Writing Again

[Vermilion]

After a long break from writing (doing lots of editing, then the wedding, then more editing) I have now started creating again and jeez - I'm finding it hard. Weird thing is that I can;t remember if it was always this hard and I forgot, or if my writing muscles have got all rusty in the meantime.

Do you find it hard to switch between writing and editing or is it just me?
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[Vermilion]

Eek - and the sex gets harder and harder to write - not good for an erotic author!
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[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Writing isnt hard if you have something to say.

If space-aliens invaded your town and confiscated all the shit from the local sewage treatment plant, you'd have a story. But 99% of what happens isnt new and it isnt news.

 

[gauchecritic]

Yes, it was always that hard V. But for all the times you did it before you have a result to show for it, even if it's an unfinished result.

 

[fieryjen]

I'm the same. Writing's always been hard for me, but I tend to forget all the pain it took to get the words onto the page after a while.

 

[Dreamthiev]

For me, writing is usually pretty easy. It's editing that I dislike. Well, editing myself--editing others isn't so bad.

I just don't enjoy reading my own writing, never really have. So after it's written, going through and editing it is a real chore for me.

 

[Iamcanadian28]

For me, writing is usually pretty easy. It's editing that I dislike. Well, editing myself--editing others isn't so bad.

I just don't enjoy reading my own writing, never really have. So after it's written, going through and editing it is a real chore for me.

I certainly agree with you there. I don't find writing all that tough in the initial draft. But editing my own work is horribly painful.

 

[tickledkitty]

It's always hard for me too, which is why I don't do more of it. I have to force myself to just write and not obsess over every word. The obsessing comes later. I think it was Dr. M. who said you have to give yourself permission to write crap. For me, that has turned out to be very true.

I actually find editing other peoples' stuff easier than writing. Editing my own stuff is torture.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

If I put my mind to it I find it quite painful to start. Then once I'm rolling along it's fairly easy. And as I finish a day of writing I say to myself I have to do more tomorrow.

But when tomorrow comes my mind just isn't into doing any writing and the struggle begins again.

Although sometimes I find it easy to start writing, but those days are few and far between.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

It's always hard for me too, which is why I don't do more of it. I have to force myself to just write and not obsess over every word. The obsessing comes later. I think it was Dr. M. who said you have to give yourself permission to write crap. For me, that has turned out to be very true.

I actually find editing other peoples' stuff easier than writing. Editing my own stuff is torture.

Yes. Thank you. I've been writing a lot of crap myself lately. But I think I'll go ahead and post it in the Halloween story contest anyhow. What the hell. If you can't share your crap with your friends, who can you share it with?

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I dont understand the need to write crap...period.

Writer's block and such simply means YOU HAVE NOTHING TO SAY. You gotta have a story to tell.

 

[sr71plt]

I dont understand the need to write crap...period.

Writer's block and such simply means YOU HAVE NOTHING TO SAY. You gotta have a story to tell.

Is this why I've never seen evidence that you've ever actually written anything--other than self-initiated book reviews at Amazon.com and sourpuss posting here?

I don't think that Dr. M. could really write crap even if he tried to.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

SR71PLT

I've never seen you fly.

The fact remains....if you have nothing to say the words simply arent there to write. Everyone has an excuse for why they have no ideas or stories.

 

[sr71plt]

SR71PLT

I've never seen you fly.

The fact remains....if you have nothing to say the words simply arent there to write. Everyone has an excuse for why they have no ideas or stories.

This isn't an aviation site--and I have not tried to give advice on flying here.

It is, however, a writing site.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

SR71PLT

Use something besides me to cope with your depression.

 

[fieryjen]

Back to whether writing or editing is more painful -

I think some of it might depend what kind of an internal filter a writer has. Some, like my best friend, will barrel out with whatever's in their head. It flows out of her very easily, but reading it, it's a complete mess because there's no filter in her head. The action jumps around, is sometimes illogical, sentences are incomplete and she mixes up her tenses. The thoughts are there, and she has no trouble getting them out, but the editing afterwards is a major, painful job.

I'm the opposite. I have a very picky filter that won't allow a thought to get onto the page unless it's quite refined. That's why writing is so much of a pain for me, but the editing job is not as bad as a lot of it is happening beforehand. My output is a lot less than my best friend's, but it's much more refined as a first draft than hers is.

That's just a personal theory though.

 

[Saucy_Sage]

Editing others' stories is tough, because:

1. Telling myself that my writing sucks is easy. Telling somebody else that theirs sucks is murder.

2. I seldom misplace any of my own modifiers.

3. I'm at least interested enough in what I write to have started writing it. If it stops interesting me, I stop. The stories I edit may not even start out interesting (to me) and if they are, they may lose my interest. But I feel obligated to finish.

4. I hate explaining things, but if I don't, I'll see them again and again and again.

5. Editing takes time from writing. Unfortunately, it's the only way I have of "giving forward."

6. In editing, I have to resist most of my creative instincts. Suggesting a word or phrase here or there is fine. Suggesting a "better" plot is not.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

FIERYJEN

There is writing, and there is writing. Two examples:

My 2nd Great grandfather was a soldier at the battle of Bull Run. He wrote an account of his experiences. Its an exciting tale. William Tappan Thompson, publisher of the Savannah Morning News, said it was the best account of the battle he had read. But the composition is flawed from start to finish.

His daughter, my great-grandmother, published an historical article that is polished prose and excellent composition. Except the story is boring. The construction is flawless, but so what?

Both stories involve civil war hospitals.

In the first one cannon-balls smash thru walls and bullets break glass, and my ancestor climbs upon the roof to signal everyone the house is a hospital. Bullets rip his coat apart and he loses a boot to bullets. In the 2nd story the soldiers get tea and ginger cakes and stories read by pretty local girls.

 

[fieryjen]

FIERYJEN

There is writing, and there is writing. Two examples:

My 2nd Great grandfather was a soldier at the battle of Bull Run. He wrote an account of his experiences. Its an exciting tale. William Tappan Thompson, publisher of the Savannah Morning News, said it was the best account of the battle he had read. But the composition is flawed from start to finish.

His daughter, my great-grandmother, published an historical article that is polished prose and excellent composition. Except the story is boring. The construction is flawless, but so what?

Both stories involve civil war hospitals.

In the first one cannon-balls smash thru walls and bullets break glass, and my ancestor climbs upon the roof to signal everyone the house is a hospital. Bullets rip his coat apart and he loses a boot to bullets. In the 2nd story the soldiers get tea and ginger cakes and stories read by pretty local girls.

This is completely independent of the filter I'm talking about though. My best friend and me write very similar types of stories. We've collaborated on a few of them, even. We both have great ideas. We're just different about the way we get them out. It's entirely possible that there's a correlation between these two, but I don't think they are synonymous.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

FIERYJEN

Some folks have stories to tell, and some folks know how to tell stories.

 

[fieryjen]

FIERYJEN

Some folks have stories to tell, and some folks know how to tell stories.

And some do both and some do neither. It's like a big Venn diagram.

 

[Saucy_Sage]

And some do both and some do neither. It's like a big Venn diagram.

And Venn ve see something that you've written, JBJ, it will be much easier for you to get away with things like "writing isn't hard if you have something to say." Because even if you do have a story to tell, doing it properly, as your grandmother's example proves, isn't "easy." It's still work.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

SAUCY-SAGE

The issue isnt my experience; the issue is whether my advice is the right stuff.

It's my experience that a minority of people reject suggestions when the source of the advice isnt alcoholic or a spouse abuse victim or a cancer survivor. Their argument is absurd because every unique endeavor is populated by virgins entirely; we managed to get to the Moon inspite of the fact no one had ever been to the Moon. When Orville Wright climbed aboard his airplane in 1903, his fund of actual experience flying airplanes was zero.

Even SR71PLT. There was a time he had no experience flying solo, but he obviously knew enough to solo and survive. He knows his argument is nonsense, and he's baiting me for an excuse to rag on my published writing. Some of my mind-drool was published this morning, but he isnt gonna read it, because I know his game.

If no one wants to consider my advice, the rejection doesnt make me a penny poorer....but they may lose.

 

[sr71plt]

SAUCY-SAGE

The issue isnt my experience; the issue is whether my advice is the right stuff.

It's my experience that a minority of people reject suggestions when the source of the advice isnt alcoholic or a spouse abuse victim or a cancer survivor. Their argument is absurd because every unique endeavor is populated by virgins entirely; we managed to get to the Moon inspite of the fact no one had ever been to the Moon. When Orville Wright climbed aboard his airplane in 1903, his fund of actual experience flying airplanes was zero.

Even SR71PLT. There was a time he had no experience flying solo, but he obviously knew enough to solo and survive. He knows his argument is nonsense, and he's baiting me for an excuse to rag on my published writing. Some of my mind-drool was published this morning, but he isnt gonna read it, because I know his game.

If no one wants to consider my advice, the rejection doesnt make me a penny poorer....but they may lose.

Giving believable writing advice does hinge on demonstration of experience and knowledge.

And that's the specific "game" I have in addressing your writing "advice"--pointing out that it has no foundation of believability. This is basically the same things posters are doing on Scouries's thread--pointing out that there is no foundation to what he posts to protect the unwary. I guess I could use capital letters here in "reader beware" signs like they are doing on his thread.

And your game is very well known too--post a mix of outrageous speculation and drivel just to provoke.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

SR71PLT

If you need my pedigree to assess my claim, then it means you dont know how to assess a claim.

If Vermilion had...say...athlete's fungus, and I suggested she soak her foot in a bucket of hot water and one ounce of Lysol, its not fucking likely that she's gonna want to see my feet first. If the solutions seems reasonable she may try it.

But knowing Vermilion, she'll only accept advice from people with rotten feet.