Jan
7th
2015
Chapter 8 · 12:00pm Jan 7th, 2015
Finally off to the pre-readers, so hopefully it won't be much longer before it's ready. It's shorter than the last few chapters, but that's the way it works out sometimes.
Life continues apace, though my job hasn't been so much fun lately. I did get to meet Cold in Gardez recently, though - that was pretty cool. On his advice, I may be taking a shot at some of the writeoffs.
I also just backed this kickstarter. It looks like it could be a useful gadget to haul off to a park or coffee shop...
Sweetness, been waiting for this one to update for awhile now.
Wish I had something like that when I was in school...
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Yeah, I'm hoping the 'instant on' capability will lower some of the barriers to putting words down, while curtailing the innumerable distractions that my computer brings. Pity it won't be out until fall.
It's an interesting idea, but seems quite expensive for what it is.
Write-offs -- yes, I can see the merit, and have been tempted myself, but I'm mired too deep in my existing stuff. My natural story length seems to be 'door-stop novel'.
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I'll admit it's a bit pricier than I'd prefer, but it looks like it'd fill a niche that other devices aren't quite managing. I guess we'll see.
Writeoffs I'm hoping will address my speed issue a bit, and I guess the reviews won't hurt either. I've seen you write the occasional short story, so I know you're capable if the mood strikes you.
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Heh, the occasional short, but that's a pretty small fraction. After I got into the swing of things a couple of years ago, it was never the actual writing that was the problem, but finding some idea I wanted to follow.
The write-offs will probably help because the external deadline will add a bit of pressure -- I did something similar with NaNo, and it really did help. As an alternative, setting yourself a daily target might work (something small, say a hundred words, so you can succeed easily), the aim being to get into the writing habit.
What's the thing you find the hardest -- the words don't come, or that you have trouble even wanting to start? Something else?
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A little bit of both - kinda sorta. It's not so much that the words won't come, as I'll know what I want to say, but picking the right words to express it is sometimes hard work, and video games and/or web surfing is easier and more fun... I've had some luck instituting a 'no social media or websurfing before work' rule for myself, so I've carved a little chunk of writing time in the morning.
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Having that isolated lump of time is very important -- I'm 'lucky'; social media isn't on my list of things that are fun, and I gave up on computer games years ago (just lost interest, really; something else to blame ponies for). From listening to other writers (there's a good podcast called 'Writing Excuses' that covers a lot of detail), the actually getting started is the thing -- many talk about having a 'wind up time', where they exhaust all the silly distractions (but these are full-time writers, so that might not help).
The other thing is that it sounds like you have the 'perfection problem' -- ie you can write, but you're too picky about the product, and spend a long time getting it the way you want it, which makes progress slow. Did I get that right?
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Well, it's not that social media is fun, per-se, but I like to keep tabs on what my friends are up to, which leads to a trip to facebook. The killer is more the general tendency aimless browsing, than any one website; a brief stop at facebook, catching up on EQD, dropping by a forum, checking fimfiction, and suddenly, I find that I've misplaced a couple of hours. At least I've learned to be wary of TVtropes.
Video games... yeah, I'm a bit of a kerbal space program addict as well, though I'm trying to reign it in. Even when I am in a productive mood, though, fanfic isn't the only game in town - I've also been trying to refresh my coding skills, and I have an idea for an original novel. So part of it is just not enough focus. I'll have to look into this 'writing excuses' podcast you mentioned; it sounds like it might be applicable.
As for the 'perfection problem', I think that's close, but not correct in all cases. Sometimes it feels more like I paint myself into a corner by needing to get something across to move the story forwards, wanting to do it in a certain manner, but then struggling to actually pull it off in a natural fashion, if that makes any sense.
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Late reply is late.
I understand about painting yourself into a corner; have you tried working in the opposite direction -- start at the end event and working backwards? I've found that approach is useful for some classes of intractable problem (that and long walks in the dark; many's a walk to work that starts with me saying 'Now what am I going to do with you, Celestia' to myself).
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I don't strictly follow the 'write the first scene first' approach, but I'm not sure if I've ever tried methodically working my way backwards. Usually it's sort of a hopscotch approach, where I write bits and pieces, and then try to string them together. A more consistent approach might be worth a shot.