How to...make myself write

[BobbingForApple]

I'm dying to try out this whole story thing and submit it here, but I can't seem to actually bring myself to write it/anything.

Motivate me, people!

 

[Ellafun]

I'm dying to try out this whole story thing and submit it here, but I can't seem to actually bring myself to write it/anything.

Motivate me, people!

Stop playing on Literotica and get an outline started! Go! NOW!!!!

(good luck with that, btw!!!)

 

[BobbingForApple]

Hmmm...maybe later? Hahah
I'm an extreme case of lazy ass.

Thanks for the luck

 

[sunandshadow]

Pff if there was any way to make someone write there would be thousands of writers out there paying big bucks for it.

Ask yourself if putting the first sentence of your story on paper seems like fun. If it doesn't, that's why you're not writing it. If it does, just write it. If you still don't want to, are you SURE it seems fun?

 

[culloden]

"There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein." Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith

"Just do it." Anonymous Nike copywriter

 

[Noira]

Well, here. From the NaNoWriMo site (National Novel Writing Month) FAQs...

NaNo Basics


NaNoWriMo is all about the magical power of deadlines. Give someone a goal and a goal-minded community and miracles are bound to happen. Pies will be eaten at amazing rates. Alfalfa will be harvested like never before. And novels will be written in a month.

Part of the reason we organize NaNoWriMo is just to get a book written. We love the fringe benefits accrued to novelists. For one month out of the year, we can stew and storm, and make a huge mess of our apartments and drink lots of coffee at odd hours. And we can do all of these things loudly, in front of people. As satisfying as it is to reach deep within yourself and pull out an unexpectedly passable work of art, it is equally (if not more) satisfying to be able to dramatize the process at social gatherings.

But that artsy drama window is woefully short. The other reason we do NaNoWriMo is because the glow from making big, messy art, and watching others make big, messy art, lasts for a long, long time. The act of sustained creation does bizarre, wonderful things to you. It changes the way you read. And changes, a little bit, your sense of self. We like that.

It may be applied to an event in which people maniacally write a 50,000 word novel in a month (which, if you've ever wanted to write, is the perfect way to learn to write by not caring about how good it is at all) but it applies to writing in general.

1) Have a deadline.
2) Write a little bit every day, regardless of how you feel at the time. I suggest 750words.com as a simple and fun little way to keep track of your daily writing.
3) Reward yourself for meeting these things.

If you write a little bit every day, regardless of how you feel, eventually you're going to realize that oh yeah... you're having some fun, and Bob and Sue just totally went off on a weird plot tangent and your characters are out of control. Well, maybe. Or you might just realize that you finished your first story. If you have a deadline, you have something to aim towards.

Many people say they want to write a novel, or a story, or a poem, or a biography, or a something.

What many people forget is that in order to write, they have to put their ass in the chair and write.

So that's my challenge for you. Sit your ass in your computer chair, minimize the internet window, open up Word, and write for 15 minutes. Maybe you will only get 100 words. But you now have more written than you had before. If you can't do this simple task, then there's really no way you'll write a story, because this is exactly what writing comes down to--putting your ass in the chair and writing something.

You don't need an outline, but you can make one if you want. You don't need an excellent first draft that can be posted here on the internet and will win you 5 scores (though if you get lucky you might get one)... all you need is to get your ass in that chair, turn off the distractions, and to write something.

15 minutes gives you a deadline, and an escape. Same with any varation on word count. Turning off the distractions will give you focus. Look at it this way: you are already at your computer. It is no big deal to now spend 15 minutes on that computer looking at Word instead. Or whatever your program of choice is... Scrivener, PageFour, Notepad, Google Docs... you have no excuse. Lazy is just going to keep you in the mentality of "I want to write a novel someday but"... and many people never get past that.

NaNoWriMo is in November. ScriptFrenzy is its scripty little sister, in April. I encourage you to give them a go, if you find it hard to get started without the crush of competiton biting at your heels. Check out their book: No Plot, No Problem from the library.

 

[qrayze]

just tell us in this thread what you want your story to be about and as soon as your imagination starts taking off, start writing it...even if you haven't clicked the "Submit Reply" button yet.

Good luck

 

[SweetErika]

Do you have any ideas? If so, write them down.

There, you're writing.

Now expand on them. Add anything you can think of; save the editing for later, when you're putting together a rough draft, or you already have one down. Go find some inspiration, if necessary. Think about who your characters really are inside and write about what they really do.

Once you've made your story as great as you think it can be, get yourself a good editor and beta reader(s) to help you polish it up and make it more enjoyable for your readers.

 

[yuna1981]

I actually posted in the Author's Hangout threads, a lot of those games are useful writing exercises. Then I started some SRPs, and now I'm writing stories. So I guess the moral of the story is start small and it will grow.

 

[BobbingForApple]

You guys are so damn inspirational. Haha. Thanks! I gotta knock out a few papers that are due soon and then I'll have to time to "leisure write."

I'm a writing major, btw. The content is more or less throwing me off.

 

[Ellafun]

I actually posted in the Author's Hangout threads, a lot of those games are useful writing exercises. Then I started some SRPs, and now I'm writing stories. So I guess the moral of the story is start small and it will grow.

Bwahahaa! That's what SHE said!!! (sorry, Yuna...I'm in a real weird mood tonight...that just struck me funny!!!

 

[thirty]

I know two women, both asians, who speak excellent English, they can use lots of big words and the sentences they speak are well organized.

But to my surprise, I found that they couldn't write decent emails, one of them just couldn't write at all.

I don't understand: why don't they just write down what they can speak?

 

[SweetErika]

I know two women, both asians, who speak excellent English, they can use lots of big words and the sentences they speak are well organized.

But to my surprise, I found that they couldn't write decent emails, one of them just couldn't write at all.

I don't understand: why don't they just write down what they can speak?

Writing and speaking use different processes of the brain and often people are better at one that the other . Some people can speak perfectly well but can't read or write at all, or they're poor readers and/or writers for a variety of reasons.

It the case of the women you're referring to, they may have never learned to write English well, or perhaps they don't feel comfortable with writing in English. Some people don't like doing things at all if they're not sure they can do them well. Also, maybe they learned English by hearing it, while reading and writing were not emphasized.

My husband works with a guy who learned English when he was a kid. He speaks it perfectly with no accent, but his writing is terrible in terms of spelling and grammar. I'm not sure if he's just a bad writer in general, or if it's just the English that trips him up.

And then you have to consider any learning disabilities. My husband has some that affect his writing. He's a voracious reader (though he often reads words incorrectly due to mild dyslexia) and excellent speaker, but his writing skills aren't so great. His learning disabilities factor into it, but he also lacks confidence and his schooling stressed math and science over language skills, so he doesn't have some of the tools he needs. OTOH, I'm a better writer than speaker because I'm a visual learner, languages just come naturally to me, and I like having time to put my thoughts together.

 

[ArchLady03]

The hardest thing to do is write on a topic you're not interested in. You ask me to write a paper on urban sprawl the problem will be telling me to stop, but you ask me to write a paper on the politics of anything I will fight tooth and nail to barely crank out 4 or 5 pages.

Sometimes you just have to muddle through it (like in work or school), but when you're "leisure writing" you might as well write about something that gets you going... but that's just my two cents

 

[Nasty_Deeds]

The hardest thing to do is write on a topic you're not interested in. You ask me to write a paper on urban sprawl the problem will be telling me to stop, but you ask me to write a paper on the politics of anything I will fight tooth and nail to barely crank out 4 or 5 pages.

Sometimes you just have to muddle through it (like in work or school), but when you're "leisure writing" you might as well write about something that gets you going... but that's just my two cents

ArchLady is right, you have love what you write about. It is very difficult to write about something of which you have no interest.

 

[Pleasure_Fan]

"There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein." Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith

This is an awesome quote - this is what it is like for me when I write. I say I never write unless I have the direct connection of brain to fingers to pussy going on, but the truth is that it IS like sitting down and opening up a vein. When I am in that mode my brain goes faster than my fingers can, and I am BURNING to get it all out as fast as I can. There is no "Hmmm... what comes next". It's "Hurry up fingers!" And pussy comes along for the ride

 

[thirty]

Writing and speaking use different processes of the brain and often people are better at one that the other . Some people can speak perfectly well but can't read or write at all, or they're poor readers and/or writers for a variety of reasons.

It the case of the women you're referring to, they may have never learned to write English well, or perhaps they don't feel comfortable with writing in English. Some people don't like doing things at all if they're not sure they can do them well. Also, maybe they learned English by hearing it, while reading and writing were not emphasized.

My husband works with a guy who learned English when he was a kid. He speaks it perfectly with no accent, but his writing is terrible in terms of spelling and grammar. I'm not sure if he's just a bad writer in general, or if it's just the English that trips him up.

And then you have to consider any learning disabilities. My husband has some that affect his writing. He's a voracious reader (though he often reads words incorrectly due to mild dyslexia) and excellent speaker, but his writing skills aren't so great. His learning disabilities factor into it, but he also lacks confidence and his schooling stressed math and science over language skills, so he doesn't have some of the tools he needs. OTOH, I'm a better writer than speaker because I'm a visual learner, languages just come naturally to me, and I like having time to put my thoughts together.

I fully agree with you!
Thanks a million!

 

[BobbingForApple]

The hardest thing to do is write on a topic you're not interested in. You ask me to write a paper on urban sprawl the problem will be telling me to stop, but you ask me to write a paper on the politics of anything I will fight tooth and nail to barely crank out 4 or 5 pages.

Sometimes you just have to muddle through it (like in work or school), but when you're "leisure writing" you might as well write about something that gets you going... but that's just my two cents

Wouldn't my goal be to get you going?

I've spent the last good chunk of my life writing, and I write fairly well, but for the love of god I can't ever sit my ass down to start.

 

[yuna1981]

Bwahahaa! That's what SHE said!!! (sorry, Yuna...I'm in a real weird mood tonight...that just struck me funny!!!

I wasn't thinking of the double entrendre, OR WAS I???

 

[Ellafun]

I know two women, both asians, who speak excellent English, they can use lots of big words and the sentences they speak are well organized.

But to my surprise, I found that they couldn't write decent emails, one of them just couldn't write at all.

I don't understand: why don't they just write down what they can speak?

On that same track, Ozzy Osbourne can sing perfectly, but can't speak clearly. I've never been able to figure that out, either

P.S. I know that comment is completely off subject, but again, I am procrastinating writing over here as well.....sorry, everyone!

 

[shiny5437]

Try freewriting.

Sit down and write for 10 minutes about literally anything that comes into your head. Turn off the editor in your head and just let your thoughts wander.

 

[silverwhisper]

bobbingforapple quoth:
motivate me, people!

i foresee a problem if your issue is motivation or ideas. this might be addressed in great detail in the authors hangout, but ultimately, if you're struggling with being motivated to write, i'm not sure an extrinsic source is going to provide a sustainable form of motivation if it isn't helping to strengthen an already-present desire to or passion for writing.

why do you want to write?

ed

 

[Nasty_Deeds]

What works for me..... If you give this a go and it doesn't work for you... what the hell, you've had a great time!

I think about the hottest way to make me cum, try it out and then write it up... my fantasies have become really detailed... the story writes itself!

This is good advice.

 

[palemoon2035]

What works for me..... If you give this a go and it doesn't work for you... what the hell, you've had a great time!

I think about the hottest way to make me cum, try it out and then write it up... my fantasies have become really detailed... the story writes itself!

I have finally started to write! Thank you so much for all of your inspiration.

 

[HeyAll]

The hardest thing to do is write on a topic you're not interested in.

I agree with this.

If you thought of something that you think is extremly hot and it gets you excited, the words just flow out of you.

And the more experience you have writing, the easier and faster it becomes.