How to commit to writing?

shinny mac74 · Post by **shinny mac74** » 02 Mar 2016, 11:30

It has been a goal of mine for over 30 years to get a story published. I doubted my ability, I felt I wasn't good enough, I didn't think anyone would read my work. However, I have just finished my first children's story and, thanks to Indie publishing, have just had it published.

Tips I found helpful: I wrote out general scenes and chapters, (believe me, these changed as I went along). I printed this sheet out and had it beside me. Every time I sat down, I knew what I was going to write about. I wrote without editing, I just let it flow and edited it afterwards. Most importantly, I believed in myself. This, for me, was the biggie!!! We all write differently, but this worked for me.

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 02 Mar 2016, 12:13

Glad you got your story published! This is a big step.

Thirty years? Wow. I had tried to get my fiction published for a long time, finally sold a couple of short stories to a small magazine. But I had my newspaper stuff published very early in my "career" -- I wrote copy on sports car racing and then some book and movie reviews.

But it was a long time before I sold my novels.

Keep a copy of that check or the pay voucher, frame it if you wish. Getting that first pay for your writing is a fun first move.

Skylar01 · Post by **Skylar01** » 02 Mar 2016, 21:58

I have to make myself sit down and write. It is not always easy, but I have to have that determination to get it done. I know I am the only one who can do it. Sometimes, when I read it motivates me to write, encouraging me to finish.

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 02 Mar 2016, 22:17

You're right on that point, nobody's going to do it for you. Those little elves have been on strike for ages now. And they made cruddy shoes, too.

tortoise keeper · Post by **tortoise keeper** » 03 Mar 2016, 11:07

I have the same problem also. I enjoy writing, but have trouble with the commitment issue. I will start journaling, and do well for a couple of weeks, then slowly I stop because I get caught up in other things.
I have read that serious authors that write for a living treat it as a job and allow so many hours a day just for writing. It is more the discipline to complete the task than the quality of the work, especially if they are having an "off" day.
I know when I do have a writing project I need it to be quiet and with as few distractions as possible. (It wasn't always so important but has become more so as I have gotten older.) Maybe I care more or my attention span is less I'm not sure!

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 03 Mar 2016, 14:26

You're correct on other things which intrude. Let's face it -- the vast majority of us may either work full time, be in school, be raising a family, and other real world activities which we need to do.

For the largest portion of my novel writing, I was working full time as a high tech consultant and tech writer contracted to big oil companies like Shell. So 5 days a week I'd be up at 600, on the road so I could be at the office by 8, then leave maybe 530, be home by 6pm. And since I was single at the time, I had other things to do -- shopping, cooking, cleaning house, laundry, all the standard life tasks. And I had a modest social life, dating, enjoying movies or TV or concerts.

During some of this time, I was also singing opera for a small local company. Yeah, "legit" opera, costumes and makeup and singing in Italian or French or German or whatever, full length productions on stage before a live audience. And I also took professional voice lessons 2x a week. I was busy, as you can appreciate.

So it took me about 2 years to write my first novel, and 2 years to write the 2nd novel. It was only after I retired that I could work "full time" on the 3rd novel, which took about 7-8 months.

And for those who are new to the "job" of writing novels, it's going to take you months, 6 months to write, maybe 1 or 2 to edit and revise the book.

We "amateur" writers also envy, rightly so, those pro writers who are full time authors. After my retirement, I suppose you can say that I am now a "pro" and can write all day.

But not so. I've got a lovely live-in girlfriend, and we have a fun social life, movies and concerts and meeting friends, and I've got my fave TV shows (very few) and I'm also reading mystery books to review for another website, so I am doing other things too. I've also been fighting age and illness, too. But still I'm working on a 4th and 5th novel (one is the next in my private detective series, the other a supernatural thriller).

And I keep writing nevertheless. So yeah, we all have other things which intrude on our writing "life" but we have to encourage ourselves, push ourselves, and find the energy to keep plugging away. It's not easy, but as was said, nobody's gonna write it for us, right?

Claudia Hotea · Post by **Claudia Hotea** » 04 Mar 2016, 05:30

I have this idea about a book to write. I even shared it with a friend of mine who thought it was great. For God knows whatever reason, I seem not to be able to get down to start writing. I have the first line, that's it. But maybe one day... I will.

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 04 Mar 2016, 21:58

What you might want to do is begin the book in medias res. That is, let's say that your novel starts by introducing a couple of major characters and then about chapter 4, something significant happens to them.

Start with that chapter right away, and then go back and fill in the gaps. Essentially moving the "big" chapter 4 to the start of the book.

Another trick is to imagine that you're watching a TV show or movie of your story. Then write a description of what's happening on the screen. The idea is that you remove yourself from the story line and that you're just the observer taking notes. This can work very well.

MCT · Post by **MCT** » 07 Mar 2016, 16:54

One thing I do to try and commit to writing is to start by just doing short stories every other day that I find inspiration for throughout my day. It helps me focus in on my writing style and find the desire to continue to write. I do agree, I have a tough time sticking to my writing and pushing myself to keep going, but once I do, I really enjoy myself.

Empire_Inspire · Post by **Empire_Inspire** » 08 Mar 2016, 00:18

Hi there! Is your problem losing interest or feeling like finishing the work is cumbersome? If your losing interest the best thing for you would be to find inspiration you may find it were you least expect it so get out the and be open.

If you feel like the work may be cumbersome which I find a lot of writers who write and type there work feel like they can't get the ideas out as fast as they've already thought it up; try investing in a voice-type gadget where writers speak out loud and it types for you! This way you can get the ideas out and save you some time

Hope that helps

xo

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 08 Mar 2016, 13:28

I have no problem with typing my story -- I'm a fairly fast typist. And I just fling the words onto the screen, and then save it and go back later and fix typos.

Problem with a voice-to-text system is that homonyms would often be misspelled. Such as, Empire, "type there work" when "type their work" is the correct phrase. a voice-to-text system will be unable to spell correctly "their" vs "there" vs "they're", or "its" vs "it's" and many other homonyms.