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  1. Max Gorlov

    Max Gorlov New Member

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    Tell Me About YOUR Experiences...

    Discussion in 'General Writing' started by Max Gorlov, Jul 27, 2019.

    Hey guys! I'm trying to get a crystal-clear insight into the lives of other writers, to discover what challenges we share, which are individual and which are universal...

    I would enormously appreciate it if you were to provide your opinions/ experiences on the below :)

    1. What (if anything) about your life as a writer keeps you up at night?

    2. What are you most afraid of when it comes to your writing?

    3. Who or what makes you angry when it comes to writing?

    4. What are the top 3 frustrations you face when writing something?

    5. What do you secretly wish for more than anything else as a writer?

    I'm super curious to see if our experiences align or differ. Looking forward to reading your answers guys! :)
     
  2. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    1) writing
    2) Losing my creativity - afraid is too strong a word, but it would worry me if i thought about it
    3) Vanity publishers and the other scum who set out to con aspiring writers
    4) I don't have frustrations with writing apart from finding the time to do it
    5) Success (by which I mean having a best seller or three) I would love to give up my job and write full time

    Also if i may offer you a tad of advice, as a brand new member you will get more take up on a thread like this if you share your experiences first.
     
    Iain Aschendale and Max Gorlov like this.
  3. Max Gorlov

    Max Gorlov New Member

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    Thank you for your answer! Do you think I should edit the original post to include some of my experiences?
     
  4. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    if you want, or add them to this thread
     
  5. Night Herald

    Night Herald The Fool Contributor

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    1. The stories, either writing them or thinking about them.

    2. Not being able to hack it. Losing my passion. Giving up before I've finished my two WIP novels.

    3. When the words don't come out right, or when they won't come out at all.

    4. Deciding which story to work on. Creative drought. Plotting.

    5. I don't exactly keep it secret, but making a living off it. Failing that, writing a novel I can take pride in.
     
  6. RobinLC

    RobinLC Active Member

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    Hey guys! I'm trying to get a crystal-clear insight into the lives of other writers, to discover what challenges we share, which are individual and which are universal...

    I would enormously appreciate it if you were to provide your opinions/ experiences on the below :)

    1. What (if anything) about your life as a writer keeps you up at night?
    I generally don't sleep well as it is. Lifes difficulties keeps me up at night.

    2. What are you most afraid of when it comes to your writing?
    That people will hate it, though I've generally had good comments.

    3. Who or what makes you angry when it comes to writing?
    I try to avoid anger whenever possible. It brings no joy to my life.

    4. What are the top 3 frustrations you face when writing something?
    I'm good at moving the story along, but I think I lose emotion along the way.
    I also am horrible with grammar.

    5. What do you secretly wish for more than anything else as a writer?
    Probably the same as everyone. To make it big!

    I'm super curious to see if our experiences align or differ. Looking forward to reading your answers guys! :)
     
  7. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    1. deadlines
    2. deadlines
    3. deadlines
    4. deadlines, revisions, failure
    5. that I've said something worth hearing/reading
     
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  8. Gurmeet Mattu

    Gurmeet Mattu New Member

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    1. What (if anything) about your life as a writer keeps you up at night?
    Don't see why being a writer should keep you up at night.

    2. What are you most afraid of when it comes to your writing?
    Typos I've missed

    3. Who or what makes you angry when it comes to writing?
    The fact that I can't touch type

    4. What are the top 3 frustrations you face when writing something?
    Writing is easy, selling is hard.. Finding readers. When the story decides to tell itself and it's not what I intended.

    5. What do you secretly wish for more than anything else as a writer?
    Exposure, and I don't mean fame.
     

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  9. Solar

    Solar Banned Contributor

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    1. Writing.
    2. Writing.
    3. Writing.
    4. Writing x3.
    5. Writing.
    6. Writing.
     
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  10. Teiwaz

    Teiwaz New Member

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    1. What (if anything) about your life as a writer keeps you up at night?
    — I’m usually up late, sometimes turning in at 3 or 4 am. I don’t recommend it, screws with your sleeping pattern. Knowing there can be a more dramatic or intriguing scene to the one I’ve written might keep me up at night.

    2. What are you most afraid of when it comes to your writing?
    — I wouldn’t refer to it as being afraid, but it would be embarrassing to use a term or word out of context.

    3. Who or what makes you angry when it comes to writing?
    — Being interrupted and loosing my train of thought can be quite annoying.

    4. What are the top 3 frustrations you face when writing something?
    — Having to look up a word that I know. (It happens)
    — Hemorrhoids from sitting too long and not taking enough breaks. Remember this one well my dear children.
    — Running out of chewing gum.

    5. What do you secretly wish for more than anything else as a writer?
    — That all my ex’s know when I become a successful author and eat their hearts out. :)
    (Not really, but my secret wish “more than anything else” is the same as almost every writer, to become a successful, best selling author.)
     
  11. peachalulu

    peachalulu Member Reviewer Contributor

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    1. What (if anything) about your life as a writer keeps you up at night?
    Usually just a scene. If I'm on a roll I don't want to stop. Last night for instance I was up until almost two because I had made a huge change in one of my scenes - shifting the locale - and I was debating piecing in a moment that I didn't have space for into this scene. I put it in took it out, reworked it, shrank it - I'm still not sure about it.

    2. What are you most afraid of when it comes to your writing?
    Thinking it's the best thing I ever wrote only to discover after some distance it's horrible. I've done this with a few books and I'm really nervous about this one.

    3. Who or what makes you angry when it comes to writing?
    The attacks on free speech, the push of political correctness, this dreary conformity that's turning art into mediocrity. One of the things I did as a teenager was read a list of banned books. I'm afraid that nowadays we won't be producing writers like that or art like that. We'll have trash and violence galore but no outliers no free thinkers no clowns.

    4. What are the top 3 frustrations you face when writing something?
    Word count -- I write thin but overwrite which makes it doubly hard to decide what stays, goes, and what is condensed into exposition.
    Theme -- I start out with one and then another one shows up shifting the books framework.
    Getting the tone right -- If I can't get the tone right I have a real hard time getting into the book. I have to keep restarting.

    5. What do you secretly wish for more than anything else as a writer?
    To be able to be successful and remembered. I love literature studies and I would love one day to have someone writing about and analyzing my books.
     
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  12. Rancid_Old_Git

    Rancid_Old_Git New Member

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  13. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    These are all sorta negative questions (nothing about what makes me want to write or what I enjoy about it) but I suppose we all have these moments.

    1. What (if anything) about your life as a writer keeps you up at night? Oh, as a writer, I like to lie awake and think about my story, and what happens next. This is a great time (as is early morning) for envisioning scenes with my characters, falling in love with my characters, figuring out what I'm going to put them through, etc.

    2. What are you most afraid of when it comes to your writing?
    That I'll never get the damn thing ready for publication. The writing and editing is done and dusted (and was totally enjoyable), but learning the self-publishing lark is a huge new thing, as is getting to grips with new software, getting a cover design, writing a blurb, getting it formatted, table of contents, credits, uploading to eBook and POD, marketing, etc. This is the point where I'd love to just wave a magic wand and have it DONE.

    3. Who or what makes you angry when it comes to writing? I hate the fact that long stories aren't (apparently) sellable any more unless you're a writer of neverendum sagas like GeorgeRR Martin. It feels like we're now writing books for people who either don't actually want to read, or haven't got the time to read. Mind you, it doesn't take any longer to read a book that's 200,000 words long than it does to read two that are 100,000 words long, or four that are 50,000 words long. But hey. Booksellers make more money selling four books than one, so maybe that's the thing.

    4. What are the top 3 frustrations you face when writing something?

    1) not getting left in peace when I'm trying to write
    2) not getting my story's pacing right
    3) can't think of a third at the moment :)

    5. What do you secretly wish for more than anything else as a writer? A magic wand.
     
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2019
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  14. GrJs

    GrJs Active Member

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    1. What (if anything) about your life as a writer keeps you up at night?

    The only thing that keeps me up at night is when I'm just about asleep and then ping! guess who's got an idea that needs to be written down right this very minute or brain will not let it go until I give in and right it down.

    2. What are you most afraid of when it comes to your writing?

    I suppose it's not really a fear but I loathe the idea that I may print something with a spelling our grammatical error. Some things make it through, I read a book that had a random symbol in the middle of a word. Long book and the symbol was close to the end of it but completely took me out of the story and I get agitated by mistakes in all the writing I read.

    3. Who or what makes you angry when it comes to writing?

    Stupid mistakes make me angry. Things that could have been caught with like, word grammar and spelling check or one more read over. Also characters who suddenly change personality or character development that doesn't fit with the character.

    4. What are the top 3 frustrations you face when writing something?

    The realisation that I probably won't finish what I'm writing before I have to write down another plot.
    Not having the time to write as much as I want.
    Not having the patience to edit my own work.

    5. What do you secretly wish for more than anything else as a writer?

    To get a story bought by a studio and give them random things about the story that must be accurate in the contract so they legally have to do it. Like make them adhere to the height ratios between characters. Or all the hair colours must be the same as the characters in the story. Or all costumes must be accurate to the descriptions in the story. Or even like, one character must be shorter than the rest.

    Just something stupid like that. Have some fun with them. Make their lives a little more difficult. Fun stuff.
     
  15. Max Gorlov

    Max Gorlov New Member

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    Really interesting ideas! Just to provide my own answers...

    1. If there's one thing that keeps me up at night, it's new ideas rather than any particular worry. Night time is actually when my mind is most effervescent, and I frequently have to switch the light back on to note things down.

    2. My greatest fear is not ever being recognised for my efforts.

    3. I am most angered by the popularity of poor writing. Books that are lazily written and badly thought-out that go on to sell well. At the same time, talented writers go unnoticed... a tragic state of affairs.

    4. My 3 biggest frustrations are the complexity of trying to string together a coherent but multi-layered plot, the difficulty of the 'muddling middle' and the trickiness of gaining recognition.

    5. My secret wish would be to have my book in the window of Waterstones someday (I walk by every morning and imagine the same thing).
     
  16. RobinLC

    RobinLC Active Member

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    Haha eat your heart out exes. May we all have great success. I get those interruptions too from my two beast spawns. ;)
     
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  17. AndieBoDandy

    AndieBoDandy Active Member

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    Hello. My experiences are as follows...

    1. My characters never seem to stfu! Seriously. They will hound me relentlessly until I write things down. I keep a journal by my bed to help with this. But I find that overall I have an active mind. I have suffered from insomnia for the last 6-7 years. Just went to a sleep clinic for the first time a couple weeks ago. So, that was an experience. On a side note; I prefer to write at night. Always have.

    2. I suppose I am most afraid of not writing. Also a fear that people will hate what I write. But that is more of a self-confidence issue. Realistically I am well aware that a lot of people will hate my writing. You can't please everyone, and not everyone will like the genres I write, the same way I only read certain genres.

    3. Sometimes I feel frustrated when all I want to do is write, and everything else (family, friends, work, appointments, obligations) keep getting in the way.

    4. Keeping on course... I am a pantser or discovery writer. Sometimes I need to reign those characters in...
    Self confidence/keeping positive. There are days where I just want to give it up.
    Not having someone to bounce ideas off. Sometimes I feel like I live in a vacuum. I need to find a writers group where I can find like-minded people.

    5. To be able to write full time as a career, and be able to support myself and family while doing so.
     
    RobinLC likes this.
  18. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    Where cushions are comfy, and straps hold firm.
    1. What (if anything) about your life as a writer keeps you up at night?
    Just thinking of future plot points, scenes, and how characters will
    act/react in given situations.
    2. What are you most afraid of when it comes to your writing?
    That it will always be bad. Though I know I am not as bad as
    some who make a living at it. Perhaps that is what scares me more,
    knowing that there are far worse writers than I making a good pay
    for a shit story(s).
    3. Who or what makes you angry when it comes to writing?
    Knowing that I am never going to be good enough.
    4. What are the top 3 frustrations you face when writing something?
    Why 3? It comes and goes based upon the story and it's own challenges
    to get it writ. :p
    5. What do you secretly wish for more than anything else as a writer?
    The same as the average author, to be read and make a fair living at it.
     
  19. cosmic lights

    cosmic lights Contributor Contributor

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    1. What (if anything) about your life as a writer keeps you up at night? Writing. Thinking about writing. I'm not a good sleeper anyway, it can take me hours to get to sleep no matter how tired I am.

    2. What are you most afraid of when it comes to your writing? Writing. It's one of those fears that have no reason, because I'm not that bothered if people don't like it. I'm thick-skinned and I can always change/improve if it's terrible. Nothing is written in stone unless it's published in a book. I want to do it, but I tend to try and avoid doing it. I think it's myself I can't please. I'm not a perfectionist in life, only in writing.

    3. Who or what makes you angry when it comes to writing? Trying to fit everything together. Having dump ideas I love because they don't work in the story, losing characters I love because there's no room for them anymore.

    4. What are the top 3 frustrations you face when writing something?
    Not being able to think of words to put on a page
    Not being able to blends everything together
    I have pretty more grammar and punctuation and I hate editing. Though I learned some things recently because someone took the time to go through my work with me line by line and show me how to spot mistakes and correct them. That was valuable.

    5. What do you secretly wish for more than anything else as a writer?
    Although I keep writing as a hobby, I've always promised myself, if I create anything worthy I will try and publishing it. Although the idea of being out there is scary and knowing my luck I'd become hugely famous which is a phobia of mine. I would hate that. I prefer to stay hidden and unknown, even where I live, my neighbours don't know me. I'm like a bad smell that no one knows where it comes from haha
     

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