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General Discussion => The Speakeasy: OOG/Off-topic Discussion => Topic started by: Wanoah on 13 Jun 2012, 14:41
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Not sure where to put this, so defaulting to Off-topic.
I used to write Eve fiction. I was more often unsuccessful than successful. I tend towards long form fiction, and that meant that I was usually hopelessly overambitious as I trailed pages of disjointed chunks of prose across my hard drive without ever joining them up into the novels that should have resulted. It was all very disappointing.
The confluence of dissatisfaction with my own output with dissatisfaction at official output formed the mighty River Disappoint and I walked away from writing anything Eve-related. I focused on writing non-derivative fiction, and for a while at least, I was reinvigorated. Eve had become a millstone and it was a joy to create stuff unrestricted by the weight of other people's much-abused material. I actually completed a few short stories. Life was good away from the world of monetised IP.
Like all good things, my brief purple patch withered and died. Much time has gone by, and although ideas have come and gone, not a word has been typed in anger for quite a long time. Well, there have been plenty of angry words on the Internet, but you know what I mean.
So my question to you creative types is this: have you experienced the dreaded writer's block? What do you do to reignite your passion for something? Tell me your stories and post me your links!
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That block has been firmly wedged in my brainpan since 2006 or so. :|
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Much the same. I've about 7-8 different stories more-or-less frame-worked and ready to get pointers, plot progression and finally story itself down on paper. These are split over 4-5 different toons and some go in a series format like the first/second/third part of a bigger story, but most of my will to write it died a long time ago. Partially due to lack of time, fear of it all sucking as badly as it may be doing, and losing a huge chunk of it to hard-ware death and soft-ware loss. (Virus invasions can be nasty.) That killed allot of my enjoyment because I keep being reminded I've got to re-make 7 different chapters worth of story again. Though it may only be for one story out of many it keeps looming over the rest as the most interesting story I want to write it, but can't due to susceptibility towards 'herp, got to re-write all that stuff, might as well not bother, derp.'
Meeh. In short, I feel your pain, and have no advice to give other than rule numero uno; Cover your own ass, and ensure you won't randomly lose all your work to freak accidents with malicious soft-ware or whatever, because if you didn't had issue with lack of interest/writers block earlier, you will after such an incident.
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Can't offer any advice I am afraid. I am facing a different issue myself and am more concerned about language barriers that just makes it a pain in the ass to write for me. Though I may have one or two ideas of stories I would like to write, and I may well do it if I find the courage someday.
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Being an avid writer myself, I find that when you are suffering from writer's block on a particular thing, it is often best to distance yourself from that thing and not actually concentrate on it.
Your mind will use the respite to rebuild its creative energies. In time, you will start having brainstorms about the subject matter again and those brainstorms will become thought hurricanes that you can once again put into words.
The very last thing to do is stress about it, that will only make it worse and cause you to mentally hang up even more.
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I haven't had a chance to read it quite yet (it's next up on my Kindle reading list) but I've heard very good things about The War of Art (http://www.stevenpressfield.com/the-war-of-art/) as far as writing and other creative work goes. Worth looking into.
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I can imagine it being way harder to write in a second language and I have bucketloads of admiration for people that attempt it (Herko was one such, and he did a fantastic job). The bar is much higher when you are writing to entertain others rather than merely (!) communicate successfully.
I had a look at an extract from The War of Art, and it talked about Resistance. That inner voice that persuades you not to bother starting something and that somehow, manically skimming every blog and forum in your bookmarks while F5ing Twitter to provide you with moar links is a better use of your time. Anyway, I'm persuaded to have a read of this book, as it does seem as if the author has nailed a root cause. Whether he has any practical answers that will finally motivate me to apply consistent effort is another matter...
A significant part of my problem is that my head is so full of stuff. Ideas aren't necessarily a problem; what is a problem is pinning an idea down long enough to do something with it. I thought that discipline was the answer: so many successful writers say that they write every day. But discipline and regimentation suck my soul dry: I have the full-time day job for soul-sucking misery thank you very much.
Notwithstanding my opposition to enforcing discipline, I'm beginning to think that I need to set aside some quiet time on a semi-regular basis, though. Waiting for motivation to strike just doesn't work. Or it only occurs at times when it's impossible. Not writing every day as some advocate, perhaps, but a nice chunk of time on a weekly basis. I might also look into some kind of Internet-blocking app.
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have you experienced the dreaded writer's block? What do you do to reignite your passion for something? Tell me your stories and post me your links!
I currently have trouble. I want to write more in the things I have in eve-fiction here, but time and inspiration :\
Mon-Fri, I am out of teh house 12 hours a day, and it leaves me very little time to get anything done.
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Freedom (http://macfreedom.com/about): Windows/Mac based app that blocks the net for a specified period of time. Mostly useful because you can't just turn it off without restarting the PC.
Self-Control (http://svn.jklmnop.net/projects/SelfControl.html) For Linux stuff.
I like the idea of minimizing the amount of stuff in your writing space. Two blog posts I like on that idea are here (http://www.theminimalists.com/workspace/) and here (http://www.theminimalists.com/writing-habits/).
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If the block's more about not being inspired by EVE, afraid I can't help you there. I put my EVE fiction blog on hiatus, because I couldn't summon the will to weave all the damn tangents it'd taken into something Earth Human Coherent1.
There are four things that generally snap me out of writers' blocks:
a) Deadlines imposed by other people. Ideally, other people who are or will be paying me money.
b) Having a deadline for a completely different project. Particularly when the other project's one I'm not crazy about.
c) Cleaning. When scrubbing a toilet seems more appealing than working on something, I go scrub all the ones in the house (or pull weeds in the yard, if the toilets are already clean).
d) When all else fails, I get out of my usual environment. I know quite a few authors who leave their house/favorite coffee shop and go write in other places when they're stuck. For me, it doesn't have to be another coffee shop: I've had good luck shaking blocks in parks, laundromats and sporting events (of sports I don't enjoy watching).
1I was also tired of the "you're exposing your own IP without safeguards and receiving no benefit from doing so" arguments I was getting into (and losing, 'cause I don't have any realistic counter for that) at home.
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For me most of the work is done when not writing, meaning, at any time. Especially while in bed (well, yeah... I find most of my ideas when I wake up somehow, maybe motivated by all the unconscious stuff preceding it), or when reading a book/story. Anyway, I try to write down every idea I get. They can be scratched after if they actually are stupid with some detachement, but at a moment I start to get a lot of them floating all around like a cloud and I can create connections. Kindof similar to mindmapping.
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So my question to you creative types is this: have you experienced the dreaded writer's block? What do you do to reignite your passion for something? Tell me your stories and post me your links!
Just write something. Anything. Good or bad, write. Even if it's gobbledygook, set a word quota and stick to it.
Reigniting passion? Well, do something else for a while. For instance, do you really want to write EVE stories but burned out on EVE? Write something else. Anything else. Don't limit yourself. Find a website with some writing exercises on it, and dive in.
Read. Always read.
Want a new perspective? Take a class (https://www.coursera.org/) in a subject you've never studied before.
Want to have more creative energy? Get out and walk/exercise for half an hour before sitting down to write. Sounds crazy (to some, at least), but it works.
Good books for writers:
Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, by Syd Field
Fiction Writing for Dummies, Randy Ingermanson and Peter Economy
How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card
The first one is more of a "fundamentals" book. It's mostly focused on screenplay writing, but the advice/format can help build a better story structure. The second has LOTS of advice, some good, some not so good. The third... well, I'm not an Orson Scott Card fan, but the guy's a prolific author in multiple mediums. He also has some good insight into writing science fiction (and genre writing as a whole).
Anyways, hope this helps!
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I know youre not big on discipline, but my definition of an artist is someone who can be creative while at the same time be self-disciplined enough to harness it.
Creativity is easy, creation is hard. I would try to find a structure that works for you. Without some kind of focus or self-imposed regimen nothing else really matters. Its not the creative spark youre looking for, but the chance to turn it into a sustainable fire.
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I'm not actively doing wring currently but I do believe in free writing. Set aside a block of time daily, even as little as 15 minutes, shut away any distractions, pick up a notebook and pen (I'm not sure it works as well with a computer for reasons I'm not entirely sure about) and write anything. Even if it's about how you have no idea what to write, don't stop writing. Don't worry about it making sense or sticking to any topic. At various points, sparks of ideas will appear for you to play with. It taps into a different mode of thinking and get you in the practice of writing regularly and freely.
For what its worth, this is apparently the process Tim Schafer uses to come up with all his games. The backer videos for the Double Fine Kickstarter Adventure had a part where they showed him showing off piles of notebooks going back to Grim Fandango (which I really must play one of these days.)
That said, I also advocate putting distance between you and something you're stuck on (but it has to be a particular thing) and doing something else. The "something else" helps recharge you and the time gives your subconscious time to chew on the problem.
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I'm of the Chuck Wendig school myself. Waiting for your muse, seeking inspiration and all that jazz... is for weaklings and the rest of the word who does not get to call themselves writers. Hell, I don't get to call myself a writer by any stretch of the world. If you're a writer, then you write. Writer's block or not, you sit down and you -write-. For hours. Five thousand words a day, no question or objection. Just get it done. Keep it up until you've written your book/whatever, then you can go back and do the first edit, the second edit and so on. If it turns out to be shit, just grab the knife and start carving whatever useful bits and pieces you can off the carcass and keep writing.
There is no excuse, there is no way around it. Anything less and you are NOT A WRITER.
Which is cool, of course. I actually doubt we have any writers on these forums.
Edit: Derp, typo.
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I'm of the Chuck Wendig school myself. Waiting for your muse, seeking inspiration and all that jazz... is for weaklings and the rest of the word who does not get to call themselves writers. Hell, I don't get to call myself a writer by any stretch of the world. If you're a writer, then you write. Writer's block or not, you sit down and you -write-. For hours. Five thousand words a day, no question or objection. Just get it done. Keep it up until you've written your book/whatever, then you can go back and do the first edit, the second edit and so on. If it turns out to be shit, just grab the knife and start carving whatever useful bits and pieces you can off the carcass and keep writing.
There is no excuse, there is no way around it. Anything less and you are NOT A WRITER.
Which is cool, of course. I actually doubt we have any writers on these forums.
Edit: Derp, typo.
If you want to be the person who dies of stress, progressively destroys his reputation by forcing out more work that will inevitably be reduced in quality due to the pressure you put yourself under sure go for it!
I personally think, that even for a professional writer that's a stupid thing to do, however like you I highly doubt there are any who do work full time as a writer, creatively anyway.
Some people have the innate ability to simply dream worlds, stories and ideas continuously and these people are the ones who make a killing by doing so.
But if you cannot create these ideas like that. The ones that actually capture peoples imagination then why force yourself to produce crap for days/weeks on end? Its not likely to do anything but compound that issue.
So, I do not agree with you Mizhara in anyway shape or form regarding your last post.
As for regaining the creative spark, I find that the only times I have been truly driven to create stories and have that 'spark' is when I have been properly relaxed and have the time to let my mind wander and just imagine as I have never been able to forcibly create something without that random thought that falls into place.
And the only times I get those random creative thoughts is when I am relaxed, have nothing else on my mind and I am not driving myself to find it, so most of the issue is actually getting to that state of mind where I actually am not continuously looking for an excuse to pulverise some poor soul who annoys me (I love University -_-)
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I'm somewhere in the middle here: writing involves actually writing, deadlines are useful things and provide important stimulus for creativity, and interspersing writing with housework or exercise while thinking about how you'll develop things kills multiple birds simultaneously.
I'm reminded of the words of one of Terry Pratchett's witches:
“Witches are naturally nosy,” said Miss Tick, standing up. “Well, I must go. I hope we shall meet again. I will give you some free advice, though.”
“Will it cost me anything?”
“What? I just said it was free!” said Miss Tick.
“Yes, but my father said that free advice often turns out to be expensive,” said Tiffany.
Miss Tick sniffed. “You could say this advice is priceless,” she said, “Are you listening?”
“Yes,” said Tiffany.
“Good. Now...if you trust in yourself...”
“Yes?”
“...and believe in your dreams...”
“Yes?”
“...and follow your star...” Miss Tick went on.
“Yes?”
“...you’ll still be beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy. Goodbye.”
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While I don't advocate it as actual advice, I have this taped to my monitor for a reason (http://imgur.com/gallery/5gRpt)
I do advocate this as actual advice (tying in with Mathra): http://vimeo.com/18913413 - as a bonus, it's a talk delivered by John Cleese.
That said, you do still have to be actually taking steps to progress for any of this to take - it won't magically happen. I'm in the position right now where work and school take most of my mental energy, and so I'm not actively practicing anything I suggest at the moment.
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My pointers.
Back in March, I had begun to write a Legend of the Five Rings story (one that is actually still going and is probably going to eventually be my longest story based on a game yet). Part of the ways through March some rather bad things happened in my life, and I ended up in a state of depression. A few things eventually happened. For one, I started exercising more, and eating a lot more vegetables. This itself made me feel much, MUCH better. Apple a day keeps the Doctor away. And maybe go on a jog, it gets the body revved up and pumped for the day.
The second thing I did to get back into writing, was movies and television. This was a Legend of the Five Rings story, so I just figured, "Hm, perhaps if I get myself into the mood, it will be easier!" So I did just that. I turned to Netflix, and watched Twilight Samurai, 13 Assassins, Seven Samurai, all that, and it became a lot easier. So, what you probably need is some inspiration, and to get into the mood.
Read lots of science-fiction, watch sci-fi movies. They'll fill your mind with more ideas than you can deal with, and it will all be flowing out like water. Research cyberpunk and other science-fiction subgenres, too, as I've noticed there are many elements of cyberpunk in Eve. That's my two cents. Good luck and may the force be with you.
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There is no excuse, there is no way around it. Anything less and you are NOT A WRITER.
Draconian as always, Miz.
Funny thing: in large part, Stephen King would agree with you. He churns out about that many words a day, though he recommends beginners start with the more-manageable 3000.
That's except for the bit about writer's block. You may have read The Stand? He got a bad case of it about halfway through that, where he had his "good guys" assembled in one area and his "bad guys" assembled in another, and just could not work out a good way to get the conflict rolling. It took him two months to break past it, and he did that by blowing half of his characters up.
John Gardner, on the other hand, whose work I admire much more than King's (more artist, less artisan), approached his work chronologically. I believe his standard was three hours every day, whether you get anything down on paper or not. His approach to writer's block was typically to use that allotted time to try and figure out what had caused it, which, in one case he discussed, boiled down to something as simple as whether a character accepted or refused an hors d'oeuvre.
Sadly, I have to talk about Gardner in past tense. Motorcycle accidents are bad for you.
I made a go at being a writer at one point-- spent a few years at it, before figuring out that I wasn't much good. I might take another crack at it in my forties or fifties. Age and inevitable life experience do good things for craft.
We'll see.
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Yes, a set amount of time each day can replace a wordcount a day as long as you are 100% certain you can focus on the task at hand even without a tangible result at the end of the day. As for Draconian, sure, but it works. More to the point, the word 'writer' is massively over-used these days. Every stay-at-home mom and fuckwit fanfic hack is a 'writer'. "Oh you're a writer? Yeah me too! What I've written lately? Oh I haven't written for (insert time period here), I'm waiting FOR MY MUSE!" and that kind of shit.
Writers, particularly those who do it for a living, need to treat it like the job it is. Something that requires focus, effort and time.
Sure, doing it the right way means that you might spend a week pumping out almost nothing but sewage but that's okay. That's why it's a first, second or third draft. If it's not golden, just get out the carving knife and start slaughtering the fatted calf. You'll end up with some great little bits of meat that you can use when you rewrite the thing.
It's why I'm not writing myself. I don't have the requisite focus and desire to spend that much effort on it, not to mention me lacking the skills to wrestle neither my native nor this language into submission properly. In short, I'm no writer. I just churn out the odd bit of fiction every once in a while.
Edit: It's the same shit as with journalism, to be honest. Every bastard with a blog and a soapbox is somehow a fucking journalist these days. NO YOU ARE NOT! You're an asshole with a webcam and a braintumor that makes you think you matter! Social media is a fantastic thing for spreading news as they happen and to spread awareness of things. That does -not- make it fuckin' journalism. You are not a god damn reporter because you are uploading shaky and blurry smartphone footage looking like the latest Michael Bay flick, seriously.
I can't believe I have to get angry about this shit.
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Yeah, I can't believe it either.
Anyway, who is a journalist these days.... ? :roll:
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Anything less and you are NOT A WRITER.
J. D. Salinger: Not a writer.
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Anything less and you are NOT A WRITER.
J. D. Salinger: Not a writer.
The man known to write in a disciplined manner (a few hours each morning) while living with Joyce Maynard? Doesn't fall under "anything less."
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Pratchett and Gaiman both have a journalism background and they both say that it has been invaluable for the work ethic.
When you have to churn out a wordcount for a living, you kind of learn how to do it.
I'm a bit surprised that nobody in this thread has offered substance abuse as a way of getting your creative juices flowing. When I'm hung over the ideas are abound, the problem is that I know a handful of old friends that were that kind of 'writers' and after doing it for 15-20 years, they are either in the loony bin or full time alcoholics.
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Well there has been research (http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/03/26/alcohol-as-muse/) documenting that all those drunk writers weren't too far wrong, but I don't think anyone is actually prepared to offer it as a serious recommendation. :eek:
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I took all the drugs in my youth. In my experience, you're too busy having a good time to get any actual work done. ;)
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I read The War of Art. I enjoyed it, despite the author's somewhat odd idiosyncrasies. Like an apparent literal belief in angels. Notwithstanding the supernatural elements, the ideas worked perfectly well as metaphors. The book was helpful in provoking some new avenues of thought, and I identified with a lot of it. Thanks, Misan! :)
Now, I've seen quite a few people talk about writing every day, and writing x words every day. All that stuff is about forming habits, no more, no less. I don't think that you are any less of a writer if you don't form the same habits as a number of prolific and successful authors. As long as you have habits that work for and get the written words decanted from your head. I also acknowledge the 10,000 hour rule: you need to put your time in to truly master any craft. A regular writing habit would go a long way in climbing that particular mountain.
In all honesty, sitting down and writing 5,000 words a day is only realistic if you are a full time writer. Personally, I have a full time job that takes up twelve hours a day a home life and even sometimes a social life. I also need downtime doing stuff that isn't work or work-like. I have never met anyone that is creative after a 12 hour shift. :P
What I've decided is that I need to deliberately carve out some fairly regular time without internet, games, fiancée and domestic chores. I thought back to the habits that I used to have, and I realised that I did most writing on my (now mostly defunct) laptop when I had a quiet hour on the late shift at work or when I was in bed. I picked up a cheap netbook to fill that gap, and immediately felt the benefit whilst working away from home and had nothing better to do in my hotel room of an evening. I think that you sometimes have to deliberately create an environment, and that's something I maybe need to tackle at home.
I also realised that the legacy of unfinished Eve fiction results in a kind of mental sludge that needs to be drained. As soon as I resolved to try and finish off some of the Eve bits and pieces to clear the mental decks, things kicked back into life. (I also discovered that I had somehow lost 30k words of a novel I had started but never finished, which didn't make me feel as angry or sad as I would have expected).
I feel much better for having started at the very least.