For budding GR writers: 13 tips for actually getting some writing done

[buttmunch]

One of the challenges of writing is...writing. Here are some tips that I've found most useful for myself, for actually getting words onto the page:

1. Write something every work-day, and preferably, every day; don't wait for inspiration to strike. Staying inside a project keeps you engaged, keeps your mind working, and keeps ideas flowing. Also, perhaps surprisingly, it's often easier to do something almost every day than to do it three times a week. (This may be related to the abstainer/moderator split.)

2. Remember that if you have even just fifteen minutes, you can get something done. Don't mislead yourself, as I did for several years, with thoughts like, "If I don't have three or four hours clear, there's no point in starting."

3. Don't binge on writing. Staying up all night, not leaving your house for days, abandoning all other priorities in your life -- these habits lead to burn-out.

4. If you have trouble re-entering a project, stop working in mid-thought -- even mid-sentence -- so it's easy to dive back in later.

5. Don't get distracted by how much you are or aren't getting done. I put myself in jail.

6. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that creativity descends on you at random. Creative thinking comes most easily when you're writing regularly and frequently, when you're constantly thinking about your project.

7. Remember that lots of good ideas and great writing come during the revision stage. I've found, for myself, that I need to get a beginning, middle, and an end in place, and then the more creative and complex ideas begin to form. So I try not to be discouraged by first drafts.

8. Develop a method of keeping track of thoughts, ideas, articles, or anything that catches your attention. That keeps you from forgetting ideas that might turn out to be important, and also, combing through these materials helps stimulate your creativity. My catch-all document, where I store everything related to happiness that I don't have another place for, is more than five hundred pages long. Some people use inspiration boards; others keep scrapbooks. Whatever works for you.

9. Pay attention to your physical comfort. Do you have a decent desk and chair? Are you cramped? Is the light too dim or too bright? Make a salute--if you feel relief when your hand is shading your eyes, your desk is too brightly lit. Check your body, too: lower your shoulders, make sure your tongue isn't pressed against the top of your mouth, don't sit in a contorted way. Being physically uncomfortable tires you out and makes work seem harder.

10. Try to eliminate interruptions -- by other people, email, your phone, or poking around the Internet -- but don't tell yourself that you can only work with complete peace and quiet.

11. Over his writing desk, Franz Kafka had one word: "Wait." My brilliantly creative friend Tad Low, however, keeps a different word on his desk: "Now." Both pieces of advice are good.

12. If you're stuck, try going for a walk and reading a really good book. Virginia Woolf noted to herself: "The way to rock oneself back into writing is this. First gentle exercise in the air. Second the reading of good literature. It is a mistake to think that literature can be produced from the raw."

13. At least in my experience, the most important tip for getting writing done? Have something to say! This sounds obvious, but it's a lot easier to write when you're trying to tell a story, explain an idea, convey an impression, give a review, or whatever. If you're having trouble writing, forget about the writing and focus on what you want to communicate. For example, I remember flailing desperately as I tried to write my college and law-school application essays. It was horrible -- until in both cases I realized I had something I really wanted to say. Then the writing came easily, and those two essays are among my favorites of things I've ever written.

The Happiness Project book is due out in January. In the book, I describe my experience writing a novel in a month, inspired by Chris Baty's No Plot? No Problem! Yes, you can write a real novel in one month. It was a lot of fun.

* I always find something great on Dumb Little Man.Gretchen Rubin: 13 Tips For Actually Getting Some Writing Done

Most of them are kind of obvious but they bear repeating every so often. I wonder how many budding writers we have around here?

[McJag]

Note to budding writers: get off here and write!

[buttmunch]

^^Good point. I figure quite a few of us write a books worth every year. I'm off....

[AgentOrange]

If I could add 2 items:

1: keep a daily journal and limit the entries. Say one page a day, no more no less. This will really tighten up your style. If you can't go beyond that page then you're soon gonna start thinking of better, briefer ways to express your self. You start picking your words carefully, and becoming aware of how you express yourself.

2. When asked what sort of music he listened to Mozart responded "I don't listen to music, I make music". It's sometimes helpful to stop reading while you're in a period of writing. For one thing you tend to imitate writers you like, and that's undermines developing your own authentic style.

"If writers had to work by inscribing on stone, and were permitted only 12 words a year; the quality of writing would improve significantly."
~ Marshall McLuhan


George Orwell’s 6 Rules for Effective Writing

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.

3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.

5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

6. Break any of these rules sooner than saying anything outright barbarous.

[kingcap72]

As a writer I've found that I go through the creative cycles. Sometimes I'm inspired to write and other times I don't feel like it. But I'll definitely be doing some writing this summer, other than the freelance stories I normally do.

But one of the things that always inspires me with my writing is music. And it can be any type of music, pop, rap, r&b, etc.

[Hummus]

Here is another link that may be of some help to writers.


How to write a novel in 100 days or less:


How to write a novel in 100 days or less

If the link doesn't work just google the bolded.

[kingcap72]

I wrote a novel years ago when I was about 18 or 19. Took me almost a year to finish it since it was about 700-plus pages. I went back and reread it a few months ago, and laughed my ass off with how cheesy and bad it was.

[buttmunch]

I was a writer by profession before I embraced the world of boredom..ahem, housewife-hood--in order to follow Mr. butt around for a while. I will add that the most important rule, no matter what kind of writing you're doing, is do not be afraid to kill your darlings. It's an old one, an obvious one but probably the most important one. Sometimes you write the most amazing little section and it ends up not having a place in the larger whole and as much as it sucks, that bad boy has to go. Also, find a good person to copy read for you, particularly if you're like me: I can't punctuate for crap and need someone to go through my stuff with a fine-toothed comb.


Now, the question is this: who around here is working on a book?

[kingcap72]

You're right, Butt. You can't be afraid to kill off characters. In the trilogy that I wrote in the final act I killed off one of the main characters who wasn't the antagonist. I just thought it adds more weight to the story, instead of 'everybody lived happily ever after.'

And you're also right about getting somebody to read and edit for you. But it's also a good idea to get as many people as possible, from different backgrounds, to read what you wrote so you can see how wide the demographic is for your book/movie.

[buttmunch]

Good points, king. Writing is a tough gig but ultimately very satisfying.

[Flak]

Vestige

I saw this over on Craftblog, and thought it was quite cool.

[buttmunch]

^^That's pretty funny.

[kingcap72]

Vestige

I saw this over on Craftblog, and thought it was quite cool.

I may have to try some of those.

[Shelly]

Note to budding writers: get off here and write!

But this is a very distractive site… I can’t help myself.

[buttmunch]

I wrote a novel years ago when I was about 18 or 19. Took me almost a year to finish it since it was about 700-plus pages. I went back and reread it a few months ago, and laughed my ass off with how cheesy and bad it was.

Blergh...I hate when I come across old writing. I'm a harsh critic of my own stuff.