O.O This was very useful. Thank you by the way. I am going to try to do more of this instead of my daily routine -.- I only do about half of those. Usually I wait to write. Because well only certain scenes can come in my head when I sit and just imagine the story out. Its not that I am not thinking of my story, I am always thinking of my story and I am playing scenes in my head. Its just I don't write until those scenes come into coherency.
I do all of these except for writing letters to myself. I always write in the same 6:00 PM-8:00 PM time block everyday because this is generally when I get done with all of my schoolwork and is directly before I eat dinner. I have the project bible thing, although the creation of it seemed to get in the way of actually writing more than helping me, and I've got the wordcout chart saved. Only problem with it is that I seemed to fall behind charting my progress because I was writing . I carry a notebook, or atleast I used to and still do sometimes. I have to get back into it.
Msn always gets in the way of my writing. I'm addicted to it so I don't get my school work done until later in the evening, which leaves me no writing time :S I've really got to sort out my schedule.
what the crap is on msn anyway? Do you mean the messenger? You gotta sort these things out, mannnn...
Great advice, thanks for sharing! I don't really follow any of those, and I'm willing to bet that's why I haven't gotten more than a sentence down in weeks. New Year's resolution time!
I don't do any of those things but I will start. As of right now the computer is the last thing I get to...how about those of us who work full time jobs? I get off off work and I am exhausted, well at least my mind is anyway and I think I need it?
I need to work on writing habbits. Whenever I am doing something mundane I do think about what I am writing and new details. I have notebook's for my different stories as well. For me making time is the hardest part. In my free time other things distract me.
I sit down and write. That's all one needs to do. After all, there's no other way to get writing done. Distractions or whatever are no excuse--one either wants to write or they don't. It all boils down to what's more important, writing or getting distracted by something else. Set aside some time every day when you can work undisturbed for an hour or two--first thing in the morning, during lunch, after dinner, whenever you can set aside other demands. I set aside time to write and work toward an AMOUNT written, rather than an AMOUNT OF TIME written--one can always dawdle for an hour and get nothing done. Keep your writing equipment (paper, pens, software manuals, etc.) in your writing place, close at hand. Minimize distractions like interesting new magazines and books. Try to find a writing time when few people phone or visit. I just sit down and write. If something happens to distract me I tend to it and go back to work until I've written the proper amount. More distractions means more time spent writing. I've never understood the people who complain that browsing the Net distracts them from writing. Why don't they just close the browser then? Use household chores as thinking time: a chance to review what you've done so far and to consider where your writing should go next. Walking the dog or vacuuming the carpet can provide more ideas than you expect. This is really just ``controlled daydreaming,'' letting your mind freewheel in a particular direction. I think about my writing all the time so...no hard work there. It comes naturally. I don't even think about it consciously most of the time. Don't lean on others for editorial advice and encouragement--least of all people you're emotionally involved with. This is a matter of opinion and it really depends on one's reasons for writing. I write to try to connect to people and entertain them, so of course I'm going to seek their comments. Granted, my family isn't among the people who are interested, and I'm not looking to anyone for editorial advice anyway. But what's wrong with seeking encouragement? Don't most people want a pat on the shoulder or a "Keep on trying!" now and then? Instead, be your own editor: set aside regular times to write yourself letters discussing your own work, articulating what's good and less good in it. In the process you'll easily solve problems that could otherwise grow into full-blown writer's block. On a computer, the letters can form a continuous journal, recording your reactions to the evolving work. Checking back to the first journal entries can help keep you on track--or dramatically show how far you've moved from your original concept. I really don't understand the point of writing myself letters when I could just be writing my story. I find this part of advice rather weird. I sometimes post journal entries on my thoughts about my writing, and I keep a writing log (just a summary of how much I've written every day on what projects), but that's it. Thinking about what might be good or bad with my stories is part of my regular routine of just thinking about my work. I don't need to write letters to myself to tell myself what I think. Also, I'm not really the best person to cheer myself up when I'm feeling lousy about my work--I will of course tell myself that I suck. I'm not that objective sometimes, especially when discouraged. Sometimes writers really do need outside advice. In addition to these self-addressed letters, keep a daily log of your progress. Word processors with word-count functions are powerful encouragers. The log can give you a sense of accomplishment, especially on big projects, and can enable you to set realistic completion deadlines. Already started doing that years ago. Compile a ``project bible.'' This is a list of facts, names, and so on that you expect to be using for constant reference. If you have some important research findings you plan to use, put them in the bible along with their sources. Include lists of characters' names (with descriptions, so their eyes don't change color), unusual words or spellings, etc. The best format for this bible may be a looseleaf binder you can carry with you. (A word of caution: If your bible gets too big to carry easily, you're defeating its purpose.) Well, I've done something similar by taking notes on my stories to keep track of certain things, but again, I'm surprised any writers have to be reminded or advised of such techniques; shouldn't we all keep track of what we're doing so we don't get confused? I also don't carry my "bible" around because it's a file on my computer, not a printout. And when one writes stories of over a hundred chapters, with hundreds of characters, of course it will get lengthy (though I agree certain things should be kept to a minimum). Nothing much new here, but apparently it's new to some people. *shrug*
Strange/unusual writing quirks/habits? Sometimes loud, spastic, scream-y music is needed. Oftentimes these are short songs. Not breaking the 2 and a half minute mark. Other times, instrumental epics spanning 10-20 minutes. It just depends on my mood. Something else is that, a lot of times I find that I can't even start writing until it's the middle of the evening.
You know, that one advice about writing a letter gave me an idea I never thought before. I think I'll write a letter to my character to demand why the story is getting harder to write. But I have a bad habit of saving my writing time until late at night (10pm and beyond), and if it's on a day - or night, rather - that I need a lot of sleep, well, then that's a problem. I don't feel very comfortable writing in the daylight, simply out of habit.
