How to commit to writing?

cdoudz · Post by **cdoudz** » 10 Feb 2016, 00:12

Hi everyone!

So I've always had a love for writing but I've recently realized that most of the time I've started things and never finished them. I know it's may be a mentality thing - that if you want to do it, you have to commit - but I was wondering what you think! Do you guys have any "rituals" you do to stay focused? Do you listen to music? I'd really like to get what I know I'm capable of out there

TheDarkFae · Post by **TheDarkFae** » 10 Feb 2016, 02:18

Hi there. I understand your struggle as it has been my demon also for years now. What has helped me very much was actually this book by Steven Pressfield "The War of Art", which breaks down all this inner resistance we have when we want things done and for some reason we procrastinate aimlessly - and ways to battle it. It applies to every aspect of life but Mr Pressfield, being a writer himself, gives many of his examples from his personal experience as a writer, so it is really helpful and I definitely recommend it to you.

DATo · Post by **DATo** » 10 Feb 2016, 10:14

If you are writing as a hobby, as I do, then I do not think there is any reason to "commit" to it. Simply write when you feel like it - when you are in the mood. If you lose interest in what you are writing just save it for another day. In the meantime you may discover new ideas to add to your composition which you can add the next time you feel like sitting down to write. In other words, don't feel guilty if you do not complete a story. Consider it a work in progress.

You can have ten stories started and none of them near completion. Just go back to the one you feel interested in continuing with when the fancy strikes you. In school there were always deadlines, but in your personal life you can take as much time as you like. Just don't throw anything away. The story you are writing which you think of as lame today may be your best work tomorrow when you finally see the path you want your story to take.

In the meantime, in your everyday routine as you work or rest, you might pause from time to time to think about your story. You'd be surprised how often new ideas will come to you - right then - when you least expect it. I tend to get excited when these ideas creep up on me and can't wait to get them written down before I forget them. In the process I often find the energy and the inclination to continue writing the story because the new idea was a shot in the arm to motivate me.

Good luck, and whatever you do, KEEP WRITING!

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 10 Feb 2016, 23:27

DAT gives some great advice here.

Part of his post deals with why you're writing -- if it's a hobby or just for casual fun, don't worry about finishing or making things lots better. It's a hobby after all.

But if you're serious, and want to get better, and write "real" things, hopefully toward publication, the recent thread in this section on Motivation is a good one for reference. Also scan thru the other threads in this section for things about writer's block and so on.

And as DAT says, keep writing!

jlee001 · Post by **jlee001** » 10 Feb 2016, 23:54

I love to write too, and I feel like I have all these ideas in my head.. but sometimes its just so hard to get it out in writing and I think what really helps me is if i take a break (after i jot down the main points) and read a really well written book, or watch a movie. It motivates me or gets me back into my groove in a really weird way. I guess its my subconscious urging me to be the next author who writes a good book? But my advice is to take a small break and read or watch a movie or do something that makes you want to do big things

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 11 Feb 2016, 09:28

For me, writing itself generates the energy to get me to write even more. If I turn to something else, I tend to procrastinate.

Just curious, jlee, how has taking a break from writing helped you? How many stories or other things have you actually finished by returning to the ideas you jotted down and taking them to completion after the break?

TrishaAnn92 · Post by **TrishaAnn92** » 16 Feb 2016, 11:24

I had the same problem before of not finishing what I have written. Now I have a lot of motivation and a lot of support pushing me along to reach my goals, which is to get published eventually. I don't have any rituals I just think about what I want to accomplish and what I have to do to get there. It can be daunting but it is a great adventure.

cdoudz · Post by **cdoudz** » 16 Feb 2016, 12:27

TheDarkFae wrote:Hi there. I understand your struggle as it has been my demon also for years now. What has helped me very much was actually this book by Steven Pressfield "The War of Art", which breaks down all this inner resistance we have when we want things done and for some reason we procrastinate aimlessly - and ways to battle it. It applies to every aspect of life but Mr Pressfield, being a writer himself, gives many of his examples from his personal experience as a writer, so it is really helpful and I definitely recommend it to you.

Hello! Wow, really?! I was looking at a few books but none of them really helped me with the drive to write, it was moreso how to organize my thoughts and stuff. That actually sounds perfect, thank you so much for letting me know!

-- 16 Feb 2016, 12:30 --

DATo wrote:If you are writing as a hobby, as I do, then I do not think there is any reason to "commit" to it. Simply write when you feel like it - when you are in the mood. If you lose interest in what you are writing just save it for another day. In the meantime you may discover new ideas to add to your composition which you can add the next time you feel like sitting down to write. In other words, don't feel guilty if you do not complete a story. Consider it a work in progress.

You can have ten stories started and none of them near completion. Just go back to the one you feel interested in continuing with when the fancy strikes you. In school there were always deadlines, but in your personal life you can take as much time as you like. Just don't throw anything away. The story you are writing which you think of as lame today may be your best work tomorrow when you finally see the path you want your story to take.

In the meantime, in your everyday routine as you work or rest, you might pause from time to time to think about your story. You'd be surprised how often new ideas will come to you - right then - when you least expect it. I tend to get excited when these ideas creep up on me and can't wait to get them written down before I forget them. In the process I often find the energy and the inclination to continue writing the story because the new idea was a shot in the arm to motivate me.

Good luck, and whatever you do, KEEP WRITING!

Hi DATo! It's not that I don't consider it a hobby of mine, I just find myself constantly getting distracted by other things. My problem is that I know I really want to write and I have all my ideas laid out pretty well, but I can't find myself opening the document and starting it. That's so true. Have you been writing your story out on paper or typing it out? I can't decide which would be better. Obviously the computer is more efficient but I'm wondering if going old school will be beneficial to me.

-- 16 Feb 2016, 12:34 --

moderntimes wrote:DAT gives some great advice here.

Part of his post deals with why you're writing -- if it's a hobby or just for casual fun, don't worry about finishing or making things lots better. It's a hobby after all.

But if you're serious, and want to get better, and write "real" things, hopefully toward publication, the recent thread in this section on Motivation is a good one for reference. Also scan thru the other threads in this section for things about writer's block and so on.

And as DAT says, keep writing!

Hi moderntimes! That's a great idea! I'll head on over and see what people are saying. Thank you for your advice! I find myself in the same boat. Since I'm writing on my laptop I always wonder off and do other things but I have the document out and it's just staring at me. I'm going to maybe treat it as something more serious and see if that drives me to writing more often than not.

-- 16 Feb 2016, 12:37 --

jlee001 wrote:I love to write too, and I feel like I have all these ideas in my head.. but sometimes its just so hard to get it out in writing and I think what really helps me is if i take a break (after i jot down the main points) and read a really well written book, or watch a movie. It motivates me or gets me back into my groove in a really weird way. I guess its my subconscious urging me to be the next author who writes a good book? But my advice is to take a small break and read or watch a movie or do something that makes you want to do big things

Hello jlee001! Looks like we're in the same boat haha. I've made it a mission of mine to use a journal more often and I try to carry it around wherever I go. So when I have new ideas, it just goes into the book. My problem is that it just stays in the book and doesn't go anywhere. That's good advice! Thank you. I think that may work but at the same time I feel like I might accidentally end up taking ideas from whatever I read or watch. I'm going to have to be very aware of everything I'm writing. It sounds like a good way to motivate yourself though!

-- 16 Feb 2016, 12:39 --

TrishaAnn92 wrote:I had the same problem before of not finishing what I have written. Now I have a lot of motivation and a lot of support pushing me along to reach my goals, which is to get published eventually. I don't have any rituals I just think about what I want to accomplish and what I have to do to get there. It can be daunting but it is a great adventure.

Hi TrishaAnn92! That's great! I wish I could say the same for myself haha. I think once I have some more free time it'll be easier. But I work a lot so whenever I have free time I try to do a little reading to try and get used to it again. I hope you reach your goal though! Good for you!

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 16 Feb 2016, 19:47

What I find is that if I sit down and review something I've written, I find that just reading thru it helps motivate me toward more.

While I've been focusing on my private detective novels, I neglected another book, a supernatural horror thriller novel which I'd poked around with a couple years ago. I dusted it off (figuratively -- everything I write goes straight to MS Word), and found renewed interest in the novel. So I began by revising some of the older chapters, tweaking them a little, and I soon found that I was "into" the story and wrote 2 more new chapters as a result.

Incidentally, you can read a couple of early chapters from this book. I've posted in the short story section under writing, since the forum doesn't have a section for posting chapters from your in-progress novel. HINT HINT TO SCOTT, ha ha.

My recommendation is to write SOMETHING or even review what you'd previously written, and this will generally spark your creativity to write more.

But as was said, if you're just writing to kill time or as a casual hobby, so what if you write more or don't? Nobody will ever read it anyway, right?

However if you'd like to actually write something which others might read and enjoy, then it's necessary to generate a bit of self discipline and get onto it.

rssllue · Post by **rssllue** » 16 Feb 2016, 19:57

A desk, some paper and pencil (or computer), a sturdy chain, and some manacles are a winning formula to commit to writing.

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 16 Feb 2016, 20:06

For me, those manacles are emotional and motivational, but yeah.

rssllue · Post by **rssllue** » 16 Feb 2016, 20:09

Very nice!

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 16 Feb 2016, 20:37

Please send money.

rssllue · Post by **rssllue** » 16 Feb 2016, 20:58

P_hernandez · Post by **P_hernandez** » 17 Feb 2016, 13:36

Im a writer and have two books in the process of being published and honestly, it was the easiest decision to make and the hardest task to complete. For me the only way to dedicate myself to writing cohesive and comprehensible stories is to have real and emotional relationships with the characters. I listen to a lot of music when I write. I spend a lot of time alone with my thoughts. Writing 6 days a week and taking one day off to reflect on yourself is also a good trick to keep that flame alive with your works. When I take the day off, I use that time to figure out who I am. I don't even think about my book. I will also allow myself to wander off in directions I know will go nowhere. A lot of time is spent writing nonsense and garbage. But its important to go through that because one spark of inspiration is worth so much more than sitting in one spot and beating yourself up over the fact that you cant commit. And lastly, read what you write when you're comfortable reading it and edit and revise it as necessary to suit you. I do a lot of editing and rewriting as I go and that helps me get a finished product closer to where I want it to be. Good luck! I hope any of that helps!