Hi, I would like to finally sit down and write a book. However, I feel like I need a whole team of people to get me there. I'm looking for help in any way possible. I'm willing to throw down cash to get the kind of support I need... and I'm hoping that all of you wise and experienced writers could point me in the right direction. Here's the lowdown: I have no problem writing for hours on end... however, I do struggle with: =I'm a non-linear thinker, so I just write things down on scraps and then they're all over the place and in no particular sequence or order. =I'm impatient with the editing process and "that whole grammar thing." I'm an intuitive person. I learn through imitation and application- not through formulaic processes. I'd love to be that kind of person, but I'm not. =I am a perfectionist- so I often give up rather than try because I have an unrealistic list of demands of how my writing is supposed to look and flow. Then I'm impatient, so I don't allow the writing to unfold and come together in its own time. I completed a thesis paper for my undergrad program. To accomplish this feat, I stress ate my way to 260 pounds, spent a lot of time checking social media, did a lot of unnecessary writing (the paper was on present day occupational safety and health legislation and changing employment relationships and I wrote about 40 pages on railroad coupling systems and the advent of work place safety laws in the 1890s).... and so on so forth. About 1 week before the deadline, I slashed the paper down from 90 pages to 55 and wove it together into a coherent frame work. I did this in about 6 hours. I spent about 1000 hours lamenting that I would never figure it out and endured a state of faux-paralysis for about 9 months of my life. Lesson learned- I can't write the way I'd like to write and have a work/life balance. I need help. =I have a lot on my plate and can't devote myself seriously to writing as my own craft. I choose to have a lot on my plate- I want to meet my fitness goals, be a great teacher, inspire others, take care of my home, have fulfilling relationships... so, while I know I could quit life and seriously sit down and do this thing from cradle to grave, it's not how I want to prioritize my time right now. I want to write and publish a book on a faster timeline and I want to take the luxury liner to get there. I want to write at least two books. One is a non-fiction book... it would be about helping the TAG brain succeed in the world without veering into neurotic self-obsession and substance abuse. How to do things from a place of self-directed learning rather than because these kids feel external pressure to create things. How to be someone who uses their powers of genius intelligence to effect meaningful and responsive change without overanalyzing everyone and everything. Etc. Etc. I've written a bunch of stuff on this and just collected it into a google doc or onto my iphone notes pad. Because I'm lazy, I don't want to spend hours citing research and references- however, I would imagine if I got to a level of seriousness about writing this book I would hire a professional to help me retroactively go back through all the resources. I am a creative brained writer- I write... I am not a card carrying member of the APA or MLA. And this is not going to change any time soon. So- what I'm saying here, is that I need help. I want to write a book and I have no idea when to start and how to start. It's a book that has been "writing itself" for quite a while now. But then I don't really know how to follow through. Another book that's been on the back burner for like forever... Is a fiction. It's in the vein of Sherwood Anderson, Winesburg, Ohio. It's a series of fictionalized vignettes about individuals in a fictional meth town in Southern California. Well, and another story is about a girl from New Jersey that's super fat who goes across the country to find her father- a Wall Street broker, that cracked up and is living as if he's "Townes Van Zandt" in some backwater. The people in the story are all caricatures of people- sort of a vomited up version of Americana and its diners and its underbelly. And yet, our main character- who criticizes herself, her appearance, her inability to fit in anywhere she goes, her disgust with her sexual urges, her desire to just remain a 10 year old girl- even though she's already 16 or 17 by the time she takes off on this journey... well, she's someone we can relate to. She has depth. And she sees through everyone's weird "put on" versions of themselves. And watching her father's crack up shows her the fleeting impermanence of ego. And her being so "grotesque" according to herself and many of the people around her, ... her inability to fit in anywhere because her body makes her stand out... well, this means she can't hide behind some fake "cool" identity and pretend to be someone she's not. It's sort of this throws-you-on-your head story where a girl who eats supersized fries and Swedish fish by the handfuls and wipes her hands on her clothes and burps and farts with abandon is on an almost zen buddhist quest. Thanks for reading! And thanks for your feedback. I'm tempted to delete everything I just wrote- but I'm going to take the plunge and just let this all "hang out."
Welcome to the forum, sirette. There are a few around here that write non-linear, so they may be able to help you. Sounds like you have a good outline of what you want to write, seems you need to figure out how to start writing them into stories. You could ask questions in the Creative Writing sub-forum to help you get on your way to where you want to go with things. Good luck with your works, and I will C-ya around.
That was a fantastically long intro post! I am very glad you didn't delete it. For one thing, it indicates that you have no problem generating text. Remember: The greatest hindrance to the creative process is the blank page. If you can chuck stuff down, whatever the order, you have already cleared that first hurdle. Some people never even get that far! There are a g'zillion different styles of writing creatively. Everyone has there own natural sweet spot. Some people only ever write on post it notes and flash cards. Then once they have a trillion of these they just shuffle them around until something gels. I wish you luck and look forward to bumping into you around the forum.
Welcome Mindful Dreamer! I am new here too. From the depth of your post, I don't doubt you will write your books. I love your idea for a fiction novel. It sounds real and refreshing. One of my favorite nonfiction books (Outrageous Openness) was written by a woman who described her writing style the same as yours. She is incredibly talented but not linear. So she collected her best tangents and submitted them to an online magazine. They contracted her, and she wrote for them for a year or so. Then she took the best of her tangents again and turned them into a best selling book. The book is a perfect example of nonlinear writing that works. My point is maybe you don't have to conform to linear writing as much as you think you do. I wish you lots of luck and look forward to seeing your published work one day!
