Time to hit my head against the wall and hate myself

[Damoiselle]

I pledged to have the first draft done a week ago, then moved the goal to today.

Naturally, still not finished.

It takes me a month to write a page of content, and I want to be an author?

God, it makes my stomach tie into knots. That's all.

 

[Jada59]

Very sorry. I don't set goals like that.

 

[ChloeTzang]

I pledged to have the first draft done a week ago, then moved the goal to today.

Naturally, still not finished.

It takes me a month to write a page of content, and I want to be an author?

God, it makes my stomach tie into knots. That's all.

You write what you write what you write. If you’re not getting the words out, put it aside and write something else. I do that all the time.

 

[SamScribble]

Have you tried setting yourself little targets? Rather than telling yourself that you'll have a first draft done by the end of the week, end of the month, try setting a target to write a couple of hundred words a day. Graham Greene gave himself a target of 500 words a day and, in no time at all, he had written 25 or so full-length novels, and more than a few plays and screen plays.

Good luck.

 

[KeithD]

I just read Hemingway on Writing and was surprised to learn that his goal was 300 "useable" words a day.

 

[Rustyoznail]

I pledged to have the first draft done a week ago, then moved the goal to today.

Naturally, still not finished.

It takes me a month to write a page of content, and I want to be an author?

God, it makes my stomach tie into knots. That's all.

I hear you. It took me eight months to finish my latest story. Unless I'm aiming for a competition, I don't set a goal. That's doomed to fail.

Do it right and don't rush to publish it. You'll really be disappointed with a poor finished story.

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

I know many people feel goals and self-imposed deadlines are important, so I'm sure there's an important place for that. I'm not sure they're always the right answer, though, especially for a perfectionist, and especially not a perfectionist who is so hard on herself. I'm not going to try to talk you out of any goals at all (largely because I bet I can't), but maybe it would be a good idea to put the goals in perspective.

You can't write well if you are stressed and frustrated. Anger, misery and plenty of other negative emotions can lead to some great writing, but I'm not sure that stress, frustration, or feeling defeated ever can. In other words, could your goals be counterproductive? It's not an assembly line. Some people write mechanically and can write much more quickly. That's not how you write.

Unless something's changed work-wise, you've got other stuff going on right now that might be making this a less than idea time. Has your writing ever turned out at an even pace, or do you finish it in chunks at a time? If you do it in spurts, the goals don't really take that into account.

Just don't let the goals kill the joy of it. You'll get it written and it will be good. It doesn't really matter if it's next week, next month, or two months from now. And now you have fan art to inspire you!

 

[Damoiselle]

I just read Hemingway on Writing and was surprised to learn that his goal was 300 "useable" words a day.

Did he say how he determined when he had reached a "usable" amount? Isn't that something you only know during revision?

 

[Brutal_One]

Advice, the goal is not perfection, it is completion. True you want to be happy with what you have written but that starts I assume with being happy with your plot, and or characters. The story of course should have both. Write it out in draft. Then self edit critique, once happy publish. Hope this helps. Your ambition as you say is to be ‘an author’ so just write. Practice as they say makes perfect. Brutal One.

 

[Emirus]

I pledged to have the first draft done a week ago, then moved the goal to today.

Naturally, still not finished.

It takes me a month to write a page of content, and I want to be an author?

God, it makes my stomach tie into knots. That's all.

It’s only been a few weeks since your last submission, which in your time, isn’t much at all. Looking at when your stories have been published it does seem you are more interested in writing something well rather than how much you can publish in how short a time. I’ve just looked at your story ratings and it does appear your readers are in agreement with your approach.

I’m sure professional writers have periods of nothing happening and then hammer out thousands of words in a day. But also bear in mind they are doing it for a living which is one of the reasons they set targets whereas we amateurs set targets for different reasons. Unless you’re writing for a competition just relax and Im sure the words will soon flow. When you do become a “proper writer” you can look at it differently but up until then you should enjoy putting your ideas into print so others may enjoy them.

Sorry to hear you’ve been laid off. Covid-19 has ruined the lives of so many people, in so many ways, and not just those who have sadly died because of it.

 

[sirhugs]

...tis hard on the poor wall. What did it do to you?

I read some writer say they force themselves to write 200 useless words per day, which sometimes turn into 1000 good ones, but even if they don't, he tried.

In my writing, there are no useless words, so I am about to pixelate my 200 for today.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Self-imposed deadlines are doomed to failure, I reckon. I never set them.

I find side projects useful - bounce to something else for a while, if your main WIP needs more time to rise. Some of my best writing has been side projects that came fast and easy.

 

[lovecraft68]

Did he say how he determined when he had reached a "usable" amount? Isn't that something you only know during revision?

Revision is down the line, until then deem what you write as usable and keep moving forward.

There's a lot of negative energy out there with everything going on, and even if you're not consciously thinking about it, the pressure can affect you.

Go back and read one of your old stories, sometimes that can trigger the muse. I'e found that helps when I go through a scuffling phase

Like I have on my latest off lit novel that I've been working off and on for over a year and a half and am ready to print what I have just so I can set it on fire.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I pledged to have the first draft done a week ago, then moved the goal to today.

Naturally, still not finished.

It takes me a month to write a page of content, and I want to be an author?

God, it makes my stomach tie into knots. That's all.

Once upon a time, about three months ago, I was going like gangbusters writing and writing and writing. I had about fifty stories going at the same time. Then about a month ago... crickets. I thing I typed a total of 1,000 words in the past month, where I was typing about 5,000+ a day before.

Don't beat yourself up, just keep fighting and writing.

Good luck.

 

[Emirus]

Go back and read one of your old stories, sometimes that can trigger the muse. I'e found that helps when I go through a scuffling phase. an

I find the sex scenes the most difficult to write and they are the parts of the story I spend most time on and rewrite several times. When I’m having difficulty I go back to previous stories, not to copy them or rewrite them to fit in with the current story, but because they frequently nod me in the right direction. One of my difficulties is I try and make each example of sex different than sex in any other story which, I think, is impossible.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I pledged to have the first draft done a week ago, then moved the goal to today.

Naturally, still not finished.

It takes me a month to write a page of content, and I want to be an author?

God, it makes my stomach tie into knots. That's all.

That's about my average. I'm not a fast writer, and as I mentioned in another thread recently, things are all a bit distracting at the moment.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

How long does Mother Nature take to make a diamond?

Quality, Damoiselle, is not measured in minutes.

 

[SimonDoom]

My writing productivity level varies in the extreme. I try not to hit my head against the wall when it slows down. I try to follow the water analogy instead: flow around something rather than hit against it. Find the path of least resistance. Have other projects you can turn to. If one scene in a story is giving you trouble, then write another. Make it as easy on yourself to write as you can.

 

[KeithD]

Did he say how he determined when he had reached a "usable" amount? Isn't that something you only know during revision?

No, and I looked for that. The book is a collection on what he'd said/written on the writing life in snippets. Lots of good stuff in it (I was house sitting earlier in the month and the book was left for me to read). I also wanted to know how much he cut out of what he had written before he got to what he'd keep. (On your other question, yes, in revision, but publishing authors keep track of that stat for time periods, some down to the day. They have submission editors on their backs.)

He was a little contradictory about this that I could see. I rubbed up against him early in life in that he came to my grandmother's celebrity dude ranch when my dad was a boy and my father would take him up into the Rockies to hunt elk. He came a couple of more times later in life when my family was visiting there. I have a rough impression of him but I was too young to appreciate who he was.

One of his pieces of advice I remember from the book and I already had experienced is that he didn't write to the end of a scene/developing idea before stopping for the day--so he had someplace already moving to pick up on the next day.

I look for the words/day (and had noted the Graham Greene one already from the voluminous biography Norman Sherry did on him) on authors for comparison. I try to write at the rate of 1,000 words/day and I not only keep nearly everything, but I also, in review or on the basis of where the story goes later, am adding. I'm retired from other jobs and lead a "totally taken care of" existence now, but I was trying to do the 1,000 words a day nearly thirty years ago when I was at a peak in job demand plus putting on plays and concerts nonstop.

I don't hyperventilate if I don't do 1,000 words/day (did 2,100 words yesterday and have more than 1,000 worth mapped in my head to write today), but I try to make time for it and I'll usually make up for it on other days. In the end, it must go over that because I've consistently been churning out over half a million words (published) a year for over a decade. I look to Isaac Asimov as a model for that.

I don't push the rate over the "I'm enjoying this" limit though. Hemingway covered that too. He wrote that writing did not interfere with either cocktail hour or messing around with the woman of the moment. (My dad said it wasn't allowed to interfere with hunting elk either).

 

[KeithD]

I know 300 or 400 words a day doesn't sound like much, but note should be taken of everything else regarding production a full-time writer has to do in a day. Writing on the current work but also reviewing on what has already been written in previous works not yet published, researching next works, and dealing with all the business involved with already published works. I spend more time in a day reviewing and proofing what's written but not yet published than I do writing new material. I'll spend an hour or so researching what comes next today as well.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I know 300 or 400 words a day doesn't sound like much, but note should be taken of everything else regarding production a full-time writer has to do in a day. Writing on the current work but also reviewing on what has already been written in previous works not yet published, researching next works, and dealing with all the business involved with already published works. I spend more time in a day reviewing and proofing what's written but not yet published than I do writing new material. I'll spend an hour or so researching what comes next today as well.

There is a middle-ground on this. It's not worth considering word counts unless perhaps one is a professional concerned with deadlines and such things.

It's desirable not to have too many unfinished projects lying around, but if some do pile up, then usually one will get to them eventually.

So Damoiselle, relax; you'll be okay.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I pledged to have the first draft done a week ago, then moved the goal to today.

Naturally, still not finished.

It takes me a month to write a page of content, and I want to be an author?

God, it makes my stomach tie into knots. That's all.

If I may address you directly: you are indeed an author. You are doing fine. I've had things unfinished for months; I figure I'll get to them eventually.

It's not worth getting your stomach into knots. That might only be the case if you were getting paid and also had deadlines to consider.

What bothers me is that sometimes I will get a really nasty comment and I find that my skin is not as thick as I thought it was.

 

[Omenainen]

Does hitting your head against the wall make the words come out? Sounds like a harsh method.

I wish I had something wise to tell you, but I see others already have. I don’t set deadlines or goals for myself here, I already have so many other places where I have them set upon me. This is what I do for fun. So maybe our goals are different. Still I suspect being too hard on yourself probably won’t help.

 

[KeithD]

There is a middle-ground on this. It's not worth considering word counts unless perhaps one is a professional concerned with deadlines and such things.

I agree, mostly. If you don't have discipline going on finishing projects, no matter what they are, though, you can easily slip into just farting around--and, as gets demonstrated on the discussion board, becoming frustrated and despondent.

It's desirable not to have too many unfinished projects lying around, but if some do pile up, then usually one will get to them eventually.

You can just as easily fall into the trap of not getting to them eventually if you don't establish some discipline in completing projects, though.

I'm all for being broad based enough to have something else to go to if you're spinning wheels on one form of activity--or just dropping that whole line of activity if it isn't producing anything, including any satisfaction. I'm not for just spinning wheels on everything, though.

 

[Handley_Page]

I pledged to have the first draft done a week ago, then moved the goal to today.

Naturally, still not finished.

It takes me a month to write a page of content, and I want to be an author?

God, it makes my stomach tie into knots. That's all.

A lot will depend upon the strength of your skull and /or the strength/ solidity of the wall you use for your head-banging.

Good Luck