Discipline

[impressive]

Exactly - you have to sit and tough it even if you don't feel like writing at all.

Which reminds me...

So, does outlining "count" ... I mean, story planning & all that jazz? I'm really good at that part.

 

[impressive]

I was just thinking...I'd really like to see just how much you can put out exactly.

Are we talking words ... or research?

 

[Penelope Street]

Do you set standards for yourself? If so, what? A certain # of words daily? A period of time?
What GETS you focused? What KEEPS you focused?

I have no discipline regarding production quotas or focus techniques. I write when I want to and what I want to. Motivation? If the story isn't motivation enough, I figure it's not worth writing. When a story begins to bore me, it joins the dozen or so already in my may never be finished]/i] folder. That's the beauty of being an amateur, isn't it?

After I'm finished with a story, my loves read it and I incorporate their comments. Then the tale sits for at least a month, often longer, before I read it again, re-writing as I go. After this second re-write, I consider whether I want to submit it. If so, I contact a few close friends who help me with reviewing, a process which takes several weeks. For me, getting a story from idea to submission takes at least two months, often longer. Thus at any given time, I'm working on a handful of stories in various stages of completion.

Take Care,
Penny

 

[rikaaim]

Are we talking words ... or research?

Umm...the putting of outs that I was refering to had little to do with words or research.

 

[impressive]

That's the beauty of being an amateur, isn't it?

Herein lies the problem.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

[rgraham666]

Any particular reason for surrounding meals, Rob? Is hunger (or satiety) a factor?

I need a system ... a routine. I'm thinking mornings are my most creative times, or at least, the most energetic.

The main reason is because meals are something I never miss. So attaching writing to a meal is a good, uhm, what's the word I'm looking for, trigger or signpost.

I've discovered recently, that I work best inside a routine. Not too tight a routine as too tight freaks me out. If things have to be done just so, I'm always disappointed in myself.

But if I sit down at approximately the same time every day for approximately the same duration, I find I accomplish more.

As always it's a balance. If I don't have the routine, I don't accomplish much. If I have too much routine, I'm too busy staying inside the lines to accomplish anything. Neither is a good way for me to be.

 

[impressive]

As always it's a balance. If I don't have the routine, I don't accomplish much. If I have too much routine, I'm too busy staying inside the lines to accomplish anything. Neither is a good way for me to be.

This makes an enormous amount of sense to me. Thanks.

 

[rgraham666]

So, does outlining "count" ... I mean, story planning & all that jazz? I'm really good at that part.

Not for me. I find I'm almost always thinking of a story. Who the characters are, what they are doing, what I want to say with the story.

In fact, I don't start actually writing until I'm very clear in my mind what all the aspects of the story are.

That might have to change if I want to keep my output up.

 

[impressive]

Not for me. I find I'm almost always thinking of a story. Who the characters are, what they are doing, what I want to say with the story.

In fact, I don't start actually writing until I'm very clear in my mind what all the aspects of the story are.

Oh, phooey. (I'm the same way.)

 

[matriarch]

You've had quite a bit on your plate -- with two moves, job shit, and ending a long-term relationship.

 

[rgraham666]

Oh, phooey. (I'm the same way.)

Doesn't mean you can't count 'em Imp. Do what works for you.

 

[impressive]

Doesn't mean you can't count 'em Imp. Do what works for you.

No. You were right. I'd spend the time daydreaming and NOT writing. I need the discipline to actually WRITE ... real words, pecked on the keyboard, saved.

 

[rgraham666]

No. You were right. I'd spend the time daydreaming and NOT writing. I need the discipline to actually WRITE ... real words, pecked on the keyboard, saved.

I think a routine would help. If you've got something you do every day, use that as a trigger for the next event, writing.

Or sign up some buddies to contact you every day at a certain time and tell you to write.

If you have a calender with event notification on it, set an event "WRITE!"

Lot's of thing to get the discipline going, Imp. And once started, it gets a lot easier.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Routine?

Stop using big words....



I don't have a routine, nor do I have any discipline. I haven't written but possibly 700 words in a week or so, and that was with pen and pad sitting at the bar mid-week. I haven't typed it yet, either.

This is why Warrior's Tale 2 is four years over-due. It's also why half-written non-Lit stories haven't been finished, and the ones that are finished haven't been sent out for (the chance of) publication yet.

I have no discipline, not routine, not particular urge to write, and no direction when I'm doing so (oh, and by the way Stewart, no one likes you...).

So, where do I sign up for this laziness competition?

Q_C

 

[Guest]

i have no discipline or focus. i need some, where do i get it?

 

[impressive]

i have no discipline or focus. i need some, where do i get it?

When I figure it out, I'll let you know.

 

[carsonshepherd]

i have no discipline or focus. i need some, where do i get it?

NOT on the internet, I promise you that

once upon a time I was very productive.... but now Pppfffttblt, i struggle with distractions... fun ones I admit, but still time wasters.

 

[Guest]

i have no discipline or focus. i need some, where do i get it?

Better question:

I'm on a budget, How much does this discipline cost? Do they have a payment plan? What are the finance charges?

 

[Guest]

When I figure it out, I'll let you know.

please hurry. i have a 75k novel i haven't finished and it's been languishing for over a year without me.

 

[impressive]

NOT on the internet, I promise you that

Yes, but were it not for the Internet, I'd not have STARTED writing in the first place ... and I'd not have had the benefit of the expertise here and elsewhere.

*sigh*

Wicked mistress

 

[Guest]

NOT on the internet, I promise you that

once upon a time I was very productive.... but now Pppfffttblt, i struggle with distractions... fun ones I admit, but still time wasters.

oh no, you do fine

i borrowed/stole your idea in writing directly into live journal. it has helped me immensly because i don't sit there and try to edit while i go along...just let them ideas free flow. yup.

 

[logophile]

When I'm on a good roll, I use the internet for my breaks. I know it might not work for everyone, but it's my thing.

I'll write for half an hour or an hour and then check my mail or pop in here. It gives me enough headspace to dive back in. The times when I've tried to do it another way, I end up getting up and wandering away from my desk and then it's harder to start again.

Discipline?
What's that?

 

[carsonshepherd]

oh no, you do fine

i borrowed/stole your idea in writing directly into live journal. it has helped me immensly because i don't sit there and try to edit while i go along...just let them ideas free flow. yup.

and you know that's probably doubled my output... my drafts are not as polished, but they're drafts anyway, right?

but be careful of browser/connection crashes on LJ

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

I never start at the beginning. I always write one of the climaxes first, using vague language designed without regard to character specificity.. and when I've got it down and can read through the snippet and say "I want to know more"--I'll finish it forward and backward.

If the "catch" isn't intriguing, its a labor. This method makes it easy to motivate myself to write at most any given time, because I'm working on something small and quick and catchy without regard to its role in a bigger picture.

 

[Equinoxe]

I have absolutely no discipline when it comes to these things, whether it's painting, writing, or so forth. Being mercurial, I operate by mood, so I don't ever set quotas; when I feel like working I work until it's done or until I basically pass out, whichever comes first. When I am not in the mood for working, I can't make myself do so.