How can you people put together stories so fast?

[Lovepotion69]

I was working on a story tonight and realised that I only have one up. Currently I'm working on about 2-3 stories at the same time, and for whatever reason it's not going very fast.

How the heck do some of you people manage to crank out story after story with short intervals??

Is it ...
a) me who has a terrible imagination
b) you who are all blessed with perverted and creative imaginations
c) me who is lazy
d) you all who are focused enough to sit down and write till it's all done

*goes back to typing out new story idea which she'll never finish before the end of the year by this rate*

 

[Guest]

for me it came from being a journalist, where sometimes I'd have to write 5-6 articles in a day in addition to photography enhancement and page layout.

The more I write, the easier it gets.

Creatively speaking, sometimes I will think of one sentence and create 8 pages around it.
One story I posted here was actually a dream. I got out of bed, scribbled a few notes, and wrote the entire story in the morning.

You can't compare yourself to others, or you will limit yourself to only being as good as they are, and not the best you can be.

I don't think there is any specific answer on how to motivate yourself to cranking out more stories.

Just do it. And have fun while you do it.

PJ

 

[Lovepotion69]

Hi PJ,
Hey, there's a big difference cranking out articles and short stories! (For me at least!) With the articles I already have the facts, I know what's happening. With the creative writing I just know briefly what will happen, the rest I have to figure out. I can write a 12000 word academic paper or a 6000word article in a day, but I can't seem to get very far with my Lit stories. Hm....:sarcastic:

I had an interesting dream the other night and considering it as a possible Lit story, by now I'm finally coming up with stories, but I never finish them!

 

[Guest]

after so many years, the article and the short story became very similar to me. I always strove for the most creative angle or ironic twist to put my creative side in it.

But I think it was the structure and discipline that really helped me.

 

[DurtGurl]

S and D

Originally posted by princejonny But I think it was the structure and discipline that really helped me.

And S & D is what youve brung here, my prince. I sincerly wander how we ever got along without you. You are a veritable gift from heaven.
DurtGurl

 

[Sabledrake]

As for me, I'm lucky enough to have a job that allows me ample time to write (on the company clock, no less <g>). I average 3,000 words a night. And I never have a shortage of projects.

Sabledrake

 

[flawed_ethics]

For me, it depends on how the idea strikes. If it is something I'm really into, I'll have it written in no time flat. My first story was just like that, as princejohnny mentioned, because it was a HOT dream, and I knew I had to jot it down.

My longer piece has a deeper context for me. It's part creative, part serious, as there's more overtone to it than just people getting it on.

I too have a lot of half-written stories sitting around. Should the fancy strike, I may finish them. For some of us writers, it's just a matter of crossing the path of that 'spark'.

 

[Un-registered]

For me, it depends on how the idea strikes.

Me too. Some days 500 words of fiction is all I can write, others 5,000.

When talking of reports and academic papers, 10,000 in a day's writing is more usual, but that isn't counting the days and days of research and reading that go in to composing them. The best I ever did was a ten day project, start to finish, with a 40,000 word output.

When it comes to articles in the journalistic sense, a deadline concentrates the mind wonderfully. Unfortunately, although my publisher tries to give me a deadline for novels, we both know that if it is late, it doesn't mean he won't publish.

 

[oggbashan]

Muses

It depends on my muses.

When they want me to, I write 4-5000 words in one session.

When they are busy elsewhere, I breathe a sigh of relief, then revise, edit, do plot outlines or actually have a real life.

Og

 

[KillerMuffin]

What do you mean by "so fast"? Only my first stories were anything related to fast. These days, the writing part goes relatively quickly depending on how well the words are coming out. The pre-writing part is usually already done. I get bored in class or between classes and develop my story ideas then. Then I write them. The time frame there isn't too slow if you take total time put together. Some stories develop quickly. The movement from pre-writing to actual writing can be months or years, however.

I don't think you're particularly odd, however. Some people can throw 'em up quickly. Some people don't. My cumulative Lit library comes from two and a half years worth of writing. It looks more prolific than it really is.

 

[Pookie]

If I had the time, I could put out probably 10,000 words a week in a final format. This includes the time it takes to outline the story, write a first draft and have it edited.

The reality with everything going on in my life is that I probably can only do 3000 words at best. It all depends on availability of time and no interruptions. I can come up with a plot and characters very fast. The outlining and writing takes the time. I have twelve stories in some state of completion now, ranging from an outline to only one final edit needed.

Pookie

 

[dr_mabeuse]

How do you write, Potion? Just where do you have your problem? How much you produce might come down to something as trivial as being a slow typist or something as profound as just being a really terrible writer.

Do you just sit down with a blank screen or a pencil and paper and tell yourself to think of something? Do you write in your head when you're away from your computer? Or do you only think about your stories while your writing them?

Are your stories plot-driven character driven or style-driven or all or none? Do you have time to write or do you have to snatch it duringthe day or night.

And what are you concentrating on? Plot problems, style problems, or what?

So much depends on how you work and what you're writing and what else is going on in your life. I'm sure that there are people who write extremely slowly, and some who crank it out by the yard, like bread dough or pasta. You know, it's like penis or breast size: a quality over quantity thing.

The only thing I can tell you is that I do a lot of my writing away from the computer, working out problems and coming up with descriptions and figuring out what I want to say. Of course, it doesn't hurt that most of my stories have absolutely no plot to speak of.

But think of this too: if you force yourself to write 2 pages a day, after a year you'll have 730 pages. That's a couple of novels. Of course, they might be crappy novels, but it still makes an impressive stack of crap.

---dr.M.

 

[pop_54]

Hmmmmmmm

Product of a twisted old mind with me darling, I think of something dirty and write about it, simple really, well I am a bit of a simple person so it has to be.

My longest story in time consumed writing it was probably about 3 days in total hours.

My shortest Lit published story in time if not word count consumed is *Naughty Marlene* it took a grand total of 3 hours including spell check/correction, tea breaks, and submission.

I do have a few I've started and then lost interest that have been sent to the big del site in the sky, and 3 unfinished that I think I may get back to one day so they're filed in the junk store folder.

pops.................

 

[DurtGurl]

Re: Hmmmmmmm

Originally posted by pop_54 3 hours including spell check/correction, tea breaks, and submission.

Hiya, Pop,
I have trouble with the submission part. I got my you know what caught in the roller thingie of that submitter whatchacallit. I don't need to tell you how much that hurt! LOLROFLMFAO he he

Hay, where's my Prince? I got on here to do some worship and adoration, and I find that he has forsaken me. What ho, Princie? Come too Mama.

DurtGurl (If I had any friends, they'de call me Muffy)

 

[Svenskaflicka]

In my case, 69... it's C.

 

[Lovepotion69]

How do you write, Potion? Just where do you have your problem? How much you produce might come down to something as trivial as being a slow typist or something as profound as just being a really terrible writer.

Hi Dr,
How do I write? Hm, I'm pretty new at it all but so far something will come to me, and idea of what I want to write. It's not detailed, just a basic plot. Girl meest guy on the Orient Express basics. LOL I'm not into plotting really, but lately I've started to think a bit more in detail. Not detail by detail but still more on the plot.
When I type and I'm into it, the "spark" and interest is there I'll keep typing till the spark is gone. I'm a fast typist, so the problem seems to be that I just lose that spark very fast. One night I'll be all into it, then the next I want to write, but it's just not there. I very much just write what pops into my head at that very moment. I've always done that.

At the moment I have plenty of time to write, I just seem to lazy or there's not spark. I need that spark, or a mighty good deadline. Plot is probably one of my problems, coming up with good descriptions that aren't repetative another, and the main one still being that darn spark.

Sigh, articles and essays are so much easier. Plus I work better under deadline.

 

[Lovepotion69]

Killermuffin, by "so fast" I meant that when I check the New stories there seems to be familiar names flashing by quite often. Master Vassago for example. Damn, that guy cranks out a lot of stories!

Pop, hm...think of something dirty and just write it down. Sounds so simple, yet isn't!

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Hi Dr,
How do I write? Hm, I'm pretty new at it all but so far something will come to me, and idea of what I want to write. It's not detailed, just a basic plot. Girl meest guy on the Orient Express basics. LOL I'm not into plotting really, but lately I've started to think a bit more in detail. Not detail by detail but still more on the plot.
When I type and I'm into it, the "spark" and interest is there I'll keep typing till the spark is gone. I'm a fast typist, so the problem seems to be that I just lose that spark very fast. One night I'll be all into it, then the next I want to write, but it's just not there. I very much just write what pops into my head at that very moment. I've always done that.

At the moment I have plenty of time to write, I just seem to lazy or there's not spark. I need that spark, or a mighty good deadline. Plot is probably one of my problems, coming up with good descriptions that aren't repetative another, and the main one still being that darn spark.

Sigh, articles and essays are so much easier. Plus I work better under deadline.

It could just be that you have a sex life that's rich and interesting enough that you don't have to screw around sublimating your frustrations into stories.

Really though, if you're waiting for the "spark", you're probably going to wait a long time. From my experience, that initial inspirational spark is great, but it rarely ever lasts long wnough to get me to the end of the story: certainly not through the editing and proofreading. What sparks I get come in the form of scenes or vignettes. Those are the germs of a story. The rest of it is more or less drudge work.

So it sounds to me like what you need is motivation, or some sort of fuel aside from waiting for inspiration to strike.

I suppose motivation for writers varies, but probably all writers' motivation contains elements of egotism, competition, and the desire for approval. The pleasure of playing around in a make-believe world where you call all the shots is another factor.

I do a lot of writing by specific request, and that's a great motivator, at least for me. Knowing you have a guranteed audience is a great incentive to write, even if it's an audience of one. And again, speaking for myself, I always believe deep down inside that it's possible to seduce someone with a story if it's written well enough. I laugh at myself for believing this, but I believe it just the same, and that is also a great motivator to finish and post.

Something else I've been doing a lot lately is posting to the sexual role-playing game board. If you're involved in a game, you 're forced to write, and write pretty quickly. You also have a guranteed audience, and you get instand feeback on whatever you write. You're exposed to a lot of other people's erotic ideas and writing styles and you can float a lot of your own and see how they're received.


---dr.M.

 

[Octavian]

We're not all fast.

Not everyone is churning out stories after a few days.

The one serious story I have posted took over two and a half years to complete.

Octavian

My Stories

 

[Master_Vassago]

I had a few sick days last week and finished a few stories that were nearly completed anyway justed needed some touching up. That's the strange thing about Me though. I will finish like seven or eight stories in a day when I can and then submit them all at once or stagger them so I keep My name up there.

Actually I can go for weeks and not finish a story. Hell, not even write one and then inspiration hits and I sit down and type until My wrists are numb or one of My munchkins needs some fatherly attention.

 

[Lovepotion69]

Hm, ok that's it. I need to kick myself in the butt and start writing!

To the dear Dr, I have no sex life whatsoever. LOL Haven't had much of one since my guy left the UK for Ireland in Oct. As I'm living with my folks now I have entered unlimited celibacy.