2.B.A Writer (?)

[Crystal (BobbyjoeX)]

ok i know, the 90s Pokemon called they want that title back.


ok so i sat there, was looking at a member's thread about doing reviews of Members' stories and it made me think, I have *censored* all to show.

i hate.. absolutely hate writing my stories down, i tried a few times but every time i went and, didnt change, i completely overhauled the story around 5 times and if it is in text form, the overhauling wont stop, so i tried to draw key points to set it in stone, but when i look at the images, either they were never finished or i never drew them. its in a repeat loop, i even had started drawing for my one major project but the beginning pages also got overhauled 3 times. i completely got off what i was asking

HOW do you write stuff down, how do you get the patience to do so, how do you stop yourself from looking at it and restarting or getting bored and quitting, honestly?

[Misyne]

I'm reading this book by an author who writes 5 award-winning books a year. Probably not what you wanted to hear, but the basic gist of what he's saying is that you need to love doing it, so much as to be able to write 12 hours every day (but you can settle for less if you're not looking to write 5 books a year!) If you hate it, you shouldn't force it - you'll just end up hating it even more.

I can't even write for an hour usually. It could be a sign that it's just not my thing, but where does the line go?

Anyway, one thing I picked from the book so far is this: if you get stuck, aren't happy and keep rewriting stuff, you shouldn't stop to make it better. Just keep going. He wrote that as long as the basic form is there, you should just keep going and once the draft is done, then you go back and fix it.

[Crystal (BobbyjoeX)]

well another thing i heard is that some cartoons are what you would called "storyboard based" they are not written at all but that is for episodic stories, i keep thinking of maybe doing something like that but with a long story

but i doubt people will review that

[Coryn]

Personally I just have the ability to sit and do a single activity for hours at a time, but that is definitely something you can practice at.

As for not getting bored, my way is to think of what I'm writing as a challenge to create (not that it isn't). I'm plucking and idea from the air and turning it into something that can be communicated. I'm fighting with the story to make it take form, and take form in the best way possible. Looking for the best way to work it.

As for changing things, it's not always bad, but it can be counter productive. My advice for when you get new ideas, is to just catalog them somehow, tell yourself you'll use them later, and then put them to the side. It will help you remember things for later drafts, and push forward at the same time.

[50 Words for Paipis]

At the moment, I am consciously not writing because I have other obligations right now, but here's what worked for me as far as getting me to complete something:
• Start small. Short stories to get your feet wet. Keep the cast of characters down to five or lower and stay away from fantasy or sci-fi elements. Just try to make something self-contained
• Prioritize completion over quality. Ideally, your rough drafts should be written straight through with no editing.
• Keep track of how many passes you make when editing. Print out your first draft, mark it up with a pen with the kinds of changes you want to make. That way you can keep track of passes you make on the script, and can limit yourself. Two or three passes starting out.

At the start, it's more about building a process you can sustain rather than creating something mindblowing. I tend to find that my standards and ambition are higher than my skill-level, so I have to lower them for the time being and raise them as I build up the endurance to complete things and the skill to complete them faster.

Generally, the case is that everything you finish will be better than the stuff that you don't, because it's self-contained, and you've made multiple editing passes, where the other stuff is just potential, not even fully written, not edited. That's important to keep in mind if it starts to feel stifling to start with easier material to execute.

[legomaestro]

The short story thing is underestimated a lot, but that's how it works with everything. You're probably already past the stage of having to check every word you spell and worrying about grammar right? The fluency to express your idea is a first stepping stone amongst many that got better by improvement and learning. It all takes time, a lot of time. Some days it's fun to learn, some days it's annoying, some days you don't even notice.

The important thing is you keep going, keep on developing, and aim for the short goal posts first. If you don't want to write a story, write a synopsis for your characters. So long as you're avoiding listing everything down you're still writing.

And storyboards count more than anything, especially when it comes to manga. Too few writers here do that methinks, but that's how manga is made after all. And animation. And movies. So yeah go for that if you wish.

[Crystal (BobbyjoeX)]

i think i'll go with doing the storyboards or "rough drafts"

[ThatGuy80]

I've been where you are before. I started writing a long time ago and progress was slow, at best. At first, I mostly wrote songs and poetry, because I was always playing music and in an out of bands. That might not work for you personally, but songs and poems are short and can be fun to write. Especially if you have trouble focusing on it. I started moving up to short stories and kept writing them for a long time. Honestly, they're still my favorite thing to write and one of my favorite things to read. This is harder, because you need to not only focus on content, but on grammar, punctuation, structure, etc... It takes practice and study through reading and looking up the information. It gets tedious, but once you start getting the hang of it, you'll find yourself writing more and more. That doesn't mean you won't get bored with certain stories. I still do that sometimes, but I found it helps to try and write things that interest you, because it will keep you focused on it longer. Even coming back to it after long periods of not writing it. Storyboarding is good too, but I don't think you should give up on other forms of writing. It can be a lot of fun and you can do wonderful things with it, but you can't give up on it. It doesn't matter if you give up, or even reject certain stories, but you have to keep writing in general to get it to go anywhere. You'll get a mixture of good and bad stories and be able to build your skills and confidence as you go. I didn't really take my writing that seriously until several years ago and finally built up the confidence and skill (Still improving though.) to start submitting them. It may be hard, tedious and stressful at times, but it allows you to create the worlds locked in the depths of your imagination and that's pretty cool. I hope you find something you want to write and don't give up on it. Good luck with whatever decision you go with though.