UPDATE:
Week 1: "I just had to ask..."
Happy 4th to those of you nomzing hot dogs and hamburgers
and exploding sparkly things!
Week 1: "I just had to ask..."
My question is about process. I know we all have different processes, but I've heard most people go with "Write Every Day" (at the same time every day, for some). Anybody out there like me? I try to write as much as possible, which can be a little every day, a lot every two days, loads once a week.... But when I force myself to write every day, I usually end up doing massive deletes.
So... a) what's your writing process, and b) does writing work for you when forced?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Happy 4th to those of you nomzing hot dogs and hamburgers
and exploding sparkly things!
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| Img from Ask Maldives |
Week one is "I just had to ask!" We'll be collecting any 'ole crazy questions we have about writing and the business of writing, posting them on our blogs, and hopefully rocketing around to other signed-up blogs to answer questions.
So, anybody with a burning question? Join in the fun!
I signed up today. It's not too late for you! :)
Yay for the Gearin' Up Blogfest!!!
ReplyDeleteThis blogfest is fabulous and so far, the questions have been great!
ReplyDeleteI know!!! It's such a great idea and I hope the friendships won't stop at the end of July :)
ReplyDeleteI hate the whole idea of "writing everyday no matter what." I know for some it's cathartic to get their thoughts out, but for me, I only have so many thoughts in a week. Wait...that so did not come out right. I sounded like some Cali bimbo. Whatever. I've fulfilled my quota on this comment.
ReplyDelete:P
@AllegedAuthor Whew. I'm glad I'm not the only one. Some days the muse just isn't there.
ReplyDeleteHey there! *waves* I had NO idea you had a blogger account too! :D Nice to see you here, too ;)
ReplyDeleteThere's no way I can write every day. Even if I could, I would probably feel forced and I'm sure it would show in my writing. Plus, since I'm writing MY story, I can't do it with my daughter running around, background noise happening, etc. I have to go back to 1994 and truly relive this stuff - hard to do when the 2011 world is surrounding you.
ReplyDeleteWith a full time job and kids, I don't even try to write every day. I make weekly goals of a certain number of pages.
ReplyDeleteAs for forcing it, it depends. If I'm brain dead, there's zero point, because like you said, it just gets deleted later. But if I just don't feel inspired or whatever, I'll push through sometimes, and just try to get 2 or 3 pages out. Often once I push past a couple paragraphs the juices get going. I have a long drive to work, so I like to get things percolating while driving, and then it's easy to write later.
I write in spurts. 10,000 words a day and then nothing. I can't force myself to write. There's no point or I, too, write rubbish. I say write what you feel, and if you aren't feeling it, don't write.
ReplyDeleteI try to write every day, but some days just get so screwed up, there isn't time. So I try to write when I can. Sometimes it's 10 minutes between phone calls at work, and sometimes it's 3 hours when my mother takes the kids for the afternoon.
ReplyDeleteGreat question. I do best when I write every day, but I know that doesn't work for everyone. For me, writing a novel is like juggling a hundred balls. In order to keep my head fully absorbed in the story, I have to be in it every day. If I take a couple of days off, many of those balls crash down and I lose track of details.
ReplyDeleteI write, even when I'm not in the mood. But often times good things come on those days when I have to push. And yes, some of it is crappy. But that happens on easy days, too.
I can't say I necessarily have a process, when I am caught up in a new story, I usually write every day but I never tell myself that I HAVE to write everyday or that I have to write a certain amount, some days I can get 20 pages out, some days I can get 6. I never try to force myself to write, because I know that it works better to just let things come for me, so even though a few months may pass before a new idea hits me I don't worry about it.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see that many of us write in spurts-I thought everyone wrote everyday and felt sort of guilty that I didn't.
ReplyDeleteWhen my creative juices are flowing, I can write ALL DAY. I can't force it. BUT, I am a self starter that doesn't sit idle for too many days in a row.
Hi Lora!
ReplyDeleteI do plan time to write but it's not every day - too many other things (kids, job, house, etc.) to juggle. But when I do get time, I write regardless bc that time is so precious. If I'm not inspired, I keep going and eventually fall into my story. For me, the muse follows the will. Mostly - I write my best stuff when my muse comes first, tho.
I think it's a great idea for a blogfest.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a question?
Until summer hit, I was writing everyday-for hours and hours. But now, with the kids home with me ALL day, EVERY day, I only sit down to write when I feel inspired. So it's not very often. I'm speculating that my inner voice is being drowned out by all the noise around me. Hoping to get more done in the fall!
ReplyDeleteWrite every day doesn't work for me. I understand the concept, but my writing process requires a HUGE amount of mulling over time. I walk and I mull. I drive and I mull. I lay in bed and mull. If I don't mull over my plot and my characters and my themes, etc., I will never write one decent word. So my version of write every day is really think about writing every day. And think about doesn't mean saying, oh, i should be writing. It means think about what you are going to be writing. Work it out in your head. Process it. Then write it.
ReplyDeleteI'm following your blog now! Glad to meet you through this fest. Stop by my blog sometime, laurabwriter.blogspot.com
You guys are seriously inspiring me to think about writing more, the process of writing, per Laura. I guess it's been so crowded--too many voices, like LINDY was saying--I haven't had, er, made time for those precious character voices to come through. And sitting down every day without them is like writing blindly. For me. It almost doesn't matter at that point whether I carve out time or not, whether the muse is there or not, if my characters aren't in the room with me :)
ReplyDeleteY'all are incredibly helpful. Love your comments so much!
Thankyouthankyouthank!
p.s @Theresa The question's in bold--1st para :D
Like you, if I force myself to write it does work! Nice to meet you :)
ReplyDeleteI always outline first and that's pretty time consuming on its own b/c I outline in detail. After that, writing usually comes pretty easily. But I will push myself to write even when I'm not feeling motivated and one of two things happen: I either find myself on a roll and happily write on, or I stare at my computer and type out five words an hour. If it's the latter, I put it away for later. I try not to stress out on how much I'm writing (or not writing), because giving myself some space almost always works in refueling the writing tank.
ReplyDeleteI'm answering out of order here....
ReplyDeleteIf I am forced I hit burn out soooo fast! I few months ago I wanted to do 10 pages a day and I ended up hating my novel and even shelved it for the time being.
What I am finding works for me is setting a goal for when I'd like to have a draft finished and then setting a general number for the word count and dividing it by the number of days until the goal date. I don't add in the weekends so if I am not making the goal I have extra days and don't feel so stressed. This may be confusing, but it works for me:)
I can't force myself to write either or I just get writers block.
ReplyDeleteI say whatever way gives you the best results is your best way :)
Because I can't write everyday, I plot with sticky notes to keep my flow focused. When I look at my notes it inspires me to write just a little.
ReplyDeleteI highly recommend Martha Alderson's "Blockbuster Plots," she is the Plot Whisperer. Amazing woman!
I meet with my critique group every other week and I try to bring a chapter to that, which also motivates me.
Hi Lora, thanks for stopping by my blog earlier.
ReplyDeleteProcess - I pretty much write everyday if I have a WIP going. Early in the morning because I teach high school. I'm too wiped out at night to write new words but can sometimes swing some revision in the evenings. Most days I can get in around 500 words if it's a work day - summer is great because sometimes I'll hit 2k, but I'm sort of like the tortoise not the hare. If I don't have a new WIP then I'm not as rigid about it.
I write whenever I can, which means usually in the evening or early morning. I stew on things in between.
ReplyDelete