# Writer's Writing Thread, or, Writers Writing about Writing



## The Reverend

After saying writing so many times in my head, it's started to devolve into pure nonsense. 

This thread is for those of us who are not only musicians, but writers. I know there's a few of you out there, and I wanted a place where we could share our experiences on writing, getting published, or anything having to do with the process. Post your links to specific works, if you have a blog or something, or to published pieces if you've been published online. 

I'll start off with a piece I wrote early this morning:


http://killerpandabear.blogspot.com/2011/12/ride-fucking-bus.htmlhttp://www.sevenstring.org/forum/general-music-discussion/46878-mars-volta-appreication-thread.html


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## JeffFromMtl

I used to be enrolled in a really exclusive writing program a Concordia University. It turns out that I'm one of those stubborn bastards who has art ruined for them if they try to actually study it and are pressured to produce on someone else's terms and timetable. Studying writing did nothing but turn me into a jaded prick about trying to learn or teach what it is to produce art. I dropped out about a year and a half ago, and only recently put a few thoughts to paper. It's just a paragraph and I'm not that happy with it, but hopefully it makes it easier to shake this fucking monkey off of my back. 



> It's been raining for 8 days. The cold seems colder and our 180 year-old apartment building feels like it's groaning and sinking into the side of the mountain it sits on. The horn blown by the train that passes across the street sounds lonelier every day. The floorboards shiver. They pull away from one another. Gaps open to let the dust settled between them over the last three seasons breathe. We're broke and refuse to turn the heating on and our lovers refuse to spend their nights here anymore. All of the instruments in our apartment are bowing and twisting, souring their voices, as they perform the prelude, although short of breath and out of tune, to winter's chill blowing down from the north, where the oranges and yellows are all gone and the trees stand bare, with their branches threatening to snap off in a wind too gripping to bend away from. The ground will freeze and the apartment will no longer seem to shift in its place, but its foundation will continue to crack, along with all the streets in our city and the lips on all our faces. The night comes sooner every day, as if trying to tell us, &#8220;go back to sleep, it'll be over when you wake&#8221;. But it never is; the loneliness is as persistent as the night.


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## MFB

I'm currently fleshing out an entire comic book storyline and have planned out several different arcs, along with side characters and the extent of everyone's powers, and even meticulous little things like how does his mask stay on during combat if there's no strap? With certain little details I get driven mad and want to make sure I have an answer for just about everything.


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## Guitarman700

Jesse (The OP) Has read some of my stuff. Not my best stuff, mind you, but some of it. Currently working on a short story, and looking for someone to publish my novel. We'll see.
If anyone wants to read any of my stuff, pm me. Just don't expect anything very good.


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## The Reverend

MFB said:


> I'm currently fleshing out an entire comic book storyline and have planned out several different arcs, along with side characters and the extent of everyone's powers, and even meticulous little things like how does his mask stay on during combat if there's no strap? With certain little details I get driven mad and want to make sure I have an answer for just about everything.



I LOVE doing that. I have two different storylines completely fleshed out, with all the little details and backstories completed. Nothing will probably end up happening with it, but it's probably my favorite writing to just have fun with. 



Guitarman700 said:


> Jesse (The OP) Has read some of my stuff. Not my best stuff, mind you, but some of it. Currently working on a short story, and looking for someone to publish my novel. We'll see.
> If anyone wants to read any of my stuff, pm me. Just don't expect anything very good.



This is a lie. The Man Of Guitar 700 is a great writer, and an even better world-builder, something that's crucial in writing novels. Hell, just finishing a novel is an achievement in itself!

My writing is all over the place. I write poetry, which generally sucks, but is a good way to get out these recurring images or sentences that I become infatuated with sometimes. I also do a sort of vapid blog post/essay thing where I talk about my stance on certain issues, or just talk about crazy things that happen to me. 

I don't really stick to one genre, either. I love stories, and I love telling stories, especially ones that are emotionally deep, and different genres can serve as better vehicles for some stories. There's nothing like the feeling of finishing a story and feeling that it's affected you in some way; that's what I strive for in my more serious work.


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## MFB

Honestly, it really is interesting to flesh out comic stuff and has actually been helping me with being somewhat more confident in my ability AS a writer since (while it might sound egotistical) I'm looking at it like, "Shit, I did all of THIS? Maybe I'm not all crap, just 99%" A buddy of mine is friends with a few people in independent comic companies, so if their artists aren't complete shit as well as the company itself, maybe I'll see if they'll give it a look over and run it.


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## The Reverend

MFB said:


> Honestly, it really is interesting to flesh out comic stuff and has actually been helping me with being somewhat more confident in my ability AS a writer since (while it might sound egotistical) I'm looking at it like, "Shit, I did all of THIS? Maybe I'm not all crap, just 99%" A buddy of mine is friends with a few people in independent comic companies, so if their artists aren't complete shit as well as the company itself, maybe I'll see if they'll give it a look over and run it.



I used to aspire to being a comic book artist until I realized that I really can't draw for shit.

I'd love to be a writer for a comic, though. One of the things I love about comics is the persistence of the world the stories take place in, because you're allowed to go so deep and explore things that you may normally not be able to in sort of 'finite' literature. 

You may not need it, but just to throw this out there: an exercise I learned about to build confidence as an artist is to create something, and then move on to a million other things, only to come back to the first thing after you've disassociated yourself with it mentally. Once you lose the intimacy you had with it, it becomes unfamiliar to a certain extent, and you can see that you actually aren't bad at all. 

It may work in reverse, however, so be careful!


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## The Reverend

JeffFromMtl said:


> I used to be enrolled in a really exclusive writing program a Concordia University. It turns out that I'm one of those stubborn bastards who has art ruined for them if they try to actually study it and are pressured to produce on someone else's terms and timetable. Studying writing did nothing but turn me into a jaded prick about trying to learn or teach what it is to produce art. I dropped out about a year and a half ago, and only recently put a few thoughts to paper. It's just a paragraph and I'm not that happy with it, but hopefully it makes it easier to shake this fucking monkey off of my back.



That paragraph of writing? Gold. I love imagery, and you painted a picture that was eerily close to how I felt when I was suffering from depression. I guess that writing program paid off a bit, yeah? 

EDIT: "That paragraph of writing?"...I'm not sure what else people make paragraphs of


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## The Reverend

Just started on what may be my best creative endeavor yet. I've normally just kept details in my head, but now I'm making an outline of everything: the characters, the plot, the laws and rules of the world, even mythology, and it's coming along excellently. I find myself coming up with new plots or details constantly. I've never been good at creating a world that people would actually care about, but in creating a world first, and letting that influence and direct the story, I feel like I'm doing something greater in scope than I've ever done.

It's like a Bob Ross painting, but with words. Primo!


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## MFB

The Reverend said:


> Just started on what may be my best creative endeavor yet. I've normally just kept details in my head, but now I'm making an outline of everything: the characters, the plot, the laws and rules of the world, even mythology, and it's coming along excellently. I find myself coming up with new plots or details constantly. I've never been good at creating a world that people would actually care about, but in creating a world first, and letting that influence and direct the story, I feel like I'm doing something greater in scope than I've ever done.
> 
> It's like a Bob Ross painting, but with words. Primo!



It's a fantastic feeling isn't it?


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## The Reverend

It is. Things will just pop up, instead of me searching for a way to make the plot better. It certainly lends itself to more organic stories, so far.


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## x360rampagex

Emotion:

Human emotion, make us monsters,
Human impulses, make us inhuman,
We all are monsters,
We all are inhuman,
The thing that makes us human,
Is the thing that makes us monsters.

Love, love causes us to loss our mind,
Love causes us to loss our senses.
Only human,
A term to comfort our monster,
To eliviate fear,
To justify addiction,
To confort our monster.

Who really is human?
Or is the thing that makes us a monster,
what makes us human?
If so, what is a monster?
Human?
Monsters scare us,
Confuse us,
But why?
Is it that they are not human?
Or is it, that what makes us human,
is not in them?

Who really is monster?
One who is not led by emotion,
One who is not led by impuses?
If so, I would rather be monster,
Than human!


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## MFB

Made good on my New Year's resolution and finally put my graphic novel concept into actual words on a page (several in fact) instead of letting them just float around in my head. I like to think there's currently no plot-holes as I've been scrutinizing over little things as well as big things from the start.

If anyone wants to take a gander at it let me know and I'll PM what I have sometime in the next few days since its on my Mac and thats internetless at the moment


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## The Reverend

I actually had a pretty set-back concerning my writing. The HDD on my laptop completely shat itself, in the way that can't be fixed by someone of my limited talent. All of my writing is gone, along with several songs I'd recorded and multiple Guitar Pro tabs for song ideas.

Luckily, my latest story was sent over email, so I was able to download it. It's taking a lot of effort to go back to my story though, as I was so excited with what I had achieved so far.


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## MFB

Damn bro, that sucks balls. I had something similar happen years ago when we accidentally wiped my external HD clean as well as my regular computers to restore it. Lost all my music, old works etc, it was upsetting


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## The Reverend

It's really a horrible feeling. The worst part for me is trying to go back and work on my novel idea without the excitement I'd had initially. I feel like I'm just trying to make up for lost time without that creative burst of energy I had. 

Congrats on your New Year's resolution, though. I made a few too many of them this year, including write more!


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## The Reverend

So I got a domain all my own today for my blog. I'm pretty excited, since it makes me a feel a bit more legit, even if it's still run through Google's Blogger service. I'm not that big into blogging, at least in the really shallow style that's become really popular, but it's a great outlet to share my worldview with. There's some silly stuff, some serious stuff, and almost a record of the time I spent being homeless mid-2011, but it's very honest and real, unlike a lot of what you see on the web these days. 

Feedback on any blog posts would be much appreciated. 

KILLER PANDA BEAR


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## MFB

I'm currently in week 3 and about to go into week 4 of my Conceptual Storytelling class, and it's definitely helping me think about creating characters and what actually goes into them. Not that I couldn't already create characters since the sheet he gave us was nearly filled out already by the way I laid my character out, but there's a few others things he wants us to describe which is hard when you aren't actually writing the story so you don't know how much to describe of stuff like his morals/values, etc... 

Our assignment for this coming Tuesday is creating three tri-dimensional archetype characters with my selection being to write a hero, a mentor and an ally. I can describe them physically and their backstories and stuff, but once we get into morals, temperament, complexes, I just skip it since like I said - where we're not writing a story yet, I'm not sure what they'd be until the situation arises. Anyone have ideas how to get past that?


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## The Reverend

I really enjoy learning about writing. The more I learn, the more I feel I'm able to put into my own work. It's sort of like going into it fully armed, instead of just relying on what I've intuitively gathered throughout my life. I'm only in basic classes now, so I really wonder what the future holds. 

I did a cool little story in second-person view. We'd been analyzing some interesting uses of the perspective, and I decided it was exactly what I wanted to do. It's a bit awkward to work with (think Choose Your Own Adventure books, without the choice, for those of you who don't know), but it really allowed me to get in some characterization that I think normally comes off as forced.


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## MFB

Second-person view being someone involved in the story but not the main character? I feel like I'd be awful at writing that


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## SenorDingDong

As of right now I've had three pieces publishes (in as many months), two short stories and a poem. 

I'm working on a query letter (takes for fucking ever to get it right) for my novel SPEECHLESS so that I can (hopefully) land an agent. 

I've got about ten stories tied up in professional markets right now in various stages of submission (some of which are the last stages where they've booted 90% of the other stories, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed), but I won't be hearing back on most of them for at least a month or so.



I also ghostwrite full-time to support myself.


As for learning about writing? I don't know how I feel about it. I never took any courses or read any books on it. I mean, the real way to better yourself is by reading and studying other authors, and writing on a consistent basis. Deconstructing a novel bit by bit in a classroom or criticizing it and trying to discover "hidden meaning" isn't something I think would ever benefit me. Then again, I don't believe in outlines or "planning" writing beforehand. Characters are people and their stories aren't something you create; they're something that you are given, and it's your job to help them develop. At least, that's how I've always felt.


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## Konfyouzd

MFB said:


> I'm currently fleshing out an entire comic book storyline and have planned out several different arcs, along with side characters and the extent of everyone's powers, and even meticulous little things like how does his mask stay on during combat if there's no strap? With certain little details I get driven mad and want to make sure I have an answer for just about everything.



Ahh the fans will come up with some crazy explanation and you'll never be held accountable. It's like when a Redskins fan tells me what "they" (the fan will typically use the term "we") did wrong that year.


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## MFB

Any class that breaks down stories just for the sake of breaking them down into their core components is a waste of time. However, if you do the opposite and talk about where you find those components in certain stories, namely the extremely popular ones that everyone has heard of, then it proves a bit more valuable since it shows that using certain elements can make your story timeless.

For next week, I have to have an entire set of archetypes, a logline, synopsis, and outline of the four main elements of a story : exposition, conflict, climax, resolution using all those characters and a macguffin; which means I'll probably write WAY more in depth than I have to in order to even do the assignment and still remain ahead of the game.

Do I expect whatever I put together for this assignment to remain a timeless medieval fantasy? God no, it's a classroom exercise to see if I've learned what we talked about and can put together a story. But can that story at least be something decent/readable and not a tired cliche like other fantasy stories? Maybe.


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## MFB

Fuck.

FuckfuckfuckfuckFUCK.

My assignment for Storytelling went well, and I'm content with the characters I created for other people to use, but now I'm on the opposite end and I'm reading the other characters I have to use am practically fucked with how much I don't like them. They're just flat, cliched characters that we've read before, and in the story I'm working them into - it's very much about your philosophy being the right one - not the might makes right, but willpower - and they all LACK that element. The shadow I have to work with now is just a woman who's a cynic and married into royalty to gain control, and she makes people say nice things about her or else she kills them etc... my tricksters aren't very trickster-esque, I've got a herald that's just greedy and manipulative which is more of a trickster than a herald but WHATEVER, and I haven't even looked at the Threshold Guardians I have to work with.

There's one other person who's works I haven't received for whatever reason, and I'm praying to GOD that someone else got them because his shadows was usable and hopefully his shapeshifter is as well because at the moment I hate everything else I've read and want to just write my own archetypes - EXCEPT I CAN'T, because this is about working in groups


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## Bevo

I love the idea of writing but have never done any until recently. I put pen to paper to relearn how to write longhand again.
The computer and printing for clarity really messed me up.

To practice I have started to write a spy action type story and just love it, my imagination just flows!
Another benefit is I can read my writing again and it's getting neater.


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## MFB

Nice, I'm a fan of espionage/covert ops stuff but I'm always hesitant to try my hand at them due to a lack of extensive knowledge on it. Same for military type scenarios, I enjoy when they're well written like Clancy or W.E.B. Griffin's works, but if they're done poorly it stands out and I don't have a background for them so I'd feel like an idiot writing it.

After I'm done working on my fantasy stuff for class, I'm gonna shift gears and (hopefully) get to do a world of my own and make it somewhat of a spaghetti Western


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## Guitarman700

Started working on my novel again today. Not feeling as inspired as I'd like, but it's progress. Re-arranging a lot of the characters and their motivations, making them a little more deep and believable.


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## MFB

I have probably 4 more hours to finish up this project I'm working on now and totally don't care, like holy shit people, I'm basically neglecting your character's backstory because it's so "what the fuck" inducing. Write your shit better or don't be surprised when I glance over it and don't feel bad.

AND I STILL WISH THAT KID WOULD SEND ME HIS SHIT, HE CAN BE THE HERO I NEED RIGHT NOW BUT NO!


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## The Reverend

MFB said:


> I have probably 4 more hours to finish up this project I'm working on now and totally don't care, like holy shit people, I'm basically neglecting your character's backstory because it's so "what the fuck" inducing. Write your shit better or don't be surprised when I glance over it and don't feel bad.
> 
> AND I STILL WISH THAT KID WOULD SEND ME HIS SHIT, HE CAN BE THE HERO I NEED RIGHT NOW BUT NO!



Why are these people in a creative writing class, that's what I want to know. 

I just finished a seven-page analysis of Joyce's "The Dead" and I hate myself. My teacher is amazing, but incredibly demanding. I've never really looked at stories as combinations of formulas, but they are. It's like learning music theory; once you learn the proper name for something, and how it works, seeing the myriad combinations people use is amazing. I find myself being impressed by little details or uses of imagery and whatnot. 

I'd hate to work with other writers though, at least when they can't write. I imagine it's like reading a horrible story on a plane because it's the only book you had available, only you don't have the luxury of putting that shit down.


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## MFB

Its cause we're all in the same majors so we work together but the teacher made it clear that "its our responsibility to get the information from others" but Im not sure if its laziness or if something DID come up and make me look like an ass for hounding him. Never got his stuff and worked with what I had but wasnt huge on it.

Now we're doing the heroes journey in whatever setting we want with however many archetypes so Im gonna go fucking crazy with this


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## MFB

Yup, decided to do a Western and will officially be titling it "Pistolero." Simple yet powerful, and I've started doing some character concept sketches. It's an animated film since that's my department, but it will be kind of ...silly, I guess would be the best world. Or maybe, tongue-in-cheek? Won't use humans and isn't set on Earth's midwest, but it'll post up more stuff when I have had a chance to get it sorted out.


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## The Reverend

MFB said:


> Yup, decided to do a Western and will officially be titling it "Pistolero." Simple yet powerful, and I've started doing some character concept sketches. It's an animated film since that's my department, but it will be kind of ...silly, I guess would be the best world. Or maybe, tongue-in-cheek? Won't use humans and isn't set on Earth's midwest, but it'll post up more stuff when I have had a chance to get it sorted out.



The implied premise there has already got me interested as fuck . I'm not sure how one could go wrong with that, so it looks like you chose wisely.


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## MFB

Oh man, I did a quick character sketch for the main guy today and then polished him up not too long ago; damn he looks perfect for this role  It's like Han Solo meets Minion from "Despicable Me" in an old Western scenario. This is gonna be so fucking ridiclous.


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## MFB

Flirted with the idea of changing my Western into a western in space kind of thing but ultimately decided against it. Character just didn't fit and there'd be too much to change at this point.

As well, I found this little gem on Neil Geimann's tumblr and figured it could be of use to someone here : Ten rules for writing fiction | Books | guardian.co.uk


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## Guitarman700

How the fuck do I break through this writers block? I can still form scenarios and characters in my head, but putting them to paper is infuriating me.


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## MFB

Just write down however the scenarios play out in your head basically. For the longest time I thought that was silly and wouldn't really "get me anywhere" but then I looked at how many little scenarios I'd written down and they equated to a good chunk of material that I could build around.


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## The Reverend

MFB said:


> Just write down however the scenarios play out in your head basically. For the longest time I thought that was silly and wouldn't really "get me anywhere" but then I looked at how many little scenarios I'd written down and they equated to a good chunk of material that I could build around.



This can help. 

Another thing I do is force the writing. A lot of the time I actually don't feel very inspired or creative, but it seems as if my brain starts getting warmed up after forcing some stuff out. If you're a good writer, you'll notice that it's actually no different in quality from the stuff you wrote while inspired, it just doesn't come out as easily. 

Of course, I don't often have the willpower to do that, unless there's a deadline involved.


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## Guitarman700

I've tried both, in fact, I regularly do what MFB suggested. I just don't like to force it, though, and when I simply write what I envision my prose is rather leaden. Not of Randian proportions, but still stiffer than what I would like.


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## SenorDingDong

Guitarman700 said:


> How the fuck do I break through this writers block? I can still form scenarios and characters in my head, but putting them to paper is infuriating me.



Just write. Sit down, and write. 


Every writer hits a block. In fact, three-quarters of the way through every piece I've ever written comes the "slogging" period. It's extremely common; the story no longer feels fresh, the characters seem like a hassle (why can't they just resolve their shit and stop whining and running around?) and every session feels like a chore-and-a-half.

Neil Gaiman actually wrote a good piece on how the three-quarter mark of any novel/story/poem is what distinguishes a writer from a hobbyist, because that's the point where everything fucking sucks and most writers give up. (That last part was in my words--I'll post the article if I can find it again).




As of write now (_get it_, because right now I'm _writing_--I induce knee slapping, I know ) I got hired to write a book in five days. 

I promise you, I can tell you all about feeling more blocked than a toilet at El Rancho Restaurant. But, you slog through, and you look back and see that what you wrote while "blocked" (usually) isn't any worse, or better, or even more flavorful, than anything else you've written while "unblocked." It's just a mentality.


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## TonyFlyingSquirrel

I journal here and there, not any graphic novel type of stuff, just verbalizing personal stuff. 

I do find that Writer's Digest Magazine helps me to conceptualize and eventually articulate my lyrical ideas more fluently & clearly. That's where the bulk of my creative writing is expressed.


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## MFB

Come to the conclusion : storyboarding is NOT my forte. I can do it if necessary but man, I hated drawing in the sizes needed for our class. Since we're working on the heroes journey, we had to storyboard stages 1-6 with a minimum of 3 boards per stage, so at least 18 boards were due but I ended up drawing 36 total (12 pages). Shit gets crazy after a while, and I contemplated drawing them full-size with my tablet then shrinking em down to fit and inking over but it would've taken too much time so I dealt with what I had - my hands and a pencil. 

I'll be glad when this assignment is over and I can go back to working on my comic book story. Nothing personal against the heroes journey, it's just so formulaic that I feel like anything I would've written would be predictable due to the formula, so that's why I made my project tongue in cheek and the format would've been 3D so that kind of adds to the quirkiness.


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## MFB

Question for you guys, how long do you wait to do a revision? A set amount of time that you know youll have fresh eyes, or just whenever it feels right?


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## SenorDingDong

MFB said:


> Question for you guys, how long do you wait to do a revision? A set amount of time that you know youll have fresh eyes, or just whenever it feels right?



About six weeks on a larger work, as little as two on a short story. For work, I jump right in and edit straight off--non-fiction feels different than fiction.


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## The Reverend

I'd wait until it became unfamiliar to me again, though if you have a deadline to meet that clearly becomes impossible. Fresh eyes definitely help you see what's wrong with the bigger picture issues like pacing and theme.


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## MFB

Yeah that's what I was figuring, just wait out until it's familiar vs. a set period of time since I'd probably lose track of it anyways. 

I now have part 2 of my Storyboarding assignment to do and it's finishing stages 7-12 of the Hero's Journey, which we'll be tricky since there's a few things I can throw in there since I've always felt the HJ to be a bit predictable since it DOES follow a formula. 

I think after this/over the summer I'll start working on some concept art for the comic concept I have since I want to get it on paper and out of the character outline/jumbles of ideas for arcs stage.


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## JeffFromMtl

Still struggling with writer's block, save for the one piece I produced a number of months ago. Although I'm at one of those points at which I'm just tired, angry and resentful toward a lot of things. A lot more than I am toward writing. Something has me feeling that it's only a matter of time now.


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## MFB

Ended up coming up with either a new character or an entirely new comic that I can flush out and it was totally out of the blue  I've just been sitting here reading comics and I started forming an idea for someone from the cover of "The Manhattan Projects #1" and then I gave him a name which implied an ethnicity and was like "Well shit, that's actually pretty cool."

Funny how things work some times.


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## MFB

Might have just come up with an ending for the aforementioned project that came to me out of the blue, and it's rather cheeky which fits with the style. Not sure if I'll roll with it or not since it'll probably offend dozens of people who read it, but at the same time I'm thinking "Well fuck em, it's just a graphic novel"


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## Guitarman700

I've written 75,000 words in the last six days, so it's safe to say I'm over the hump.
Feels good.


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## MFB

Yeah, I'd say that's definitely "over the hump"


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## Guitarman700

MFB said:


> Yeah, I'd say that's definitely "over the hump"



That's not all on one project, to be fair. About 30k on my novel, and the rest is divided roughly evenly among three short stories I'm working on.


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## MFB

Ugh, I think you totally overshort the "short" part  I think short stories cap in at around 10K words, and that's at MAX, with average being 7-8K. Hell novels are normally like 100-120K I believe, and for the above average but good enough to keep people interested in are around 150-200K or so.


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## Guitarman700

MFB said:


> Ugh, I think you totally overshort the "short" part  I think short stories cap in at around 10K words, and that's at MAX, with average being 7-8K. Hell novels are normally like 100-120K I believe, and for the above average but good enough to keep people interested in are around 150-200K or so.



Haha, yeah, probably. The novel is half done now, and I'm getting a bit carried away with this other stuff.


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## The Reverend

Care to lend me some of that inspiration, Colin?


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## Guitarman700

The Reverend said:


> Care to lend me some of that inspiration, Colin?



Sure, come up and here grab some.


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## SenorDingDong

Guitarman700 said:


> I've written 75,000 words in the last six days, so it's safe to say I'm over the hump.
> Feels good.



300 pages in six days kid? Damn. I'm a generally slow writer. I write about 3000 words (fiction) a day, sometimes as little as 1500 (fiction).


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## Guitarman700

SenorDingDong said:


> 300 pages in six days kid? Damn. I'm a generally slow writer. I write about 3000 words (fiction) a day, sometimes as little as 1500 (fiction).



This is generally how I work. Periods of slow progress punctuated by bursts of extreme productivity. I wish I could even it out a little more, but it is what it is.


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## MFB

If anyone is interested in screen writing, I'd recommend you check out "Notes from the Script" on Netflix. Talks about working in the industry, the struggles, re-writes, and dealing with getting your stuff actual made/accurately made.


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## The Reverend

MFB said:


> If anyone is interested in screen writing, I'd recommend you check out "Notes from the Script" on Netflix. Talks about working in the industry, the struggles, re-writes, and dealing with getting your stuff actual made/accurately made.



Seems really interesting, I'm definitely going to check it out.


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## MFB

Finished with a solid B in my Conceptual Storytelling class, and since I've returned home to Boston I've had a handful of people tell me I should go into writing due to the lengthy FB notes I write and the style of writing I have. Writing is something I consider more of a hobby but I'm finding myself writing out more and more concepts and am now designing concept art for one of them in hopes of pitching it sometime this year to be turned into a comic. 

Has anyone here besides the Griebster pitched stuff, cause I'm totally unsure of what even goes into that.


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## The Reverend

MFB said:


> Finished with a solid B in my Conceptual Storytelling class, and since I've returned home to Boston I've had a handful of people tell me I should go into writing due to the lengthy FB notes I write and the style of writing I have. Writing is something I consider more of a hobby but I'm finding myself writing out more and more concepts and am now designing concept art for one of them in hopes of pitching it sometime this year to be turned into a comic.
> 
> Has anyone here besides the Griebster pitched stuff, cause I'm totally unsure of what even goes into that.



I couldn't tell you. I'm actually in a similar situation, trying to sell a comic strip I've been working on for quite a long time. I'd start with Google. I know that my roommate used to hang around on a forum that was full of comic book writers and artists, I'm sure they'd have something to say about pitching ideas. I'll try to get the name of it for you. Good for a lurk, if nothing else.


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## The Uncreator

Quite excited I stumbled upon this. Here is a short (its fairly short, only a few minutes of reading) story I did to follow along the songs I am doing for my music.

This was quite literally my first ever attempt at writing, so any constructive criticisms or just thoughts on it are welcomed, as I want to get back into doing these again.

http://www.facebook.com/notes/brett-windnagle/parallel-infinities-prologue/162223397171264


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## Guitarman700

I have, but ask me when I'm not running on empty. Or ask Griebel, he'd know more than me. I mostly edit and proofread, as well as a couple of ghostwriting jobs. My own fiction isn't my focus.


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## MFB

I ended up finding some stuff on Google and read WAY more articles about writing/fiction than I expected to  Still on the hunt for more stuff about pitching (novels/comics/stories you sickos ) so I'll have to keep looking. It's kind of a secret skill that authors apparently seem to horde for themselves.


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## SenorDingDong

MFB said:


> Finished with a solid B in my Conceptual Storytelling class, and since I've returned home to Boston I've had a handful of people tell me I should go into writing due to the lengthy FB notes I write and the style of writing I have. Writing is something I consider more of a hobby but I'm finding myself writing out more and more concepts and am now designing concept art for one of them in hopes of pitching it sometime this year to be turned into a comic.
> 
> Has anyone here besides the Griebster pitched stuff, cause I'm totally unsure of what even goes into that.



Totally just saw this post, and the funny part is, a lot of my friends call me Griebster 


I don't know how to get notifications from threads, so sorry for not helping out sooner (or trying to).




As far as getting out there, pitching is the hardest part. It would be nice if you could just send out a manuscript and wait for a response, but it doesn't work that way. 

I suggest working on writing a query letter, first, as they will be your gateway. _I_ fucking hate writing them--they are impersonal, bland and completely out of my element, as I have very, very pronounced style--but they are a staple at most every publisher. 

The best thing you can do is read a bajillion query letters and attempt to emulate them. There is no magic formula. What you want is to capture the essence of your story in a few brief, well-constructed sentences. Very difficult to do, especially as you almost always want to add some character soup. 

I'm actually looking into smaller publishing houses for my current manuscript, only because I don't want to deal with query writing. From there I'll just call an agent and have them voice the deal for me, and bim-bam-boom hopefully score representation without having to write a query.

Yes, I hate them that much. You will too, but you've probably more patience than I. 

Also, work on your synopsis. Very important. Much easier than a query, not exactly as cutthroat, but can still be a deciding factor. Especially if you put the editors to sleep with it.


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## MFB

Working with synopsis is something I now have a good chunk of experience in as it the first assignment for any project we started was: logline, premise, synopsis and each time we handed in another assignment for that same story, we had to go back and refine it and chunk out a new one so I think I did 12 synopsis in 3 months? Give or take.

Now that I think about, a query letter sounds like literally what we had to write for our Conceptual Storytelling class just a little more flushed out and with a writer's bio instead of a premise. Maybe it won't be as bad as I thought.


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## soliloquy

i have been writing for the last 15 years or so. nothing to be published, just for the sake of my own sanity. am i good? not at all. stuff i write keeps changing from own personal projects. i started by writing poems. that slowly evolved into epics. that slowly evolved into plays which i abandoned after 6 acts (i was gonna wrap it up in 8 acts). and now i'm slowly leaning back to poems but from a very different angle. 

the stuff i wrote in the middle i've proud of the most. it definetly was the most difficult to write. it also required tons of research from all over. while i'm at it, i'm still hating myself for losing my muse for that play


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## MFB

Ugh, I don't think plays are supposed to go past 3 acts  It's set up in a very specific way that certain parts fit into each act, and some parts can be longer than others but they're still specific stages and it's all still considered 3 acts just really LONG acts.


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## soliloquy

MFB said:


> Ugh, I don't think plays are supposed to go past 3 acts  It's set up in a very specific way that certain parts fit into each act, and some parts can be longer than others but they're still specific stages and it's all still considered 3 acts just really LONG acts.



3? most Shakespearean plays had 5 acts. 

besides, i was never a conformist to stick by rules (thus i SUCK with hikus and sonnets), nor do i like the iambic pentameter, nor rhyme schemes


like i said, i dont write to be published


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## SenorDingDong

Three act plays are common _now_, but originally, most plays were five-act plays. It wasn't until people like Ibsen started experimenting with play lengths that we got four-act and, our main staple now, three-act plays. 




Lately I've been writing less. I was doing 2000 words a day, but sometimes the 2000 felt forced (add to that the fact that the heat was really getting to me, and some days I'd be totally miserable forcing out so many words). So I started a new writing regime--a mix between Hemingway's work style and James Scott Bell's advice. I write a non-determined amount, but spend more time constructing my writing than I do pouring out a billion words. It is more relaxed, and I find it easier to flow this way. I've been taking a day off each week, as well, to let my mind rest. It really helps.


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## Blind Theory

I didn't realize this thread was here and started another so I'll just post this here. I write my thoughts when I am waiting to feel tired late at night. Here is my most recent:


The popular phrase in culture today is You only live once. It is branded across shirts, hats, television screens and anywhere else with room to spare. It, like other popular trends often become, gets annoying to hear someone say with any sense of sincerity behind it. If you must use that phrase, please, I and everyone else in the room beg of you, do it in jest so as not to look like a tool. 
That being said, there has to be some sincerity behind that statement to give it any weight. Obviously we can only live one life. It is biologically impossible to reincarnate into another person the instant you die. That is why Only and One should be emphasized a bit more in my opinion. In the grand scheme of things I have to ask myself why, regardless of how annoying I find it, I cant dismiss the phrase. On an astronomical level we are not significant by any means. We are the dominant species on a single planet orbiting around a single star in a single galaxy that is one of billions, if not trillions of other galaxies. To say we are important in any way is ignorant and selfish. With all that said you still have stresses in life, complications, tragedies; things important to you. 
So once again, the phrase has to be brought to light. You only live once. Somehow, this is made even more important and urgent with how insignificant we are. You mean to tell me that not only am I one of the most insignificant organisms that could possibly existI only get to do this once? Well, with that being the resounding conclusion to the idea it makes a lot of every day struggle seem pointless. That girl you are too afraid to ask out on a date suddenly seems like less of a thing to worry about. You look at life changing and dont know what to make of it or what to do with it. Well, here is a thought, make it what YOU want and do with it what YOU want to do with it. No matter how impossible the odds seem or how ludicrous you sound talking about it dont let anything discourage you. Just like the phrase says, life is a one shot deal. You dont want to look back on nothing but missed opportunity and what-ifs. 
As Im writing his I wish I could follow what I type and do what I say but I fall into the majority on this subject. I can look back and name missed opportunity and I can look back and think about all the what-ifs that Ive already experienced. My thought pattern is conditioned from years and years of mental abuse from my peers. While everyone was laughing at the jokes I was trying to hide any damage done. If I could go and tell handfuls of people how I felt about them and what they did for my self esteem I sure as shit would. But that is the past and that is why I am writing this. For me writing is a sort of long sought therapy. This is my way of putting my feelings and thoughts out there in visible form and reflecting on them. In a way, this is how I am getting past the problems I feel I have. Im ready to move on and Im ready to confess. 
I have always taken YOLO to heart without ever realizing it. Never in my life have I had safe goals. From the more grounded to the insane, Ive wanted to do it all. The thing Ive learned from all of my flip-flopping is thatwell, it isnt just one thing. First, Ive learned that when you know you want to do something, you shouldnt let a single person on this planet hold you back, regardless of relation or importance. Secondly, if you dream big and try hard enough the voices that tell you to stop trying get quieter and eventually fade. Life moves on and so should you.
Reading through this you might feel like youve heard it all before and you probably have. I have tried my best to regurgitate everything Ive ever heard about success and happiness and tried to make this seem like one big mainstream pile of vomit. The reason being is that it is important to understand this for your own personal gain. No one will ever be able to make you wake up and do what you want to do, that is why you need to open your eyes and see what is out there waiting to be found. Go discover, go live and dont let anyone tell you to do otherwise.


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## MFB

Figured I'd give you guys a lil taste of the ol' MFB style writing. Here's the god awful "icebreaker" e-mail I sent my roommate today and was painful to write.



> "If it sounds like this is the most horrid, awkwardly written thing you've ever read - I apologize as I didn't do this last time around and I feel like this IS a terribly awkward thing to write so I have zero clue how to treat it. So let me say this:
> 
> Hi, hello, howdy, hey, what's up, whatever your favorite greeting is, this is the line where I've written it because I'm that cool that I knew what it was before meeting you. Yup, pretty impressive huh?
> 
> My name's Ben, and it looks like we're going to be roommates for the upcoming semester. I'm terrible with describing myself since it's myself so everything seems uninteresting and boring but to others it might not be so I'll do my best at not sucking at this. I just got back from spending six months living in California (San Francisco specifically) while also going to the Ai that was out there because why not right? After 21 years of living in the New England region I packed up my life into a suitcase and a guitar back and flew out west like some hippy punk out of a 60's song that tried to "stick it to the man." But now I'm back in my home state of MA and pursuing animation out here where my friends and family are instead of over there where I was pretty much alone in my efforts.
> 
> In terms of personality, I'm pretty introverted and what most - if not all - would consider a home body. I'm cool with talking to new people when it's with at least one other person I know, but until there's a really good opportunity for a joke that'll make almost every one of those new people laugh, I keep my mouth shut. Rather look like a quiet person than a fool. I don't mind idle conversation/chit-chat but I by no means go out of my way for it; it's just, not sure how to describe it but it seems really forced when I do and people can tell it's a stretch so I've just stopped bothering. For music, I listen to a good chunk of different things and will listen to nearly anything that's not mainstream country and most current hip-hop/rap. Old school hip-hop like Run DMC, Snoop, Dre, etc.. that's fine but this new Drake, Lil Wayne, and all that is just shit to me. If I've just broken your heart, sorry. I'm a mixed bag on dubstep too and just ignore it since I've never heard anything that made me go "oh man that's great" but I've never heard anything else that made me go "oh man, how do you screw up dubstep that badly?" either.
> 
> Since they haven't told me anything besides your name, I have zero clue if you're already living at Artist's Village and have your stuff set up and there's specific stuff I need to bring or if we currently need to divide it up between the two of us. I've a 27" TV I have no problem bringing if you want, as well as my 360 with Hulu Plus/Netflix on it since I don't think there's cable (or it's bare minimum if it is). Aside from that I was just planning on bringing in my computer, probably a fridge and that was it since there's not much else we can have to begin with.
> 
> I'm gonna be around Saturday for whatever thing it is they're having before the semester starts and they said they'll be having us meet our roommates provided we're both there; so if you are, I'll see you then if not then I'll see you on move in day."


 
Pretty impressive huh? I bet you wish you were my roommate don'tcha? I can tell.


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## The Reverend

That is pure excellence. 

I've sent far more embarrassing emails looking for lodging, so I don't think it was _too_ bad.


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## CannibalKiller

Anyone mind if I bump this? It's interesting.


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## The Reverend

Please do. Given the nature of the thread, it's not always raging with replies anyways.


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## MFB

I'm in ANOTHER writing class this semester since apparently I didn't get credit for my "Conceptual Storytelling" class so now I'm in "Writing for Short Animations" so I may be contributing to this again soon enough


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## Skyblue

I've actually been writing quite a lot lately, both with a friend of mine (who got me to be more confident in myself and start writing) and by myself. 

I write occasional short pieces that are usually based on my own thoughts, feelings and experiences, a tiny (tiny) bit of poetry (but really only when I', in the mood, and even then it's usually rather silly) and I've just started to work on 2 full stories, one by myself and one with my friend. 

my only concern is that the stories will end up being cheap copies of my favorite writers (such as Neil Gaiman, which I absolutely love), as I can see the strong similarities within my stories (in my point of view anyway). I guess you could say it'll still be a good writing exercise, but I'd hate writing something that I know will be nothing in the end...


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## The Reverend

Writing fiction is like writing songs: In the beginning, you may feel that your inspirations are a little too transparent, but if you give it enough time and keep working at it, you'll soon find your own voice.


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## Skyblue

I guess you're right, I'll keep writing anyway, thanks  
Now I just need to decide on a plot and roll with it, as I keep changing my mind about it every few days


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## JeffFromMtl

The Reverend said:


> That paragraph of writing? Gold. I love imagery, and you painted a picture that was eerily close to how I felt when I was suffering from depression. I guess that writing program paid off a bit, yeah?
> 
> EDIT: "That paragraph of writing?"...I'm not sure what else people make paragraphs of



I somehow haven't managed to check back into this thread since back then, but thanks for the comments, man.


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## MFB

Turns out my "Writing for the Short Animation" class is kind of a joke and all we'll be doing are basically 2-3 page scripts, so unless I'm doing side writing on my own projects, nothing major will be updated for me.


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## The Reverend

MFB said:


> Turns out my "Writing for the Short Animation" class is kind of a joke and all we'll be doing are basically 2-3 page scripts, so unless I'm doing side writing on my own projects, nothing major will be updated for me.



You can't piss on hospitality.

I WON'T ALLOW IT.


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## MFB

The Reverend said:


> You can't piss on hospitality.
> 
> I WON'T ALLOW IT.



I HAVE A BUNCH OF POSTERS TO DESIGN ANYWAYS! 

Like, for CLUE and BIOSHOCK STUFF!


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## Skyblue

Ok, so decided to bump this thread a bit (I hope nobody minds) with a question: 
I really didn't get to write ANYTHING lately. and it's not really a lack of inspiration, but when I get ideas, or inspiration, I'm usually way too lazy to go to the computer and start writing. and naturally, by the time I'll get to my computer I'll forget what I had in mind... 
The obvious reply would be to carry a notebook of some kind, but I don't really see myself do that, honestly... So how do you guys deal with that problem? I just don't usually find myself in the mood to sit in front of a screen and start writing down stuff...

Also, do you ever try and force stuff out? just sit in front of you notebook or computer and try to write something? Not talking about writing duties for school and such, of course...


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## yellow

Im a writer, just wanted to say hello to my other guitarist/writers. I write shorts, prose, poetry, critiques, analyses, scholarly/academic, some drama/screen, and philosophy/metaphysics. I also am an English professor (American lit). I find writing music and lit to be complimentary.

@ skyblue: yes I force myself, but when I force during a block, I approach it lightly and take many breaks, I never do the exhaustive writing till I cant think of anything else style, if u know what I mean...I also resolve it by getting inspiration from reading, music or film


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## SenorDingDong

Skyblue said:


> Ok, so decided to bump this thread a bit (I hope nobody minds) with a question:
> I really didn't get to write ANYTHING lately. and it's not really a lack of inspiration, but when I get ideas, or inspiration, I'm usually way too lazy to go to the computer and start writing. and naturally, by the time I'll get to my computer I'll forget what I had in mind...
> The obvious reply would be to carry a notebook of some kind, but I don't really see myself do that, honestly... So how do you guys deal with that problem? I just don't usually find myself in the mood to sit in front of a screen and start writing down stuff...
> 
> Also, do you ever try and force stuff out? just sit in front of you notebook or computer and try to write something? Not talking about writing duties for school and such, of course...




Writing is never about being in the mood. If it was, all novels would be half-remembered dreams. 

I sit at the computer seven days a week and write. There are days I don't have much to say, or can't seem to say things proper, or I just don't want to write. Still, I write. I think that's the big difference between being a writer and a hobbyist; hobbyists only want to write when it feels good and it's easy. "Forcing" is subjective; I feel I force if I try and write too much during a day, not if I sit down and make myself get going and keep on until my day's work is finished. I guess you might feel you force yourself if you don't feel like writing in the first place. I have no idea. Everyone works differently, unless they aren't getting anything done at all, and in that case they aren't really working, are they?

I'm sorry to say, but the solution to your problem is this: stop being lazy. Get your ass to the computer or suffer losing a potential story.

On another note, I've had five more short stories accepted by various pubs since my last post in this thread. I just haven't posted much here as I'm not one for talking about writing. 

For about a month I was taking a day off each week, but it just felt cowardly, and I stopped. I still don't aim for a specific word count, but I seldom write less than 1500 words a day.


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