In which language do you write?

I'm kind of the same way (although it a week for two pages is kind of crazy).

When I first started writing, I don't know what kept me from just deleting the file as soon as I was done, because I remember going back years later and looking at the things I first wrote and grimacing at how bad I was back then. And I think you are just going to have to live with the fact that for like a year or so your stuff probably won't be that great. You can take a little solace in the fact that you can go back and edit them at any time to make them better.

But the good news is that in the case of writing, practice makes perfect. The more you do it, the better you get. And that's kind of a cliche line that people tend to throw out about a lot of hobbies and it isn't always true. But you definitely get better the more you do it. Again, I look back at the previous things I've done and I can note a clear line of improvement from work to work.

I think one thing that really helped me out was that I really got into non-fiction writing. Not on purpose, it just sort of happened. But like for example on a sports forum I might write a small little article about my favorite basketball team. Or about who should win MVP this year. Or who I think will win the championship. And even if you aren't writing articles like this, just participating in forum discussion helps because usually if you have to write a long response (like what I'm doing with this post) it forces you to kind of organize your thoughts and go "ok, I want to say this, then this, then this". It also eventually makes you better with grammar and spelling. Those sorts of tools come in handy for a writer as well. And eventually I was able to use the experiences I had posting on forums all the time and kind of use it to jump start my fiction writing hobby.

 

Hi Jim,

I too plan out my stories, but not too much in case I lose interest in the plot and characters. If you are a writer at heart then I have to say, you will be thinking about books, writing, and ideas for a LOT of the time, just like I do (). But even though I think about my books a lot, that doesn't stop me from doing and thinking other things, too - I have plenty of other hobbies such as painting, playing videogames, and being a nutter! What I'm trying to say is that if you really are thinking about your plots and characters all the time, then perhaps you should take up a hobby to take your mind off it.

And of course, if that doesn't work, then yes, take a short break. Take half a year off if you want to. But if you are a true writer you'll never stop writing: you'll just delay it!

Hope I helped,

Thomas

P.S. Don't get panic attacks from it, just appreciate that you are thinking about changing and editing your book, and that means you care about writing, and that you WANT to write that book. Also, how old are you (not trying to be weird here)? You don't have to tell me, but the younger you are, such as a teenager, the more stressed you'll be about little things, so just wait it out and you'll be okay.

 

I find it impossible to keep interested in something I start if I haven't outlined it either in my head or on paper. My head has very limited real estate, so I really like paper.

My story meanders and I end up spending more time editing the first few pages than really telling a story so the whole thing goes in the dust bin. I recently started a new project and took a couple weeks to suss out the plot, some character development, settings, and theme before starting on the actual prose. That way I have a framework and simplify the writing process because I don't have to worry about what comes next.

 

I have taken short breaks from my writings in fact i am taking a short break from writing right now and i plan to get back to it when the new year begins.

 

Nothing wrong with taking a break at all. Like Thomas said, if you are a true writer, you will never stop.

I had problems for awhile thinking too much about what I was writing. I had to learn how to switch gears. I work construction and am in dangerous situations sometimes, I cannot afford to be daydreaming about where I want my current writing project to go. I have learned to switch gears and it works. I think it actually gives me more of a fresh perspective when I go back to the project I am on.

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I think that I'll take a little breather and hopefully come back stronger and not get to wound up with trying to make it all perfect on the 1st draft.

As for a hobby my wife has suggested that we start to make a patchwork quilt together to take my mind off things

 

nothing you write will ever be 'perfect'... so stop seeking perfection and just get to the end of your story, before going back and 'fixing' things... if you don't, chances are you will never finish it...

 

Bolding mine.

Not to pick on you individually, but could we in general please stop saying/implying that editing as you go means you probably will never finish? It's just not true. Stop going for perfection, certainly - but that's a problem regardless of method.

 

sounds like a very good plan... listen to your wife!

you're lucky to have such a supporting one, so count your blessings...

love and calming hugs, maia

 

You may want to take a year off from writing.

I break away from writing when I'm writing. I'll write 3 or 4 pages, then take at least a day off. Or just what I feel. I think you were pushing your self. I know when I push myself I get tense and my writing goes down hill. Not writing is just as important as writing.

 

Please remember that people like Shakespear, Balzac, Dickens, Clemmens, Hawthorn, Mollier and others all have had grammar mistakes and other mistakes found in their writings.

 

It's not true that editing-as-you-write will result in unfinished work, and it's also not true that postponing revision until the first draft is finished means the work is sloppy. The OP's method, illustrated in P2, does not sound normal or productive. May be worthwhile to switch approaches.

 

I went through that phase - 3 pages of mostly one-line paragraphs took me 5 hours to edit once. In the end, after 3 months of doing this intensely, I got myself a writer's block for the next 2-3 years. When I returned, I no longer had that approach - but that approach had improved the quality of my writing. I no longer need to take such a long time to come out with something good. I also worry less about whether it's good as I'm writing, because I'm more confident about my abilities now.

If weeks is what it takes - at least for now - for you to get something good, then keep doing it. Eventually the time it takes will shorten.

Like I say, I don't take that approach anymore - but through writing a novel and thus writing and deleting some 200,000 words in total (you can never really keep count), my writing has once again improved.

Hmm, what am I trying to say? Well, I know for me, even if it should take several weeks to write one paragraph, I can never stop writing - so the question of "is it worth it?" is irrelevant to me. It doesn't matter to me. I love writing, and I love telling stories, it refreshes me like nothing else - what is several weeks? No, it is not even a question. Every word was worth it. And even should I scrap whatever it was that I'd written, what I learn by doing it is certainly worth it.

But what I would advice you is this - give yourself a chance to just write. There's a difference - some pieces are for editing and practising, but other times you just have to let your hair down and type some really terrible crap, and ENJOY it

 

Jim,

I took just around four years off from writing (basically, anyway-- I think I wrote three short things during that whole time) and it was of the best decisions I've ever made. IMO, all art forms should be a cathartic experience. When it comes to a time that not only are you not getting relief from writing, but it's causing excess problems, then I think it's really time for a break. Do you need four years off? No, probably not. I do think, though, if you're getting panic attacks over your writing then perhaps you need a longer break than just a week or two. I wouldn't have taken so much time off if it weren't for circumstances, but what can you do? Life gets in the way. The reason I began the break in the first place was for a very similar one to you.

You know what that break did for me? It refreshed me. Even better, it rejuvenated me. When I finally came back to writing, I realized how much I had missed it. I realized that I could never bear to take so much time off again. By extension, I knew that from that point forward I had to be more aware of how my writing may be affecting me negatively, so if there comes a time when I'm reaching the end of my rope, I can take a much needed short break on the order of a week or two so I'm not forced to let it go for another four years.

As everyone else has said, if you are meant to write, then you will always write. A break is the best thing you can do in a situation like this. I can almost promise you will come back feeling 100% better, you will come back as a stronger person, and you will come back better in touch with yourself and your limits. Don't worry about a thing. There's pen and paper that will always be there waiting for you when you're ready to return.

Like I mentioned before, I have struggled with panic attacks for the past 8+ years of my life, including many over my writing as well. If there's anything I can do for you that you think would be helpful, even just chat, please don't hesitate to PM me. I think I've made it clear that in my opinion you definitely need a break, but I am happy to share some coping mechanisms for a time when you are ready to get back on the horse.

 

I take periodic breaks here and there. Heck, my first "novel" that I wrote was when I was 9/10 years old and while I have had some articles published and some short novels, I haven't had a second novel until just recently, at the age of 21 (imagine that!).

Even now, I take a couple weeks break here and there. I find that trying to force the creative juices just doesn't work, but I do make some reasonable deadlines (some I make, some I don't).

 

1st drafts are not meant to be perfect. I also used to worry about my first drafts. I think in the back of my mind I was worried that someone would find it and read it. I've gotten over that. Now I just let it fly on the first draft, and worry about cleaning it up later.

 

I find taking breaks most relaxing for the brain and helps refresh you. For me, I began writing my first draft between November 2009 - February 2010, my second draft March 2010 - April 2010, but both of those drafts I didn't complete as I felt they were heading in the wrong direction. The third draft took me from May 2010 to May 2011 as I took my time writing it, taking regular breaks between writing chapters and it was the much better draft of the three. I completed it and I felt I had a good story but after revisiting it after a couple of months I found that it could be stronger. The fourth draft which I am currently working on I began in June 2012.

 

Kill the perfectionism.

I'm not quite sure if that's what you're asking how to do, or if you're asking how to get some writing done while retaining the perfectionism. If it's the second, I would say that's essentially impossible, for you, at this time. I believe that you, at this time, need to learn the skill of writing imperfectly.

So how to do it? Well, that would almost require me to be inside your mind at that moment when you're deleting or editing what you've written. Does the thought of stopping yourself occur to you, and do you try to stop yourself? Do you always fail to stop yourself? If you force yourself to leave that imperfect sentence there for one minute, five minutes, ten minutes, do you find yourself starting to panic? If you imagine leaving it there, unchanged, forever, what thoughts does that produce?

Similarly, have you tried just writing the next sentence without thinking it through? What if you imagine that what you're writing isn't The Story, but instead just very detailed notes of what's going to happen in the story? What if you imagine that you're just explaining the plot to a friend?

What if you force yourself to write faster? During NaNoWriMo I used a website called Write or Die, one that makes the screen change and start to make scarey noises if you don't write at a given speed. It forces you to _just type something_, even if that something isn't perfect. It's an interesting experience.

I think, again, that you need to develop the skill of writing quickly and sloppily. That doesn't mean that you'll be writing that way forever; instead, it's a sort of shock therapy to get you to, and through, the realization that committing bad writing is not committing a sin.

 

To me complete satisfaction is not perfection. I can be completely satisfied with a good book and a bottle of good whisky but that isn't a 'perfect' evening. I don't really know what a perfect evening would be.

There are some books that are 'perfect' for lack of a word any better, but really, what is it about books like (I don't know) Paradise Lost or One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich that just sets them apart? I've never found a good answer to that question and I suspect there isn't one. It is, I imagine, just an emotional reaction that I have had to those works.

The word 'perfect' is one of the most subjective words I can think of.

 

But perfectionists generally do seek to be flawless - that's most often what perfectionism is. It's not about striving to produce the best work you possibly can, which can be a healthy goal. It's about needing that work to be perfect, even if perfect cannot be achieved, which is not a healthy goal. Perfectionism is not about ambition, not about the joy of craftsmanship and artistry. It's about fear, a fear so strong that the perfectionist would rather produce nothing than produce an imperfect work.

Edited to add: If that's not the meaning that you assign to the word "perfectionism", that's fine, we can choose another word to mean, "a fear of flaws that is so strong that it prevents any meaningful action or creation." Whatever we call it, that's what I'm talking about.

Of course we should strive to write well, but if the choice is mediocre writing for a little while, or never finishing a piece of writing, I'll go with the temporary mediocre writing.

 

I think that being able to shift gears and be able write without constantly thinking "is this ok, what about this, what would people think etc etc?" is the key to be able to write well and its somthing i'll work on after i've had a break

 

If you keep working on anything. Irrelivent to what it is. Writing , studying or any task that has to do with concentration, then with out fail the mind will become dull and not function well. the mind wasnt ment to work on one thing over and over again. The mind has to take a break just like a person has to take a break after walking a great distance, or working hard phsyically. It just cant keep going.

When taking breaks, you have to get your mind off of writing completely and have it off of writing completely for a period of time. Each time is different for how long your mind has to be off of writing. If you dont take breaks , then expect to work far harder than you usally do and have less results that your happy with. Also expect anxiety attacks.

You have to take breaks untill the mind is rested, there is no choice in the matter.

 

The word 'indulgence' has various translations in German:
Genuss
Nachsicht
Gefälligkeit
Schwelgen
Einwilligung
Nachgiebigkeit
Duldsamkeit
Schwäche
Milde
Duldung
Ablass
Frönen
etc.
Each translation has its own meaning and, more importantly, its own feeling to it. When talking about 'Genuss', 'Duldsamkeit', 'Milde', 'Frönen' etc. I can tell you the intellectual and emotional qualities of these words. I think that I have really mastered this language. When talking about 'indulgence', however, I may know the intellectual qualities of it, but I can never grasp the emotional ones. I don't know the feeling. Can someone with English as his second language ever truly learn, understand and feel this language as good as the English-speaking folks do? I know I sound like stoned, but can somebody help me to answer this question? Or, tell me how does all this sound to you?

Greetings,
Arthur Wagner

 

Just cause someone has English as his first language doesn't mean they mastered it, For me its my third language but i invested a lot of time reading in English and studying it, and everyday you find something new to learn, I'm far from mastering it but i believe with practice i could.

Its not if its your first language or not but how well are you educated in it that makes the difference.