Well, in lieu of something more substantive to say, I’ve been trying to keep the balance right with ensemble casts lately. Limiting POV and keeping it focused helps, but I’ve been surprised at how often I can’t just trim the character list. I think I’m succeeding at not letting the story scope sprawl, but it is really a balancing act.
Rotten day at work today, so I kind of hate the world right now. I wish I had a fight scene to write, or some explosions or something….
Tomorrow’s scheduled activity has canceled on me, so I am trying to (a) keep the day clear for writing, and not let eleventy-billion other tasks jump in, and (b) get my mood wrestled around to be compatible with the current WIP, which is light and fluffy and entirely devoid of people getting pummeled or blown up.
Fellow scribblers, what’s your best method for getting your headspace in line with what you mean to write?
I’d go find a cardboard box to pummel, because it doesn’t hurt the hands as much as a punching bag, and/or hurl fallen walnuts at large trees(assuming you have a walnut tree handy to get the walnuts from). Then I’d go inside, get a snack, and start listening to my favorite music, possibly take a nap, and then get started writing when I’m feeling better.
I mean, tbh, I just put on mood music. Whatever suits my fancy. And I try to think about the characters. At some point, usually 3-5 songs in, something starts to happen. I do have some official writing playlists, but I’m always surprised for me at how much mood playlists work just as well or better for getting out of a bad headspace and into a writing one.
Not the most helpful, but by the time I’m 20k words or so into a draft, I’m usually so consumed by my narrative that I’m halfway into the right (write?) headspace to begin with…
If I’m not that far in, or working on something shorter, I usually have a few short pieces that I’ve only done notes on or something, so I just pick the one closest to my current mindset and let ‘er rip.
So, to try to give a more helpful reply, maybe write a fight scene or other violence that you can use in something else later?
I’ve been that kind of immersed, but I’ve been away from this piece — and from writing in general, unfortunately — for so long that just getting it booted up at all is a challenge.
I did get about 750 words done yesterday, though! (Which is huge, for me.) Apparently ranting in my head about the stupid work situation, and then declaring that I can’t stop those misbegotten chowderheads* from screwing up my lovely job, but they don’t get to screw up my writing, dang it, was very motivating. Giving the finger to the world is not my preferred writing headspace, but this time it worked.
*The actual vocabulary involved was, uh, rather a lot saltier than that.
I don’t have a quota. I just have a resolution to do something every day (ideally) or at least nine days out of ten (in practice).
I’ve also acquired a story-start barnacle: “Slavegirl Nasrine brushed her master’s blue fur.” I ought to save it for later, but at the moment it’s being insistent.
I have just had it struck home that one must always save everything they write. There’s an idea I had, several years ago, that I tried writing a story about. After getting perhaps 2/3 of the way through the story, I gave up and deleted it.
Now, going back today so I can revisit that idea, and discovering that I no longer have it, I’m mentally kicking Younger Me because she was an eejit and I really want that idea back.
So, for any brand-new authors who might ever read this… don’t delete anything you write. You might want to look at it again later.
Well, in lieu of something more substantive to say, I’ve been trying to keep the balance right with ensemble casts lately. Limiting POV and keeping it focused helps, but I’ve been surprised at how often I can’t just trim the character list. I think I’m succeeding at not letting the story scope sprawl, but it is really a balancing act.
Rotten day at work today, so I kind of hate the world right now. I wish I had a fight scene to write, or some explosions or something….
Tomorrow’s scheduled activity has canceled on me, so I am trying to (a) keep the day clear for writing, and not let eleventy-billion other tasks jump in, and (b) get my mood wrestled around to be compatible with the current WIP, which is light and fluffy and entirely devoid of people getting pummeled or blown up.
Fellow scribblers, what’s your best method for getting your headspace in line with what you mean to write?
Music. Sadly, I’ve never had anything else do it.
I’d go find a cardboard box to pummel, because it doesn’t hurt the hands as much as a punching bag, and/or hurl fallen walnuts at large trees(assuming you have a walnut tree handy to get the walnuts from). Then I’d go inside, get a snack, and start listening to my favorite music, possibly take a nap, and then get started writing when I’m feeling better.
I don’t have a writing mix for this one. Clearly, I should!
I mean, tbh, I just put on mood music. Whatever suits my fancy. And I try to think about the characters. At some point, usually 3-5 songs in, something starts to happen. I do have some official writing playlists, but I’m always surprised for me at how much mood playlists work just as well or better for getting out of a bad headspace and into a writing one.
Not the most helpful, but by the time I’m 20k words or so into a draft, I’m usually so consumed by my narrative that I’m halfway into the right (write?) headspace to begin with…
If I’m not that far in, or working on something shorter, I usually have a few short pieces that I’ve only done notes on or something, so I just pick the one closest to my current mindset and let ‘er rip.
So, to try to give a more helpful reply, maybe write a fight scene or other violence that you can use in something else later?
I’ve been that kind of immersed, but I’ve been away from this piece — and from writing in general, unfortunately — for so long that just getting it booted up at all is a challenge.
I did get about 750 words done yesterday, though! (Which is huge, for me.) Apparently ranting in my head about the stupid work situation, and then declaring that I can’t stop those misbegotten chowderheads* from screwing up my lovely job, but they don’t get to screw up my writing, dang it, was very motivating. Giving the finger to the world is not my preferred writing headspace, but this time it worked.
*The actual vocabulary involved was, uh, rather a lot saltier than that.
I tell myself I have to write only a page. (Because that’s enough to get warmed up if I’m going to get warmed up.)
Working on an epic.
A good thing I’m also working on shorter works in parallel. A second good thing about it is that it may let me publish while working on the long one.
I traveling this week & weekend, which puts a crimp in “showing up at the page every day.”
My rule is that you can make up writing, but you can’t do it in advance, to inculcate the habit.
though that only works if you go for a quota.
I don’t have a quota. I just have a resolution to do something every day (ideally) or at least nine days out of ten (in practice).
I’ve also acquired a story-start barnacle: “Slavegirl Nasrine brushed her master’s blue fur.” I ought to save it for later, but at the moment it’s being insistent.
I have just had it struck home that one must always save everything they write. There’s an idea I had, several years ago, that I tried writing a story about. After getting perhaps 2/3 of the way through the story, I gave up and deleted it.
Now, going back today so I can revisit that idea, and discovering that I no longer have it, I’m mentally kicking Younger Me because she was an eejit and I really want that idea back.
So, for any brand-new authors who might ever read this… don’t delete anything you write. You might want to look at it again later.
Especially in the digital age, storage space is cheap. Regret is expensive.