Sort of... I come on here and poke around for threads in which someone asks a question about writing that I think I can answer (I'm sometimes surprised at the stuff I think I know something about). Or threads discussing some aspect of writing that I find hard to ignore. Posting replies in such threads makes me feel like a writer, even if I sometimes joke around or say things that most people think are a complete waste of time to read (from an advice POV). Other than that, I bring up my outline (in Excel) and try not to get bored with it (it's so dry) before bringing up my MS in Word and follow the bookmark I placed where I started writing the day before. I give the previous day's work a read-through and sometimes get bogged down in an overhaul, but most of the time it's fix a typo or two and that's it. If all goes well, I'm primed and ready to upchuck sparkling brand new words onto the page. But even after all that, there are still days when I just sit and stare at the screen wondering why I ever passed up my chance to be a pole-dancer. (sigh)
Very interesting, I never thought about doing writing warm-ups. Not sure if it would help or hinder me from writing. I think rather it might be something I could do on days when I can't come up with anything to write in whatever I'm currently working on. If I already have something in my head to write, I think doing warm-ups would make me forget what I was planning.
Well this is new to me. I think the only thing I do that's close to warming up is listening to my stories' playlists on youtube . I always need music to get in the mood for writing.
I warm up by proofreading and editing a little bit of the scene proceeding what I am about to write. This helps me keep the tone and flow right, and just gets me in the mood.
I'm curious about what you mean by doing a loosely organized scene. You mean it's kind of a pre-write of the scene you're about to tackle? This sounds interesting, but I'm not sure how to do it.
I guess I do. Never really thought about it until now. I go outside, have a smoke, and try to get myself in the frame of writing. I think about where I left off and what's to come. When I open Scrivener, I read what I wrote the day before, then dive right in.
I usually start with just a word or a concept. I follow that word or concept wherever my imagination takes it with as little cognitive processing as possible. My warm ups have nothing to do with my WIP. They are simply a way to get the words flowing more easily and helping me calm my mind to let the story come out more clearly. Here is an example of a recent warm-up: Brambles. That's what they are—brambles. Their tiny serrated teeth tear at unprotected shins and snag looping lenghts of thread from what was, until moments ago, a good school shirt. I press on. These little plant teeth don't grind the bones. They don't have grasping hands and searching eyes beneath matted hunks of greasy hair. They won't hold you and bite you and taste your insides the way He will—if he catches me. So I ignore the scratches and torn shirt and the blood and the thorns that lodge in my thin summer skin. I run, biting my lip so that I don't scream. I bite so hard that I taste the salty sweetness of my own blood—the same taste that He craves. A mad cackle is all the warning I get. Then a pressure—quick, blunt, and strangely numb—bears down on the back of my head. It reminds me of wisdom tooth removal. It's the pressure that dredges the memory from my fading consciousness, the numb, painless, terrible pressure. Here is another one that is more stream of consciousness and less cognitive: Farce. Throw that shit down and stomp until the blood runs deep. Fling it. Fling it far and away and don't look back until the sun burns your neck cold. Feel the rivulets, watch them run, furl and unfurl and fasten and hoist and render and scour and purge and join and hammer and glue and craft and mold and throw the whole thing out past the reef to open madness. See that down there. See it sink. Watch the hold of the heavens weaken and fade and see the underlord crease his dread cheeks and rake his black claws. Enjoy it. This is your last one.
I like to go for a walk and listen to music. Usually its music that fits the theme that I want to write about. It always works for me.
Nope not really. Might go for a walk to the mailbox and back(2 mile round trip) just to declutter the next bit to be written, and figure out how it will work with the story over all.
No, and I doubt they help, but the placebo effect can. So, if you think warmup exercises improve your writing then you best keep at it and try not to question the effectiveness.
Step 1: Write half a chapter. Step 2: Discard and write again. Step 3: Leave for two days. Step 4: Discard the previous work. This is my warm up.
LOL! That's almost every single day for me and it's why I do the warm-ups. I always have to write at least a short note about these things. Either my memory is shot or I'm really lost in self actualization. Either way, I'm hopeless and have to write that stuff down.
Absolutely, especially when one reaches the age at which it is a constant struggle to remember where one left one's keys.
I've come to think of this as being at the top of Maslow's Pyramid. Somehow that's more comforting than early-onset senility.
My brain does fifteen jumping jacks kidding - No, usually I just write. I daydream a lot so I'm usually ready to put things down into words. But if there is a stall I read over what I wrote the day before and that usually gets me started.
Not really a warm up exercise, but when the weather's nice I do enjoy sitting in the backyard to write. Forest sounds and a cool breeze are motivating.
Basically I am writing a story and want the reader to get inside the characters head. With that in mind I have started playing about with stream of consciousness. Trouble is my entire experience with it is a five minute conversation and a I guess I just want to talk about it a bit before i go all out with it. Has anyone got any advice for this device? Or can any one recommend some writers that have done it well who I can check out? Thanks in advance
A lot of stories are what I'd call inside the character's head. So I think I'd need more explanation of the goal.
