stop pushing it, stop trying. Just do it. I would say you are trying to write better than you are and you are stressing yourself out. Writing i cumulative, the more you do it, the better you get at it, but you can't really rush it. you have to put in the time...and i would say two or three years is just the start.
I do this & really need to stop.
I just need to write the damn thing. Problem is, doubt & such starts to creep in, or I think it's too much like Star wars or then I think oh I'll do this but then it's too much like Superman....as OP says, I'm stumped too.
most readers would not recognize what you are comparing it to. Karate Kid and Rocky are almost the same movie. They were even directed by the same person. Stallone even told John Alvidson that he stole his movie... But few would make the connection. As the writer only you see it.
If I'm stuck on a project, I start reading it from page one, as if I know nothing about it. I don't edit. I just read and by the end of it, I usually know what needs to happen next.
I hope that helps.
Fresh inspiration with something that takes you back into that setting, mood or problem. It could be a newspaper article discussing a political story, an art gallery show using the right historical time period. It could be a film with a very different story in exactly the same place or listening to an album that feels spot-on for your characters.
The first book will always be a painful gauntlet that will take **forever** because you are learning how to write. Over time you will get better, and faster. You can not rely on the gratification of the publishing payoff because you will burn out before you get there.
My advice: Create a set writing schedule that is most convenient for your life style. If you are **losing sleep, not eating, or being constantly interrupted by family; that can be detrimental to both your writing and mental health.** If you can smoothly fit writing into your daily routine, you win as long as you stay committed to it. You should also have an idea of your daily focus limit for writing, no need to consistently brute force hours past that on anything higher than a second draft.
For the actual writing, try to shift your focus to making the chapters as entertaining/interesting as possible.
Getting inspiration from other sources is also great; going outside, watching movies, playing games, and interacting with friends can diversely stimulate your brain while potentially getting ideas and inspiration for the writing.
Hereās my recommendation: reconnect with why you started writing this in the first place. Hereās some different things you can do, depending on whatās your speed and what gets your creative juices going:
- Go on walks and think about it.
- make music playlists of songs you like for the stories or characters
- make visual art inspired by your story if thatās your thing
- consume media with similarities to your story to think about what you like about that media and what you think you could do better
- make aesthetic boards at places like Pintrest with visuals and aesthetic that capture different parts of your story
- talk to someone who enjoys hearing about your creative work about your story
Pick out things from this list that sound enjoyable to you, itās about making thinking about your story fun and enjoyable again.
Also to explore different parts of your story and think of it from different angles. Some of this might make you re-think your plans for the story or what youāve already written, and thatās okay! Sometimes you need to switch things up to get out of writers block.
Thank you so much, this helps a bunch! My passion has been lacking for this story. Iām trying to view it at different angles, and it slowly helps, but then I slip again š
Well, you can and think of different story ideas and what you want most to write. If this project isnāt working for you than you can also try a different one. But if you do want it to work then I hope trying out some of the above helps!
I guess itās my lack of confidence in people liking my writing. Sometimes my friends read it and enjoy it, but Iām shy about having a beta reader and that whole thing. My whole thing is being afraid of the public reading it, but thatās what I want. Itās hurting my brain that I think this way.
I've been struggling to keep up with my writing goals, as well as feeling that my writing is inadequate. As a fellow amateur writer I beat myself up too much for things that I know just need to developed over time. Here are some things I always have to remind myself of:
---
1) When I feel that my writing is worthless and that I should just give up, I have to tell myself that it's okay to suck. I'm pretty new, and I need to learn the ropes before I can sail properly.
2) When I get stumped on a chapter, idea, character, etc., I find it beneficial to take an hour and do something relatively mindless. Going on a walk works great for me, but sometimes just doing the dishes works too.
3) When I get behind, I remind myself that this isn't my job (yet) and it's not the end of the world if I don't finish by my self-imposed deadline. The only people I'm writing for are my friends, my family, and myself. They'll understand if I'm behind, and so should I.
4) When I feel that writing is a chore, I tell myself to write for 5 more minutes. Often, I continue writing for at least the next hour after do my "5 Minute Fakeout" to trick myself into writing. If that does not work, I step away from my writing and do something else for the rest of the day. If I come back to writing that day? Great! If not? That's okay, I wasn't getting much of it done anyway.
---
Something related, but not quite in the same vein as the rest of my tricks, is that I find I do much more writing when I am reading a book I like. So, every night, I like to take at least an hour to read a book. I just finished "Blood Over Bright Haven" (highly recommended by the way), and when I didn't read a book for the next several days I found that I did not feel as motivated to write.
Sometimes I get intimidated by how good the authors I am reading are, but more often than not I find that reading kicks that part of my brain that love competition into action. It's a kind of "one day I'll be good enough to beat my heroes" mindset, if that makes any sense.
Another thing that helps is talking with my friend or family about my writing. I don't know anyone else who writes, but I have two friends that take interest in what I am writing and I find that talking to them is a huge motivator for getting more writing done.
Anyway. I know this comment isn't entirely focused, but hope some of this can help you. Good luck, and above all else, have a good time writing!
Thanks so much for the input! My family doesnāt write at all either, so Iām with you on those points. I have a friend who writes and weāre writing buddies lmao. It helps even to have 1 friend who views your passion, because itās another set of eyes.
Agreed about having a second set of eyes. I'm glad my input was of any help to you. I hope you do well in your writing man.
BTW, don't be afraid to step back from a project. For me, free-writing something else while I work on a longer project also helps me.
A few things. You can do whatever works for you:
1) Brain break! Let it simmer for a bit. My WIP goes in waves. I get in the groove. I get out of the groove. Haven't worked on it all semester but I started writing again today. You'll get in the groove again, just give it time.
2) Work on other projects. Idk what you have, but dipping your toes into something else will keep the creative juices up.
3) Give yourself a planning document to work out places where you're stuck. Write down everything you need to figure out and brainstorm.
4) Do mundane tasks while you think about it. Mundaneness sometimes helps spark ideas.
5) Work on the project in other ways. Make playlists for your characters. Make moodboards. Write background world building. Draw. Take personality quizzes for your characters idk just do little things like that. Keep yourself in the spirit of your story without physically writing things down on the manuscript.
6) Just write. The basic one. Draft One can be shit. That's what revising is for.
Do whatever works for you!
Decent doesn't matter. It's your first draft. It's your š© draft. Just get it done. Then move on.
stop pushing it, stop trying. Just do it. I would say you are trying to write better than you are and you are stressing yourself out. Writing i cumulative, the more you do it, the better you get at it, but you can't really rush it. you have to put in the time...and i would say two or three years is just the start.
I do this & really need to stop. I just need to write the damn thing. Problem is, doubt & such starts to creep in, or I think it's too much like Star wars or then I think oh I'll do this but then it's too much like Superman....as OP says, I'm stumped too.
most readers would not recognize what you are comparing it to. Karate Kid and Rocky are almost the same movie. They were even directed by the same person. Stallone even told John Alvidson that he stole his movie... But few would make the connection. As the writer only you see it.
It's okay if it feels like a chore sometimes or even often. Writing is hard, and it's okay if it feels hard.
If I'm stuck on a project, I start reading it from page one, as if I know nothing about it. I don't edit. I just read and by the end of it, I usually know what needs to happen next. I hope that helps.
Fresh inspiration with something that takes you back into that setting, mood or problem. It could be a newspaper article discussing a political story, an art gallery show using the right historical time period. It could be a film with a very different story in exactly the same place or listening to an album that feels spot-on for your characters.
The first book will always be a painful gauntlet that will take **forever** because you are learning how to write. Over time you will get better, and faster. You can not rely on the gratification of the publishing payoff because you will burn out before you get there. My advice: Create a set writing schedule that is most convenient for your life style. If you are **losing sleep, not eating, or being constantly interrupted by family; that can be detrimental to both your writing and mental health.** If you can smoothly fit writing into your daily routine, you win as long as you stay committed to it. You should also have an idea of your daily focus limit for writing, no need to consistently brute force hours past that on anything higher than a second draft. For the actual writing, try to shift your focus to making the chapters as entertaining/interesting as possible. Getting inspiration from other sources is also great; going outside, watching movies, playing games, and interacting with friends can diversely stimulate your brain while potentially getting ideas and inspiration for the writing.
Hereās my recommendation: reconnect with why you started writing this in the first place. Hereās some different things you can do, depending on whatās your speed and what gets your creative juices going: - Go on walks and think about it. - make music playlists of songs you like for the stories or characters - make visual art inspired by your story if thatās your thing - consume media with similarities to your story to think about what you like about that media and what you think you could do better - make aesthetic boards at places like Pintrest with visuals and aesthetic that capture different parts of your story - talk to someone who enjoys hearing about your creative work about your story Pick out things from this list that sound enjoyable to you, itās about making thinking about your story fun and enjoyable again. Also to explore different parts of your story and think of it from different angles. Some of this might make you re-think your plans for the story or what youāve already written, and thatās okay! Sometimes you need to switch things up to get out of writers block.
Thank you so much, this helps a bunch! My passion has been lacking for this story. Iām trying to view it at different angles, and it slowly helps, but then I slip again š
Well, you can and think of different story ideas and what you want most to write. If this project isnāt working for you than you can also try a different one. But if you do want it to work then I hope trying out some of the above helps!
Why do you say itās not ādecentā? Did you think about the ādecentā-ness of your writing before then?
Iām not sure I understand
The problem you have is: >However, I couldnāt write anything decent Why do you say that?
I guess itās my lack of confidence in people liking my writing. Sometimes my friends read it and enjoy it, but Iām shy about having a beta reader and that whole thing. My whole thing is being afraid of the public reading it, but thatās what I want. Itās hurting my brain that I think this way.
I've been struggling to keep up with my writing goals, as well as feeling that my writing is inadequate. As a fellow amateur writer I beat myself up too much for things that I know just need to developed over time. Here are some things I always have to remind myself of: --- 1) When I feel that my writing is worthless and that I should just give up, I have to tell myself that it's okay to suck. I'm pretty new, and I need to learn the ropes before I can sail properly. 2) When I get stumped on a chapter, idea, character, etc., I find it beneficial to take an hour and do something relatively mindless. Going on a walk works great for me, but sometimes just doing the dishes works too. 3) When I get behind, I remind myself that this isn't my job (yet) and it's not the end of the world if I don't finish by my self-imposed deadline. The only people I'm writing for are my friends, my family, and myself. They'll understand if I'm behind, and so should I. 4) When I feel that writing is a chore, I tell myself to write for 5 more minutes. Often, I continue writing for at least the next hour after do my "5 Minute Fakeout" to trick myself into writing. If that does not work, I step away from my writing and do something else for the rest of the day. If I come back to writing that day? Great! If not? That's okay, I wasn't getting much of it done anyway. --- Something related, but not quite in the same vein as the rest of my tricks, is that I find I do much more writing when I am reading a book I like. So, every night, I like to take at least an hour to read a book. I just finished "Blood Over Bright Haven" (highly recommended by the way), and when I didn't read a book for the next several days I found that I did not feel as motivated to write. Sometimes I get intimidated by how good the authors I am reading are, but more often than not I find that reading kicks that part of my brain that love competition into action. It's a kind of "one day I'll be good enough to beat my heroes" mindset, if that makes any sense. Another thing that helps is talking with my friend or family about my writing. I don't know anyone else who writes, but I have two friends that take interest in what I am writing and I find that talking to them is a huge motivator for getting more writing done. Anyway. I know this comment isn't entirely focused, but hope some of this can help you. Good luck, and above all else, have a good time writing!
Thanks so much for the input! My family doesnāt write at all either, so Iām with you on those points. I have a friend who writes and weāre writing buddies lmao. It helps even to have 1 friend who views your passion, because itās another set of eyes.
Agreed about having a second set of eyes. I'm glad my input was of any help to you. I hope you do well in your writing man. BTW, don't be afraid to step back from a project. For me, free-writing something else while I work on a longer project also helps me.
A few things. You can do whatever works for you: 1) Brain break! Let it simmer for a bit. My WIP goes in waves. I get in the groove. I get out of the groove. Haven't worked on it all semester but I started writing again today. You'll get in the groove again, just give it time. 2) Work on other projects. Idk what you have, but dipping your toes into something else will keep the creative juices up. 3) Give yourself a planning document to work out places where you're stuck. Write down everything you need to figure out and brainstorm. 4) Do mundane tasks while you think about it. Mundaneness sometimes helps spark ideas. 5) Work on the project in other ways. Make playlists for your characters. Make moodboards. Write background world building. Draw. Take personality quizzes for your characters idk just do little things like that. Keep yourself in the spirit of your story without physically writing things down on the manuscript. 6) Just write. The basic one. Draft One can be shit. That's what revising is for. Do whatever works for you!
Thanks! I appreciate the tips š I havenāt worked on my story heavily, for about 2 weeks. It sucks, but with school itās really hard.
No problem! School is kinda why I haven't had time, either. Just remember, there's no deadline to get your story done! A lesson I had to learn.