# Hey, Writers! How do you do it?



## granfire (Jul 4, 2011)

How do you stay on task?

I am working my fingers to a nub, getting sidetracked on the net (like now) trying to get my stories out of my head....
They are mostly finished, but writing them down is a lot harder...and it's getting crowded in my head (as if me, Myself and I didn't take up enough space already...)

And I don't expect to ever make bank of any of this....


----------



## kroh (Jul 4, 2011)

Just like in martial arts it is all about discipline.  You have two choices, set your goals and hit them or fail.  It is really that simple.  You want to be a martial artist you train.  You want to be a writer you write.Anything other than that is just needless self help garbage for dreamers and want-to-bes.Read a lot.  Take courses on English, Literature, and especially grammar.  The web has killed the average American's ability to write.  You should write everyday to get your ideas out.  Carry a notebook (or notebook app).  A good tip book to start with is Steven King's. "On Writing."Good luckRegardsWalt


----------



## Ken Morgan (Jul 4, 2011)

It's all about managing your distractions.
Not that I'm any good at that, but it really is just that.


----------



## granfire (Jul 4, 2011)

Ken Morgan said:


> It's all about managing your distractions.
> Not that I'm any good at that, but it really is just that.



Not sh...

:lol:

(thanks tho, really)


----------



## Carol (Jul 4, 2011)

I have been very on-again-off-again with my own so I'm not a good example.  However, my bff has written a few books.  She dedicates time every day to write something.  It may be a book she's working on, it may be an idea for a new book, it may just be writing in a journal.  

One thing I noticed about her, she tends to use every moment possible to get in some writing time.  She has a long train commute in to Boston every day so she spends some of that time typing on her blackberry.


----------



## Sukerkin (Jul 5, 2011)

If you are trying to get story ideas down on paper, so that you don't lose the plot {Yeah! Authoring pun attack !}, then the idea to carry a notepad is a very good one. I used to write as I walked {don't ask me how, I couldn't these days :lol:}.

If you are writing for pleasure rather than profit, then trying to follow the 'professional' road, which is to set aside time that is just for writing every day, is a way to set yourself up for disappointment and to lose the love of writing. If you have the cast, the plot-line and the setting, then fleshing out the tale scene by scene can be done when the inspiration strikes. 

The awkwardness in that approach is that sometimes you write something you really like but that doesn't quite 'fit' - when you 'fall in love' with a passage you can find yourself hammering the rest of the story to wedge in the beloved piece.


----------



## granfire (Jul 5, 2011)

Yes, indeed, filling in the gaps is hard.
I had started a story, had problems with the word processor, lost parts of it, then lost the computer....then I got tired of trying to rewrite the part. (not to mention the story progressed in the mean time)

I found it actually easier to write the story when I didn't know what was going to happen, like I did for my NaNoWriMo piece.
That was actually fun and less of a chore.
(But then all how to people tell you to plan ahead...)


----------



## Steve (Jul 5, 2011)

Discipline is difficult, but the thing that keeps me going is the idea that a writer writes.  Simple as that.  If you tell someone you're a writer, but haven't written anything in weeks...  you're not a writer at all.  You're someone who likes the idea of being a writer. 

Same thing with regards to martial arts.  A lot of people identify themselves as martial artists, even if they don't train. 

So, simply put, writers write.  Make time every day to write something more than a forum post!  Commit to 100 words.  Make it a habit.


----------



## granfire (Jul 5, 2011)

stevebjj said:


> Discipline is difficult, but the thing that keeps me going is the idea that a writer writes.  Simple as that.  If you tell someone you're a writer, but haven't written anything in weeks...  you're not a writer at all.  You're someone who likes the idea of being a writer.
> 
> Same thing with regards to martial arts.  A lot of people identify themselves as martial artists, even if they don't train.
> 
> So, simply put, writers write.  Make time every day to write something more than a forum post!  Commit to 100 words.  Make it a habit.



Sounds like the closing sceen from 'Throw Momma from the train'

A writer writes - always!



So far this morning I have been doing my morning thing, coffee and net...going crazy of the constant 'MO-OM!!!'


----------



## Ken Morgan (Jul 5, 2011)

granfire said:


> Yes, indeed, filling in the gaps is hard.
> I had started a story, had problems with the word processor, lost parts of it, then lost the computer....then I got tired of trying to rewrite the part. (not to mention the story progressed in the mean time)



One of the things I try to do is email myself, at multiple emails, whatever I am writing, just in case the computer goes poof. Plus when i am away I can bring it up and work on it anywhere.
I'm also guessing now that everything is moving towards keeping stuff in the cloud, it'll make ensuring copies exist, easier.


----------



## Carol (Jul 5, 2011)

Did you ever finish your 100 page story, Steve?


----------



## granfire (Jul 5, 2011)

yes, I need to use my backups more often.

But the most frustrating was dealing with a crappy word processor...


----------



## Steve (Jul 5, 2011)

I did, Carol!   I'm actually heavily into editing it right now.


----------



## Carol (Jul 5, 2011)

stevebjj said:


> I did, Carol!   I'm actually heavily into editing it right now.



Fantastic!   Way to go :asian:


----------



## Omar B (Jul 5, 2011)

I cannot recommend Ayn Rand's Art Of Fiction.  It's a very well laid out method of crafting an entire novel.  The method outlined and well drawn out by her is a method used by many other writers of fiction including Ian Fleming, Jeffery Deaver, Michael Crichton, Terry Goodkind.  It's all the things you need to know, proper research, character scetches, plot/theme integration, effective outlining (the greatest section of the book in my opinion), writing effective sentences.  I highly recommend it.  http://www.amazon.com/Art-Fiction-Guide-Writers-Readers/dp/0452281547


----------



## chrischance (Jul 5, 2011)

Hi granfire,
               are you writing to get published or is it a hobby/passtime? 
'Trying to get my stories out of my head' sounds more like a problem than doing something you enjoy. If you write about things you know about you should be able to get words out and I suggest you concentrate on one story and work it to completion.
What are you trying to do--write a novel? If so, then you must enjoy doing it. Don't be side-tracked with trying to achieve word counts i.e., people say to write 1,000 words a day, or more; ignore that kind of advice; write to your own pace and when you read it back to yourself you should enjoy your own words. 
Not knowing where you are going with this, I can't say any more. 

Best wishes,
Chris.


----------



## granfire (Jul 5, 2011)

I am writing mostly because....


good question.
I do like it (though it is not quiet the satisfaction from back when, hammering out a few pages on my mom's type writer...)
I like to develop my stories.
plural, yes, it can be a problem. Especially when I find myself censoring my stories because the protagonists are so similar :lol:

maybe a bit of stress relieve, because I do have plenty of things on my plate.

Getting it published...well I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a dream, but I don't plan on it happening in the near future.


----------



## Bill Mattocks (Jul 5, 2011)

I just write.  I read a good book on the subject once, called "Writing Down the Bones," by Natalie Goldberg, but honestly, it didn't make me a better or worse or different writer.  It's just something I have a talent for.  Unlike photography, which I had to teach to myself, and martial arts, which I struggle with, writing comes easily to me.

I write like I talk, and I talk like I write.  I use colloquial English when that's the voice I want to emphasize, and I am a story-teller by nature, a shanachie. I just let it flow onto the paper as I would describe it to you in a pub, over a pint of Guinness.


----------



## Buka (Jul 5, 2011)

Bryce Courtenay is Australia's best selling writer. He's a dynamic speaker, charging across the stage as he lectures. Even in his sixties, he's a dynamo. He's also a marathoner, having competed in fifty of them. He tells a great story - (I paraphrase)
&#8220;I had never run the Boston marathon, and if you're a runner, that's the mother of all marathons. When I was about fifty, I finally got the chance. So....I'm not a Kenyan,  I'm not about to win, but I'm not a stiff, either. I'm somewhere in the middle. So there I am, about halfway through the race, the field is sparce at this point. Up ahead of me I see a man, a younger man, and he's struggling. I decide to mess with him a little. I pull up aside him and say in my most bubbly voice &#8220;Hi! How are you today?!&#8221;
He barely grunts.
&#8220;Lovely day!&#8221; Says I.
He barely grunts again.
I ask him, &#8220;So, what do you do?&#8221;
He barely croaks out a response, &#8220;Writer.&#8221;

At this point in the story, Bryce's eyes get wide and he makes quotation marks with his fingers as he tells us, his audience, &#8220;He's a writer&#8221;.
&#8220;Now I'm going to mess with him even more. So I say to him, Tell me, mister Writer, what's the secret of writing?&#8221;
The man continues to struggle in his running, sweat dripping, breathing uneven. He seems to be thinking, and then says to me..... &#8220;Bum glue&#8221;
Bryce freezes on stage at this point. He says, &#8220;My God, this poor man just gave me the best piece of writing advice I've ever heard in thirty years of writing. Bum glue. Just glue your *** to the chair and write. Don't get up, don't answer the phone, don't walk aound the room, just glue your *** to the chair and write. I'm so stunned I never thought of this. We continue on together, not speaking again, but running side by side all the way to the finish line in Boston. We finish together, not saying another word until we get to the runners tent, get some water, and almost fall down. I shake his hand and introduce myself. Hi, I'm Bryce Courtney.&#8221;
The man says, &#8220;A pleasure. I'm Stephen King.&#8221;
They've been best of friends ever since.
_Bum glue._


----------



## WC_lun (Jul 6, 2011)

I took a class in college that helped me a lot with writing.  I was taught to first frame out what you are writing.  So if it was a story, tell the story in very general terms.  Then go back in and add all the details that make the story interesting.  I find when I start adding in the details I get caught up with what I am doing and the distractions and the passage of time seem to fade into the background.  I'm told it is similiar to how artist do sculptures.  So I guess the biggest thing is to enjoy what you are doing so you can get caught up in it.  I've also been told a stiff drink and a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door do wonders as well


----------



## bully (Jul 6, 2011)

I have written about my life over a certain period of time which I felt was interesting. The stories needed to be written down for myself and maybe my wife to read. I only write when I feel the need, which isn't that often but that way I feel the content has more quality. Reason being is that I am not forcing it. But I am not a pro writer by any means so I can afford to do this.

Try blogging?? Recently my wife and I went travelling and we kept a blog for our relative and friends. I looked forward to writing it, we took it in turns and it was enjoyed by our friends. The one thing it made me do was keep it interesting and try not to drone on

You don't have to publish the blog but it may help you practice and keep your hand in.

Right I feel like I need to write so am off to get down the next installment of Bullys adventures!!


----------



## granfire (Jul 6, 2011)

Interesting idea.
(I might dust off my journal, but no blogging ^_^)


----------

