How do you write?

[Karnos]

Quote Originally Posted by Odalisque

One other thing, my writing computer isn't connected to the Internet. The pesky Internet is too much of a distraction.

Very true.

I have my internet connection on in case I need to look something up, like the spelling of some obscure word not found in modern day dictionaries or a piece of trivia, but one things leads to another and I can spend more time browsing than writing.

[mgriffin]

I use a program called Gas Mask to shut off my internet connection for selected domains that might cause distraction, while still allowing access for research if needed.

[sleepybutawake]

Thanks again for all the responses. You folk fascinate me.

I'm such a novice. Published once, shaky, uncertain, and far less disciplined than I'd like to be. Hearing you all out there makes me feel less alone, anyway.

Lately, I've been exploring concepts through dictation. Using my own voice to guide my attempts has been useful for maintaining a steady plod through the stuff. The current thing I'm working on is sort of beating the #### out of me, and its forcing me to use tools and methods I wouldn't otherwise.

So that's cool.

[mgriffin]

I use dictation a lot. Sometimes I make brief voice notes with a handheld recorder when I'm driving (I have a long commute, mostly in a straight line with little traffic). I also sometimes get on the treadmill or exercise bike and exercise a moderate level of effort, and record notes or little bits of scene or dialog.

[A. Northman]

Quote Originally Posted by sleepybutawake

I'm such a novice. Published once, shaky, uncertain, and far less disciplined than I'd like to be. Hearing you all out there makes me feel less alone, anyway.

While it is fruitful to discuss with more experienced writers to get good tips etc., it is also relieving to talk with other beginners who are dealing with the same problems. I am published once, too, (though soon twice, whoa!) and I have a terrible urge to become a better writer. When I'm reading something I've written like over a year ago, I feel shame because it is utter ####, but also satisfaction because I can see that I'm not as bad anymore. But I hope I won't feel like that about my published stories a year from now... well, I probably will.

Quote Originally Posted by Odalisque

One other thing, my writing computer isn't connected to the Internet.

Is that the magical "double your writing speed" trick everyone's talking about?

[klarkash]

I write mostly on the subway to and from work (the 2 or 3 line from Franklin Ave. in Brooklyn to 42nd St. in Manhattan, and vice versa.)

Lately most of my projects have involved research, which I enjoy doing a great deal. I read and make notes on the train.

More notes, maybe something like a loose outline, then an extremely rough draft all in longhand in Moleskine notebooks. Since 2011 I use a fountain pen. I usually don't quite make it to the end of the piece in draft before moving to Microsoft Word.

I rewrite while transcribing, then work over the Word file continuously, skipping back and forth as needed but generally working from beginning to ending in order to strengthen the flow. Edit, edit edit. For me this is generally the most enjoyable part of writing. First draft can be fun but my plot notes are not detailed so I waste a lot of energy getting events and characters from point A to point B; then much of this chaff or scaffolding is discarded in editing. I'm vaguely ashamed of the power the word processor gives me to easily move chunks wholesale, to try and discard options, but at this point I don't know how else I would write.

The subway is an oddly distraction-free environment (as long as I can get a seat.) The small chunks of ride-time make extended feats of concentration difficult, but on the other hand I write almost every weekday for close to two hours.

[sleepybutawake]

I do a lot of my rough work on my ipad. There's a good app called Notability which has a built in voice recorder and a very good interface for keeping notebooks organized. I typically use it for the super rough stuff, as well as keeping a sentence notebook (with subgroups for dialog, narration, and descriptive sentences). Whenever I'm feeling stuck it can help to look through stuff I've read and pull out sentences that have some instructive value in their structure, along with any notes I feel I might benefit from down the road.

This sentence harvesting has helped a lot with answering questions about what's okay and what isn't. Also, its great for looking at the nuts and bolts of a good story rather than just getting carried away to where ever the machine is taking me.

When it comes to the more serious writing, I tend to use apps like iwriter and pages. For revision, I take it to my big computer, clean it up, and print for further revision. A physical copy with pen notes is a wonderful thing for finishing a piece.

If you feel like it, I just posted a new blog (oh great, another person wanting me to read his ephing blog...I know, I know ;) ) about my ongoing crisis of faith in the quest for writerdom and authorhood. If whiny prattling and self-indulgent crap is something you enjoy, you might like it.

A thin place

[darkfiction]

I'm lucky in that I work midnights at a job where there are a few free hours here and there. So I take my laptop and pound out as many words as I can during that time. I'm also lucky that there's no internet connection there, because you guys are right. The Internet is way too distracting.

[mgriffin]

The biggest thing that has improved my writing, and the simplest advice I can pass along, is the importance of simply writing more. If it's important to you, set things aside, cancel obligations, avoid family, whatever.

I wrote quite a while, without much improvement, only working on it 1-2 days per week. When I stepped it up to 5-6 days a week, the improvement came more quickly. Not only that, but each hour spent was more productive, because I was no longer wasting time when I sat down trying to figure out where I left off 4-5 days ago. Everything was fresh, and the story in progress was still vivid and clear in my mind.

I think this is part of the reason why so many writers improve drastically after they attend something like Clarion or Odyssey (which are, for those of you who don't know, 6-week resident writing workshops). Not just because they write nearly around the clock for a month and a half, but because they're immersed in a world where writing is ALL, and they see in their peers that a very high level of commitment and focus is required in order to get better.

I used to think being smart and creative and clever was enough. Now I know it certainly isn't. Lots of very bright and inventive people never accomplish anything in their writing, but extremely hard work and diligence can help an average talent or moderate intellect improve to the point where their work outshines that of the lazy clever person.

[MoeShinola1]

I'm a mostly-formalist poet, not a prose writer(yet!), and to get into the spirit of it I like to jump-start my brain by quickly going through 4 or 5 crosswords from one of those super-easy books you get at the supermarket. I think doing this exercises that muscle in your brain you use to get that word that's on the tip of your tongue. Then I'll go to a coffeeshop or a restaurant that's open late, and spend a few hours crafting a sonnet or some such. I shamelessly use thesauri and rhyming dictionaries. Also, a fellow writer turned me on to free writing, and to make it accessible for me he suggested limiting myself to 2 pages only.