The other is a fantasy book where the different schools of magic roughly map to philosophical positions. — Count Timothy von Icarus
Perseverance is not about success for me. It's a life-vest: I have to get something written every day, good, bad or lackluster - and it may well end up deleted on the next good day - simply in order to keep doing it. Just so I won't throw the malformed, stillborn monster against a wall* (You can't do that on a computer. I quite miss the dark satisfaction of a sheaf of despised paper splatting against the wall and flying all over the room.) One novel took over 35 years to write, I gave up on it so many times, for years on end. My SO nagged me into reviving it after retirement, and I think it turned out better than it would have the first time. — Vera Mont
The other thing is, the last two novels were complicated SF; three very different settings and a huge cast of characters with different time-keeping and seasons; different cultures, funny names, so they absolutely required planning. I'm a plodder - that's what works for me. My SO is a seat-of-the-pantser. He doesn't outline anything: he has an idea, makes up a protagonist to carry it — Vera Mont
I wouldn't recommend either method to other people, because everyone has to find out what works for them. But I can give one tiny piece of general advice: It you want to improve your description, read Bradbury. — Vera Mont
When I was 19, my first chief tech gave me an old paperback copy of Dandelion Wine. It was a revelation worthy of a fanfare by the celestial brass. I still consider him the grand master of evocative description. — Vera Mont
About volatility. I'm not gonna tell you what I threw against a wall. It was meant for hubby. I was young. We divorced. — Amity
From what you say, sometimes it's good to give one particular project a rest. — Amity
The ideas that burst from my brain were circled, underlined, numbered, asterisked and arrowed. There has to be a better way. — Amity
I think this is a mental hurdle you have to get over. It is not actually essential that you be understood.I think it is important that a story is enjoyed AND understood. Otherwise, what's the point? — Amity
I have two larger projects that require this. — Count Timothy von Icarus
Read a lot. — Tom Storm
It you want to improve your description, read Bradbury. When I was 19, my first chief tech gave me an old paperback copy of Dandelion Wine. It was a revelation worthy of a fanfare by the celestial brass. I still consider him the grand master of evocative description. — Vera Mont
I'm curious that you don't use a computer. I would find chaotic writing styles like ours very hard to manage with pen and paper. — hypericin
I think it is important that a story is enjoyed AND understood. Otherwise, what's the point?
— Amity
I think this is a mental hurdle you have to get over. It is not actually essential that you be understood.
Your brain made a thing and the reader's brain mingled with it, played with it, that's the sexy part. — hypericin
Since my first bout of Covid-19 in early 2021, I have, for all practical purposes, forgotten how to write 'fiction'. I've had to relearn how to enter that headspace and stay there long enough either to put words to paper or rewrite what I've already written. I used to be a fastidious plotter and outliner from first paragraph to the last. I couldn't start without knowing the ending first. Since my second bout in late 2021,"long covid" manifests in me as chronic fatigue and persistent brain fog.I'm curious what people's writing process is. Mine may be unusual.
[ ... ]
How do you write? — hypericin
I used to be a fastidious plotter and outliner from first paragraph to the last. I couldn't start without knowing the ending first — 180 Proof
I have had to learn how to find (or receive) images which intrigue and then improvise with or around them, either singly or together, until something like a narrative takes shape. Then I have to follow that 'idea' blindly, ignoring cliches and my expections, groping for discoveries and perplexities, the more amusing the better. I don't know what I'm doing anymore with blank page; even less so when it comes to the real craft of rewriting. — 180 Proof
Today, you have these writers who try to educate you though they lack the credentials to do so. I am sure that 90% of writers I have personally met will fail in a Logic Exam, but that does not stop them from being "smart asses". — Eros1982
Besides, aren't all philosophers and would-be philosophers also smart-asses? — Vera Mont
Like you, I am grateful for recommendations made along the way,
I'm inspired to read novels/short stories for an increased understanding. Models for how to write.
I suppose that's 'reading as a writer'. A phrase I never understood until now. — Amity
Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them
- Francine Prose — Amity
Thanks for mentioning this. On my purchase / borrow list. :up:Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them
- Francine Prose
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Like_a_Writer — Amity
:up:Kindle, but I so much prefer physical books, I hardly ever use it. — Vera Mont
I'm like "hell no, it's not patronisingly but, since she's a woman, it should be "matronisingly", only to discover that's not considered a word. Really? Well, now it is. — Benkei
she's a woman, it should be "matronisingly", only to discover that's not considered a word. Really? Well, now it is. — Benkei
So I'm working on my book again since the last literary activity got my creativity flowing again and when wife pats the protaganist on his cheek, — Benkei
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