Every time I try to write , I can only write a few sentences , and then I'm like well I'll do it tomorrow. Then a few *days* later I actually try writing again. I'll never get anything finished if I keep doing this. It's a terrible habit. How do I stop procrastinating and avoiding writing?
Adopt the Nike slogan and "Just do it!" Set a time limit and sit down and write anything (even if it's horrible) for thirty minutes, an hour - whatever your time limit is. Don't allow yourself to make excuses. Procrastination is definitely a bad habit, but it can be broken if you're disciplined.
Hi! I wouldn't even force myself to write for that long! If 5 or 10 minutes is all you can face then aim for 5 minutes! When the time is up you can carry on if the urge takes you
I am guilty of this too! I find if i sit with whatever i am currently writing on the desktop I'm temped to just go back to it.
This is something that I struggle with a lot too. I've actually be doing pretty well over the last... well, four days. So here's my method, which is not exactly time-tested, but you've got to start somewhere! In the mornings I review. I've managed to review one story a day on the boards so far, and I'm going to try to keep that up. It puts me in a good frame of mind first thing, and reminds me that no matter what my day job is, I'm really a writer. At lunch I read. This is easy, I've been doing it all along. In the evening I either write or revise. I try to do this before I go anywhere for the evening, but after I've had a nice break from work. Five minutes, ten minutes, whatever. Set an alarm if you have to keep yourself working. Lather, rinse, repeat.
There's of course time issues etc., but I'm asking about personal issues that hinder your writing. Mine are: 1. I have dyslexia 2. English is not my mother tongue 3. I cannot sit still longer than half an hour when I'm writing There might be more, but I can't remember now. I hope this has not been done hundreds of times.
- I rarely have time to write. - I have OCD, so for every incorrect word I type, I have to delete the entire paragraph and start over, which is a serious bother. - I find it difficult to concentrate on anything for longer than five minutes.
My best tips are: - Read lots of books on writing to inspire and motivate you - Set yourself a realistic target based on WORD COUNT rather than time - say, 500 words. Make the word count higher and higher every three times you complete it. - If you write for 5 minutes, take a 5 minute break and then come back and write for another five minutes. - Switch off the Internet while you're writing.
Things that make writing hard for me: I share InkDancer's attention span problems. I like to listen to music, and try as i might, i cannot write (not well, in any event) and listen at the same time. I'm crap at time management. I have other hobbies which i also love, like photography and playing music. Bloody computer games
I find this works for me also I have the chapter i'm currently working on open all the time, that way i can keep coming back to it. I'm not so sure writing intensively, unless you're doing it because you've had a particularly intense inspiration, is neccesarily that natural anyway. OT: It's also worth spending time thinking about the structure of your story and plot ideas. That way, when you do sit down and write, you're working to an existing framework, rather than trying to conjour stuff out of thin air.
After many years of writing, I have accepted that unlike some other 'serious' writers, I cannot write for hours everyday except in bursts of time. I have learned to forgive myself for this, and my overall output is pretty good. We each have to find what works for us, and run with it!
-I go to school -I only have one computer that I must share with both my parents and my two little brothers -Sometimes I just can't write at all for some reason
The only thing you can really do is just sit and do it. If you're telling yourself so often that you'll just do it "tomorrow," it sounds like you don't really want to write at all. If that's so, then why not just stop, at least for a while? In the off time you can take some of the other suggestions such as reading something inspiring, reviewing someone else's work, etc., to see if you really still want to write. Even calling this a "bug" seems like an excuse to not write, so maybe you want to take a hard look at what exactly is making you not want to write right now. Is there a problem with the story?--with your writing style or ability?--anything that would make your current project not work out? My own writing has derailed at times when there was some sort of underlying problem I wasn't aware of, and only stopping to take a hard look and figure it out could get me working again. If you're really serious about wanting to write, then you'll have to stop making the excuse that you'll do it later, because then you never will. Sitting and making yourself do it is the only way. I second the idea of settling on a word count rather than a time limit because one can always sit for two hours and write just a sentence, and spend the rest of that time period sitting and procrastinating. With a word count, you might be sitting and writing for an hour, you might be doing it all day--but at least your output will be consistent and worthwhile. And yes, doing this writing away from the Internet is always a good idea. It's a huge distraction.
My attention span is atrocious, but thankfully this applies more to reading than writing. Weird that I should find reading harder to do when I love it so much! I used to be able to read for hours at a time before the Internet. At times I just can't make the time in the day to write, but again, fortunately, this is rare and usually a choice. I don't have a job (disabled) or family/friends to take up my time, which is both good and bad I guess. The main thing that makes writing hard is my own emotional state. When I'm terribly upset or depressed, the words don't want to come. I might be able to FORCE them to come, but I always feel very stupid and pathetic writing them. Plus, I can't seem to attract/keep readers for all the work I do, and that's terribly discouraging. So the thing that makes it hardest for me to write is the constant question, why am I even writing all this stuff if nobody wants to read it? (I already know the whole "Write for yourself!" spiel yadda yadda yadda, thank you; doesn't apply to me since I obviously AM writing for myself, otherwise I wouldn't still be writing; but entertaining others is a big part of it for me. I don't see the point in putting so much effort into something if it's just for me.)
I think that one of my major problems is the way that my writing comes out. When I write I do not edit my words, they come out unpolished. So when I write I am very embarrassed (I guess that is the word) at what I am writing. Therefore , procrastination.
I must have ADD because my attention span is about 2 minutes tops. Also I LOVE the Internet. Before I had a computer I wrote everything by hand so hand cramp was a major issue as well. Sometimes I have a hard time trying to express what I mean. I think in images not in sentences.
Only time I really have problems writing is when I am too happy. Writing horror poetry, it kind of requires a not so happy state of mind to get the right mood in the piece.
- I'm poor at time management (main reason) - Regional blackouts make it all the more difficult - I can't always get into the mood and the story - I sometimes get distracted But I think I write fairly a lot, compared to the rest of my activities.
When I go out to write, people sometimes want to chat. ("What are you writing? Are you a teacher? I always wanted to be a writer? I've got this great idea for a book; what do you think of it?) They wouldn't bother anyone in their office, but they just don't understand that I am WORKING. Even my cap with "Do not disturb" doesn't deter some of them.
The only major difficulty for me is the fact that I sometimes get out of the mood. It's not really writer's block, but it still prevents me from writing anything worthy of being thrown into the trash can. Sometimes it lasts only a few hours, sometimes several weeks. I'm experiencing one of the latter moments right now. Plenty of free time. No one to bother me. And I still can't get anything done.
I'm always reading these books with pretty, poetic descriptions of stuff. I can't write that. Whenever I have to describe something, I get so frustrated I have to go out and punch a baby! (but not really) But, now I switched over to screenwriting, so my only problem is... I don't know what to write. At all. I've got no setting, no conflict, and now I'm losing my ability to create characters out of thin air. Crap!
If i don't have someone demanding that i finish whatever project i'm working on i'll get bored, and start anotherone, leaving the other work forever unfinished. LOL So I need a slave driver if i ever wish to finish anything.
