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Clawing my way back.
Nov. 13th, 2009 10:21 amThe most recent chapter of Tales of MU is getting some nice praise, but the best part of it hasn't been noticed by anyone but myself: I wrote it in an hour and forty-five minutes, handily under the two hours I've been aiming for. I did this using a combination of methods. I start the new chapter on my Pre and walk around the living room while writing. Before I ever started seriously writing, I spent hours pacing around my parents' backyard, thinking up stories and dreaming up worlds. I still do my best creative thinking while in motion.
Once I have the seed of the story written, I switch to my laptop. I use EverNote for my handheld-based writing, so I don't have to do anything to transfer the story from one place to the other. At my laptop, I paste the beginning of the story into Write or Die, set the timer for 30 minutes and the goal for about a thousand more words than I have. When I reach the goal, I save my progress and do a little editing (mostly filling out the non-dialogue reactions a little bit), then start a new Write or Die sprint with another 30 minutes.
And this achievement isn't a fluke... my writing times have been steadily edging their way downward for a while. Using the Pre helps. Write or Die helps. Moving around helps. Using flash fiction to keep the creativity flowing has really helped. Remembering that writing is not just an art, it's a craft and it's a discipline has also helped... I've had to remind myself that while I did have the ability to sit down and start writing "just like that", that ability came through practice and dedication. Losing it has been disheartening, and being disheartened is not conducive to the sort of dedication it takes to get it back.
I've got a lot of stuff that needs taking care of today, so I'm not sure that there will be more than a few flash pieces and the next Star Harbor up... I am hopeful that I can get a second Jamie's Tale update up this week, too, though.
If not, though, there's next week, in which I will build on what I achieved this week.
Onward.
Once I have the seed of the story written, I switch to my laptop. I use EverNote for my handheld-based writing, so I don't have to do anything to transfer the story from one place to the other. At my laptop, I paste the beginning of the story into Write or Die, set the timer for 30 minutes and the goal for about a thousand more words than I have. When I reach the goal, I save my progress and do a little editing (mostly filling out the non-dialogue reactions a little bit), then start a new Write or Die sprint with another 30 minutes.
And this achievement isn't a fluke... my writing times have been steadily edging their way downward for a while. Using the Pre helps. Write or Die helps. Moving around helps. Using flash fiction to keep the creativity flowing has really helped. Remembering that writing is not just an art, it's a craft and it's a discipline has also helped... I've had to remind myself that while I did have the ability to sit down and start writing "just like that", that ability came through practice and dedication. Losing it has been disheartening, and being disheartened is not conducive to the sort of dedication it takes to get it back.
I've got a lot of stuff that needs taking care of today, so I'm not sure that there will be more than a few flash pieces and the next Star Harbor up... I am hopeful that I can get a second Jamie's Tale update up this week, too, though.
If not, though, there's next week, in which I will build on what I achieved this week.
Onward.