Look at that quote in my sig. That's the only reason I've started writing my novel. Even if you just write a chapter every now and again, slowly getting it down, that's good. You don't need to dedicate huge blocks of time to it. You might not think that it'll be that good once it's written down but even so, it's a lot more use then than it is stuck in your head.
Just do it. Your first efforts won't be great, but so what? Your learning curve will be mmuch steeper when you have a lot to learn. So set yourself up with a scheduled time to write each day, and punch the damned keys!
If you're worried about anything, put it out of your mind. Just write without worry or hesitation. It's the first draft, it's supposed to be bad. Every revision, every re-write will help improve your skills. How can you improve on something if you don't even start? The more you do, the better you'll get at it.
It's a hill you have to climb. It begins steep, but levels out the higher you reach. You need to just write it, my friend! According to many, every first draft is terrible. If it really bothers you that you are going to ruin this great idea, then put it to one side for a while - write just enough about it that you won't forget as time passes, and PRACTICE. Then, one day, when you've gained in skill and (more importantly) confidence, come back to this idea and start writing Every writer who has ever written something masterful will most likely have thought they were terrible writers at least 60% of the time when they first started practicing the craft. That's because it takes time to build up the confidence in yourself and your abilities. But it does NEED to be built, and the bricks won't be laid by themselves. Consider it your unofficial homework to write, and know that it's more useful and rewarding than any "official" homework you've ever been given!
Hey everyone, I dunno if this is the write place to post it but I'd greatly appreciate your advice on this topic. I am currently a student in HS. I can write "non-personal" items. Obviously there are areas where I can improve but I don't have a problem actually putting my thoughts to paper. However, when I am asked to write "personal" pieces, either about my experiences or how I feel after being exposed to a poignant movie/film/whatever, I immediately get this mental block and as a result, my writing comes out as stilted and robotic. It sucks because that's not who I really am -- I am emotional and sensitive, perhaps too much so. I just can't communicate those feelings in writing. Non-fiction, fiction, whatever. I love to read; however, there is hardly anytime left for me nowadays. When I was younger, I read everything I could get my hands on. I think the written word is a very important art form. This is rather frustrating for me and I would greatly appreciate it if any of you have suggestions on exercises or books. I think expressing myself through words would be very therapeutic for me in and it's just irritating for me on a personal level to not be able to "say" what I mean. As I said earlier, any thoughts would be very much welcome!
You're saying that you cannot write well about your own feelings or opinions. Is it better if you write about someone else's? Like characters in your stories? You could practice on them. And if you manage to write thoughts of a character who has views similar to yours, you're almost there.
Idle has given you a great way to work through this. I do wonder if your "stilted and robotic" writing is as bad as you think. You may not have time to leave the writing for a week or more and then look at it. If you can, try it, you might be better than you think. I got through the first draft of my novel by reminding myself it was "just a draft" (hoping that will work through the second draft as well) and am working through a short story the same way. This stops me from staring at the screen while I fumble around for the perfect words. If your assignment timing allows you could try this as well. Good luck.
Jot things free form - stream of conscious. Don't try to force things into how they should sound. Let it flow out. Then look over what you've got and sort it out. It's a great way to find interesting thoughts. When you try to make everything organized and 'sound good' in a first draft that's sometimes how it can remain rather lifeless. First drafts are supposed to be messy.
This is just my personal experience but alot of times I force myself to sit down and forcibly write. Not because I don't want to but because my conscious is not in touch with my subconscious thought process. Basically if I make myself write, as long as what I write has some relevance to the story line even if its complete BS it gives me a way to move the story ahead past whatever bump is stopping me. Then later on when I'm done adding to the story I can go back and edit what I've written or gotten that internal fire stoked again and I know where I want the story to go.
My Opinion on Writer's Block Whatever you do, realize that your role is only to turn up and write. What is written is in no way your responsibility. This tends to kill writer's block in an instant.
if you're stumped on what comes next, just put that piece of work aside for a while and write something else...
What do you do when self-doubt creep into the picture? Why does this have to happen? What happens when you lose the drive, the energy, the enthusiasm for the story? How do you get it back?
If you lose the enthusiasm while writing, stop. Take a break, go for a walk - clear your thoughts. You're likely to gain some sort of inspiration when you're doing something else. Take solace from the fact that no writer writes continuously. Everyone's mind goes blank at one point, and letting it get to you is the last thing you need. I'm not sure if you can force yourself to write if you don't have the enthusiasm for it. I did for my current novel, but when you force yourself to write it'll always feel that way to the reader. The words won't flow, the characters don't develop as they should, adjectives seem out of place. But it's a draft, and when you read it through to yourself an idea may suddenly manifest itself. You can then snowball it, weave it into the plot, remove the crap you originally wrote, and hey presto! you're back in business. Is it a particularly difficult section of the story you're trying to write at the moment? Can you skip ahead, then come back to it?
You might try focusing on something very small. Write a flash-fiction, something less than 500 words. Work it over until it's a polished gem. It shouldn't take very long. When you're done, you'll have an excellent piece of writing. A small one, to be sure, but it should help you get your confidence back; it will prove to you that you can write well. That should fortify you for the bigger task of writing longer stories, and even novels.
I'm working on a novel and a short story. Maybe that's my problem, but I like doing two things at once...I get bored so easily! What is "DJing?"
For the novel: right now I'm filling up a notebook with whatever comes into my head. I think I have chapter 3 written before chapter 1, if that makes any sense.
I think DJing is being a disk jockey. Playing records at clubs and so on. Of course, it might mean dinner jacketing, which is wearing dinner jackets. Or dog jousting - putting little knight dolls with little lances on dogs and letting them joust. This takes a lot of dog training to get right. Or duck jumping - seeing how many ducks you can jump over. Or driver jeweling - fastening gemstones to golf clubs. Drunk justifying - telling people why it's perfectly okay to get shitfaced. Dictionary jacking - finding someone who's using a dictionary, holding them at gunpoint, and forcing them to look up "muskellunge." Disaster juxtaposing - putting disasters next to each other to compare and contrast. I'm sure there are many other possibilities, but these are the most likely ones.
I agree with the other comments here. I think walking away and/or writing a short story would help. I used to get bored with what I was writing and would work on multiple projects at once. I later found it really impacted the quality of my writing and quit doing it. Having your attention divided like that could be part of the problem. I found it made me feel burnt out and I'd feel guilty if I worked on one project more than the other. I've found walking away and taking on a small project that takes less time and coming back to it later does help. I've done that with my art a lot too. When I have a big project sometimes I get discouraged or feel burnt out so I go do a speed paint which restores my confidence and makes me feel like I accomplished something. One other thing I want to say is only write stories you feel strongly about. If you don't feel strongly about it you won't have the drive to finish it or put the effort in to make it great. Find characters and a story in your head that move you and make you want to write. Otherwise I wouldn't stress too much. Every artistic skill has a technical and a creative side. If you feel strongly enough to keep at it and love doing then trust that with time and effort you will learn the technical side of it.
Thank you, Terra. If it doesn't rain, I'll go for a stroll tonight and start fresh on ONE thing at a time. I think I have an issue with commitment. I don't like to be tied down. Lol.
