I woke up real late but I am back on the discipline. I went straight to the manuscript and three sentences became 874 words and it's almost noon and I really have to put on pants and go outside to get coffee
Comments
Log in with your Bluesky account to leave a comment
Seriously speaking, it happens to me often. I wrote an 86 word sentence in the first writing exercise that eventually became the midnight bargain.
It was deliberate at the time, and I had to rewrite it to make it more than one sentence, because it really was one grammatical sentence. Let rip; edit.
As you mention, he gets over critical & is afraid of bad work. I tell him sometimes your " Bad work" in hindsight is good work.
Getting it done is the goal.
I did an experiment a few years ago and I’m glad I did it. When i felt bad and afraid that my writing would suck, i changed my text colour to purple and wrote. If I felt like i was on fire, green. Ordinary day, black. I put track changes on and wrote 100 pages like that, and then looked at it later.
The result? My bad day writing wasn’t actually that bad compared to ordinary writing days. If anything, it was careful, but still solid. Good day writing required more editing and revision, and it wasn’t dramatically better than ordinary writing days. It carried an energy? Maybe? But I quit worrying
Its amazing how often I've looked again at writing I discarded and thought "That's not that bad"
I've realised too for me the silence of early morning is the best creative writing time, afternoon editing.
My discipline used to be 2000 words ready to push send by 5 a.m.
But I had an espresso machine on a timer.
This allowed me to live in Arizona ... which I now have forsaken for the PNW. Global warming, don't ya know?
Oh i know. I came back home for the combination memorial service and writing retreat weekend. It’s good to be home in the PNW. This beautiful place is going to fall into the sea.
Good way to go though. I came here first in 2012 and again 2016 for contract work. I hiked up into the temperate rain forest a couple of times to fly fish and it was like stepping into a Disney movie. Knew I'd be back here for good eventually, right then and there.
If you don't mind me asking, what drives you to write? I have so many ideas for books and podcasts but I can't get the ideas to paper/laptop. How do you start and keep going?
The hardest part is getting up the courage to write at least one truly awful sentence because I have to forgive myself for it and hope the next one is a little better. But once I do that and the world doesn’t end, it’s fine until the next time i have to start.
Seriously. Everyone has the hardest part to get through. For me it’s starting. If I can tough it out for three sentences, most of the time I forget to be afraid.
Comments
It was deliberate at the time, and I had to rewrite it to make it more than one sentence, because it really was one grammatical sentence. Let rip; edit.
Just aim to write 3 sentences each day.
No editing.
Getting it done is the goal.
I've realised too for me the silence of early morning is the best creative writing time, afternoon editing.
I should have been writing. But I'm still pleased that I got SOMETHING done.
But I had an espresso machine on a timer.
This allowed me to live in Arizona ... which I now have forsaken for the PNW. Global warming, don't ya know?
Be well, good luck.