you just have to make sure that the leeway doesn't turn into a rule rather than an exception, I think if you want to become a professional you have to treat it like work, as you would have with any career option.
This could become a vicious circle, as you won't get better if you don't write... and you need to have some confidence in yourself to go and do that. I kinda know how it feels because I used to lack in confidence at times, and not just when it came to writing. But if you want to write, you will find a way.
I agree with everything Steerpike has said except for the "amateur/pro" comment. It doesn't matter whether or not you're feeling motivated - go ahead and write it anyway. A few years ago I used to be in contact with an elderly fantasy writer who taught me that, even if it's just a hundred words, you should make sure to be writing every single day. I've been unmotivated the past two days. However, I also have a deadline for a short story (Aug 15th) and I'm mega behind. If I don't make the deadline I don't get paid so I'm going to be spending all day tomorrow catching up. Not fun.
^^ Of course, just as I wouldn't be able to throw a sickie every day I do my best, considering it's not my day-job...
Well, yes at the moment, i'm only in high school, so my aim is not to become a proffesional, i am just doing it as a hobby for a while, then possibily taking it up as a proffession later in life.
If this is your aim then it's good to get into the habit now. I started writing for fun at age 9, began taking it seriously at age 14, and I'm now publishing several short stories a year while in college.
This might sound a cruel way to start off a post, but your comment of, "My goal was to write lots of books and being cited as a 14 year old writer who got praise for even bothering with writing so many novels" instantly amused me. This isn't anything new or unique: many teenagers have attempted, and currently attempt, the exact same thing as you - including me. It's nothing special. But it's so much better to see someone doing this than partying and getting hammered every weekend (which I now do - but I'm of age so it's okay ) so kudos. On this note, I feel the need to point out that you should not aim for quantity. In the long-term it is quality that is going to get you somewhere. Write a lot, but make sure what you're writing is relevant to the story. Write what you want and not what a reader wants to see - especially as you're at an age where what you're writing now is most likely not going to make it to the shelf so have fun with it. However, what you're doing now is going to help you in getting to that point. If you want to improve and become as good as (and surpass) the people you're comparing yourself against then you have to keep writing. No one improves without effort and if you want to become an amazing writer then you need to keep going. If someone tells you that your writing "need a lot of work" then that doesn't mean it isn't worth anything. Don't expect to be told you're great and don't be disappointed when your writing is criticised - you are inexperienced. You do need to work harder and only through criticism will you improve. Everyone's writing needs work and there will never be a point where an individual will achieve perfection. However, we can try as hard as we can to reach that point. The more you practice the better you will become. I know it's difficult, but try not to compare yourself to others - you may find you're comparing yourself to people with decades of experience under their belt so, naturally, they are going to be stronger writers. I've no doubts that these people have had (and may still have) the same insecurities about their writing as you do now. At fourteen it's safe to say you have a lot of potential. At age fourteen I had just decided that I wanted to take writing seriously and my work was dreadful - and now I'm publishing work while still in college. Anyone can improve with enough determination so go for it! Good luck!
dont be down. Your writing will get better just remember that its your editing skills that will finish the job. So write it now and leave the editing to later when your ready.
Writing is like learning any craft - sometimes you hit it right on, sometimes... not so much. You should've seen my first birdhouse! But definitely keep writing, keep practicing. Even if it's only a short, one-page vignette. Look out the window and write about what you see. Take a walk and write about the people you meet along the way, or an interesting house. Browse the newspaper and turn a news item into a fictional account. Anything to get something 'on paper' and build your confidence back up. Oh, and if you should find yourself without a computer in the future - buy a notebook and pen!
You're fourteen, and you're down on yourself because you're not writing at a pro level yet. What fourteen-year-old football player thinks he's ready for the NFL? You're doing fine, and the more you work on your writing, the better you're going to get. You're waaaaay young. And very inexperienced. Yet you sound like you're thinking of giving up. You're just starting; this is no time to give up! This is the time to be REVVING up! Put your head down, stop comparing yourself against the pros, and just work on getting better. You'll still be young five years from now, you know, but if you work hard at your craft, you'll be an excellent nineteen-year-old writer and you'll be teaching all the other kids the ropes.
Don't give up. You're making an effort to get better, and over time you will. I'm sure you've heard this phrase before, but "the more you put into it the more you'll get back." It really is true. Also, you're in a perfect position now because you're so young. Many individuals don't figure out that one 'thing' that they are passionate about until they're too far along in their lives to do much about it. This is the time to discover those things.
This isn't a bad idea. Don't force a novel just for the sake of having a novel out. And don't look at writing for prestige, write because you like to write. In general, just don't stress yourself. You'll write just fine if you practice. Kill this fantasy, please. The whole wunderkind phenomenon is tragic. Your book won't be any better for publishing at 14 than it would be for publishing at 30 or 45. Take advantage of your youth and hone your craft - better to be published at 18 for being good than published at 14 for being a kid. You're an imaginative fellow, just keep learning and you'll do fine. No one is born to write well, we all practice.
sounds psychological. Your stressed out and its stopping you write which is stressing you out. Cure: "Write" cackled the crazed psychologist typing like a maniac; still in his pyjamas. Any old nonsense will do.
Same here, actually. For me, it's just the way I'm wired; I only do work if there is something, like a grade, that is at risk if I don't do the work. When it comes to non-academic work, I carry around a small, pocket-sized notebook. Whenever I get an idea, I take it out and then write down whatever I had in my mind. I guess that doesn't really help, but good luck in any case haha.
I read an interview with a famous writer who said that once, when he couldn't write anything even though he had the story in his head, he just started writing in the style of one of those old Dick and Jane readers for little kids. "See Spot run. Run, Spot, run!" That kind of thing. He said that, while it was ridiculous, it let him set the story down and gave him something to revise. So write your stuff in baby-talk, if it gets you writing. You might find that it helps!
I find this sometimes, I'll have the paper ready, - or the computer open and then the words dont come out. - I put music on (I'm not a huge music lover) sometimes but usually if I've written a plan - (I plan the story in to parts in my current WIP - Ten, then I break that down into a chapter or small sub group of chapters) I have a read of the part plan and chapter plan and have a look at how the scene might play out.
Yep. As a matter of fact, it's happening to me right now. Especially frustrating in that, I woke up early this morning and went for a run, felt positively great and bursting with ideas, creativity and imagination. But after nine or so hours of work and a brief spat with an uncooperative lawnmower this afternoon, the good vibes just kind of died. And now my mind is left about as empty and spacious as it is after I've had a little too much to drink. I think I'll go read a good book.
No. These feelings seemed to vanish right around the time I stopped believing in silly psychological constructs like 'the muse'.
This happens to me all the time. The #1 obstacle to my writing is the mind-to-paper translation... I think of something, and then when I write it, it's not like it was in my mind.
Have you thought of maybe getting an MP3 recorder instead and actually recording your thoughts? This may be completely wrong, but maybe you're what you need is something more auditory than visual.
You're probably scared that it wouldn't come out right. For this kinda stuff, I find scribbling useful - little pages of notes that you KNOW are rough, that will never ever ever make it into your novel. You're not writing out the story - you're just jotting it down. Start with that, and then go with the flow. I find sometimes I start writing things down in bullet points and gradually my mind unlocks and actual prose starts to flow I'm having the same thing. I know exactly what should come next, but something's frozen me up for the past few days. I'm still writing - but I'm not feeling the writing and I keep second guessing myself. I'm really, really scared of writing right now, and I don't know why.
one of my greatest problems is ill be writing a sentence or at least trying to and ill have the words and as i get to one in the middle of the sentence ill suddenly go blank and for the life of me i can not remember the word! and it will be the simplest word you could imagine and it takes me about 5 minuits or alot longer trying to remeber it (if ever) and if i suddenly remember it ill be ofcourse!! but the problem then is iv forgot the whole sentence half way, or it was a paragraph and iv forgoten my flow and what i was trying to write about!! so annoying. sometimes my bank of words can just be so fustrating! lol
I'm not sure I agree, given that I have actually gone YEARS without writing. Mind you, that was a time when I had my writer's block. But even outside of my writer's block - I've still gone a number of months without writing. Without even an inclination to do so, it doesn't even occur in my mind to do so. And only after many months I might think, "Hmm I haven't written in a long time." And often even that doesn't do it for me - I'd go on, NOT writing. But do I wanna be a professional writer? Yeh. I've dreamt of getting published since I was 9 years old (as I'm sure many of you here have also) - that dream hasn't faded. I've ignored it, deliberately steered away from it, played it down, mocked it, laughed at it, laughed at myself, tore it to shreds, cried over it, stopped it, became paralysed by it. And yet it remained. It lives, and it just. won't. die. So do I love it? Yeh, There're few things I love more than playing with words and poetry. When I finally do write, it's always like a breath of fresh air. Why do I wanna be a writer? Truth is, I don't know. I can't answer that. I just can't stop, I can't imagine stopping, and I think it'd kill me if one day I realised I'm a bad writer (but by God's grace I do think I'm at least average with a bit of hope). It's just what I do. I don't wanna so much "become" a writer - I AM a writer, just an unpublished one, that's all. Haha rant over I've recently got quite emotional over writing, hence the long-winded burst of expression haha.
