Actually Writing

[TheBryceKrispy]

I have a problem actually writing. I've wanted to be a writer for years, but never got to the writing part. I have so many ideas, but for some reason I almost never write. When I do get writing, I never finish it, and end up deleting it. Does anyone else have/had this problem? If so, how do I defeat this and write something all the way through.

[mariusthered]

by paying money and going on a writing course. that way not only will you improve your skills but you wont want to waste your cash and you will either be more dedicated or know once and for all that it's not for you.

[TheBryceKrispy]

I'm just writing for myself. I don't think spending money on a writing course will help. I just need to write something and finish it. For some reason; I find it difficult to get myself to write.

[mariusthered]

then you are the only one who can help yourself no amount of advice will help if you dont have the will power to write a story to the end. my last bit of advice is try a pencil and pad its harder to delete and just keeps hanging around reminding you it's still there waiting to be finished.

[TheBryceKrispy]

Thanks. Thats really good advice for this.

[punkarsenic]

no amount of advice will help if you dont have the will power to write a story to the end.

i wouldnt say being unable to finish a story is entirely about willpower. its part of it. but not all of it.

if youve never written a story beginning to end, it can feel like a mysterious process, and its a surprisingly big hurdle to get over.

OP, id suggest you set yourself a challenge. give yourself a month to write a complete story - lets say 10k words, keep it short. maybe do a week and go for 1k words - meet yourself where youre at, and if you fail, lower the bar. but once this month / week / set period of time is done, you are not allowed to touch it, and must post it.

that way, you get a practice of just completing things, marking them finished, and moving on to something new.

also - plan! plan a lot! if you start a story by sitting down and writing 'once upon a time...' you will struggle, if you start working with:
' - introduce steve
- steve needs to get to the shop
- the roads are flooded
- steve cant swim
- CONFLICT!'

(... or smth like that) if you start with notes and go over the entire plot like that, youre focusing on the bones of your story and not getting bogged down in the details and flourishes of the action and prose - thats the muscle and skin, it comes later. at this phase you can brainstorm, you can go in one direction and then change your mind, and once youre done you will know, for certain, where you are going. being able to see the end makes it so much more likely that you will get there.

and once youve done this once, doing it again will get easier... and easier... until youre ready to take up that big passion project you have in your head. first, do some stuff youre not expecting too much from, just to flex your muscles, and practice sticking to deadlines. and yeah, thisll include willpower, but if you plan properly youll have tracks to your train of thought, and pushing forward will be so much easier.

also

try a pencil and pad its harder to delete and just keeps hanging around reminding you it's still there waiting to be finished.

yeah. when you can, turn off the computer and work physical - esp for planning. less distracting, more intuitive

[TheBryceKrispy]

This is amazing. So what your saying is that Willpower + realistic goals = Writing piece finished? Sounds good.

[punkarsenic]

Willpower + realistic goals = Writing piece finished?

*

willpower + realistic goals + planning = writing piece finished!

[TheBryceKrispy]

willpower + realistic goals + planning = writing piece finished

Willpower + Realistic goals + Planning = Writing Piece finished + passion * time = Good Writing Piece

[punkarsenic]

that sounds like a good formula to me!

[phinality]

I used to have the same problem as you. Then one day, I decided to try NaNoWriMo, because it was a goal I've always wanted to complete. I set my goal to 50k words for the month of November. Some days, it's really hard to want to write. But if you stare at a blank word page document for long enough, you'll eventually begin.

Once I started actually typing things down... There would be 700-1000 words on the page before I knew it. Time would skip too LOL. It would be like 5pm when I made a new doc, and then it'd be 8pm haha.

Also, it really does help if you're writing something that you have fun writing. I have a bajillion unfinished works, because I would always drop em after a few chapters. I realized it's because I never actually enjoyed writing those. Now, I just write dumb things and it's crazy how much I write and want to write all the time.

Tl;dr set a goal, stare at a blank page and literally don't do anything else until you write, have fun with your project.

[charliesackett]

Stop thinking start writing

[bafflinghaze]

Why don't you try writing something short? For example, six-word stories, or short drabbles or poems.

I would suggest maybe getting a writing partner or joining some kind of writing discord if having someone else to motivate you helps. And also to remember that your first draft is likely going to suck, and that you can always go back and edit later.

[lil-sea-salt]

By writing shorter things. Think of writing like running. You're not going to finish a mile in 8 minutes if you haven't run for a long time. You need to write short things so you get some confident in getting to a certain word count. Try short stories which is 7k words. For me it was challenging, Dead End Florals is actually the first story I wrote. I started writing it as 7k short stories that came one after another. Then slowly I got to 10k then 20k. I still struggle with getting longer stories.

Also make an excel sheet with different ideas that you have finished and the views/wordcounts/progress of every site you have posted anything on. Also have a running total of word counts of everything you have ever written.

This creates a record of what you've done, what you're doing and what you're going to do and at a glance you can see what you have completed.

[Maps]

I truly began writing when I had an idea that really resonated with me and made me feel excited to write. I began typing it out on the notepad on my phone, and realized hours were flying by as I wrote. When I brought it home to my computer, I couldn’t stop. I kept feeling eager to get free time so I could continue to write and let my ideas flow out.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve hit writers block and have days where I can seem to find the inspiration or motivation to write, but I wait for a day when I feel better and I continue.
I feel like you’ll begin writing (and writing a lot) when you have an idea that truly excites you. But definitely don’t be let down by the days where you struggled to create a new sentence, paragraph, or chapter. I’m pretty sure most writers experience this at some point in all of their works. You’ve just got to get the willpower to continue on. And there is nothing wrong with going back and changing things around to a way you like more.

[L.O.R.D]

I have suffered similarly, still am, maybe. To deal with it, just go writing your idea, when you feel like ditching it and starting afresh, do the latter only, not the former. When you feel like ditching your second work, go back to your first work. Hope this helps^^

[eochoa92]

I'd suggest buying a pocket notebook and start scribbling there. It can be short sentences or you can fill up a whole page. I used to carry one and would sometimes jot stuff down while waiting for someone, waiting for the bus. Think of that little book as a place to store ideas that you can go back on once your word count goes up.
There's websites out there that have set writing prompts if you have trouble coming up with something to write. If it's for you, why not write stories from shows or characters you like? I can assure you a fair deal of people started off writing fan fiction.
The writing course thing also seems like a good idea. Look around and you can find public classes for cheap or sometimes even free.
Best of luck.

[TimCaloweh]

Try to feel something. If it's the idea machine running on fumes, or you're just not in the mood, you gotta get into a feeling. Emotions allow us to tap into our ideas for solution, conflict, retaliation, etc. You can look for that feeling in music/soundtracks, visual media, written/illustrated arts, and anything with an emotion going through it

[MoThErNaTure]

Alright first things first
- Make sure you have the whole story planned out
- Have dramatic sections that make YOU also intrigued for what's next
- Create pages dedicated to character design
- Make it FOR something (events, birthdays, ect.)
- Don't be repetitive
- Find ways to make every part unique in its wording
- Make things EXTRA
- Go all out with your imagination
- Don't bother with most physics
- Make art related to it
- Post sections for others to see

[auburnmorrow]

This sounds too simple to be true! But they're right. Start writing! You have allow yourself to write badly, at first. Being a writer is a self-taught skill, so the more you do it, the easier and better it'll get. Writing is also a journey, not a race. My first book took me four years to write. It's also taken me three months to write a book too.

I also agree with some of the other advice. If you're finding yourself lost or too intimidated by the blank screen, write an outline! And also! Don't forget! First drafts are allowed to be terrible. You can always fix it later!