That writing thing

[alsafi]

My project from last year stalled out, for a number of reasons. Among them being that I don't have a good idea of the lay of the land where I've set the story, and can't really change where it's set. So until we can take a trip to Cardiff, that particular work in progress is... not progressing

Comments

[nagoya_mewmew]

I've always wondered why writers create a set number of words they have to write a day. I think if I did that, my motivation would immediately dwindle, and my mind would throw up huge writer's blocks. Is there any merit to just letting inspiration flow without set guidelines? I only ask because I'm not in the writing game, so I wouldn't know.
At any rate, good luck on your new project!!

[alsafi]

Thank you!

I'm sure that there are people for whom the inspiration just flows, but I'm not sure that many of them write novels. The longest thing I've ever written in a (more or less) fit of inspiration has a finished length of only about 2500 words.

I think most professional writers (of which I am not one, by a long shot--yet) set themselves either a time goal or a word goal, because writing is much harder work than it seems like it ought to be. I set a word goal, because a time goal (I will write for 2 hours) is useless for me--I'll just web surf for 2 hours, and then mewl about how I never write anything.

Coming up with a story--for me--is the easy bit. The fun bit, too. That's where the inspiration thing comes into play. The actual "writing it down and figuring out how to make all the bits work together and how to get from one bit to the next bit" is a lot tougher, and not so much fun. It has moments of fun, but on the whole, I'd rather watch a movie or hang out with people or talk to whisperflight or read a book--pretty much anything,