_cicatrix
    I think what you say holds true for many of us. It's so easy to procrastinate and fool ourselves into thinking that time spent here doesn't contribute towards that procrastination. I have the attention span of a goldfish as it is. That said, the fact that every influx of newbies forces the same questions to be asked again and again is what really cemented in place the basic rules and guidelines I was struggling to absorb. It took me to stay away for a while and put what I'd learned into practice, in order to realise just how much I'd learned and how I could use it to my advantage. I've returned far more confident than I would have thought possible. My writing is still the boss of me, but that's ok. As long as it reads well, I just don't care.
    obsidian_cicatrix, May 6, 2017
      Viridian, outsider and jazzabel like this.
  2. jazzabel
    I couldn't agree more @obsidian_cicatrix especially about the procrastination and rehashing the same old tired questions...I worked extra hard on my procrastination in the time I was away, it's a hard habit to break, as it is rooted so deeply in all kinds of base emotions, especially shame, but it's totally possible to change (wth a bit of help, at least in my case). I also found Ulysses app a godsend for writing on the go and between devicesm and credit it for racing through the last third of my book.

    With advice on here...A lot of it is great, but ultimately, all one needs to know can be found in most popular how-to books. Practice is the true teacher, and I am so glad you too have made good progress in your craft :))
    jazzabel, May 6, 2017
  3. obsidian_cicatrix
    Just checked out Ulysses. Looks great but I'm on a Windows PC at home, unfortunately, and writing on my iPhone stresses my eyes. I had a hard drive crash with my Scriv license on it, so I'm gonna need to repurchase it. Maybe it's for the best. I'd probably play about with a new program to the point of distraction. ;)
    obsidian_cicatrix, May 6, 2017
  4. jazzabel
    Omg I didn't realise Ulysses didn't work on PCs. What's wrong with those people? All apps should work for both...I hope you didn't lose valuable info with the crash. I never got on with Scrivener, found it convoluted and not very user friendly, at last for someone like me. I need things to be neat and easy, I hate having to learn to use a piece of software. I need it to work straight away. Ulysses is dead simple, I was writing in it in a matter of minutes.
    jazzabel, May 6, 2017
      obsidian_cicatrix likes this.
  5. BayView
    Thanks for checking in, @jazzabel!

    Glad to hear you got a lot done. Hope you can manage to check in now and then, but I totally understand the procrastination issue!

    Good luck with your project(s).
    BayView, May 6, 2017
      jazzabel likes this.
  6. 123456789
    Jazzabel, you might want to make a thread about this. I've personally never had this problem with WF, so I'm surprised to read that not just you, but Obsidian also, have experienced WF induced procrastination. I suspect there are at least a few long time members here who might benefit from your advice. I'd also be interested to see if other people feel the same way.
    123456789, May 7, 2017
  7. obsidian_cicatrix
    obsidian_cicatrix, May 7, 2017
  8. jazzabel
    Hey @BayView Thanks! I will do my best to check in from time to time, hopefully weekly or on weekends because weekdays are very busy with work and writing and other projects. It's so easy chatting about writing, much easier than actually writing :D
    jazzabel, May 7, 2017
  9. jazzabel
    Hi @123456789 how's your book going? Good to hear procrastination isn't one of your problems :) I'll open the thread now, thanks for the suggestion.
    jazzabel, May 7, 2017
  10. 123456789
    Thanks for asking. Let me put it this way--I wish I had started learning to write queries years ago. It is a very different skill than writing a novel.
    123456789, May 7, 2017
  11. jazzabel
    That's true @123456789 but still a lot easier than writing a decent novel. It's good you made it that far.
    jazzabel, May 7, 2017
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