Totally Disjointed Writing Syndrome

***Tessar*** · 08-14-2003, 01:40 PM

Bah, I'm getting this a lot now that I'm trying to work on Ice Village more.

I have the next two chapters written out, but they need heavy editing and I can't bring myself to get to it! Instead I finished mapping out the plot line for the first book and I wrote a chapter that's going to have to be for a second book.

Anyone else have this a lot, or maybe have a cure?

I guess what I really need to do, is make myself a nice cup of hot tea, put on mood music, and set my rear end down to just DO it.

Also I have these great (I think

) ideas, but I know that I'm not a good enough writer to really present them the way I wish I could.

***IronParrot*** · 08-15-2003, 04:07 PM

Quote:

I guess what I really need to do, is make myself a nice cup of hot tea, put on mood music, and set my rear end down to just DO it.

Well, you said it yourself right there.

***Tessar*** · 08-15-2003, 04:16 PM

yea, but now I need YOU to tell me to do it...

***IronParrot*** · 08-15-2003, 04:32 PM

That's interesting, because I find myself in a similar rut. I'm about 10,000 words into a novel I've been working on for a long time (about 1/8 done) but is currently sitting in limbo, but I have another fresh idea that I want to jump on at some point or another. I don't want to jump ship on the first one, or I really will never finish it - yet the second one has an enticing concept that may be more publishable as a first novel.

The cup of tea helps, it's the "DO it" part we all have trouble with, I guess.

***Earniel*** · 08-17-2003, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tessar
Also I have these great (I think ) ideas, but I know that I'm not a good enough writer to really present them the way I wish I could.

Exactly the same here. Sometimes you're hit by some new idea that you feel is really awesome but when you try and put that same thing in text... It's steel compared to the mithril your idea was. Ah, I feel so illiterate at times...

Also the tea-part is easy, the do-part is seldom finished.

I can make myself three cups of tea, drink them all and STILL won't be able to start. (Although usually this scenario occurs with homework.

)

Willow Oran · 08-17-2003, 02:09 PM

If you can't just sit down and do it and you still want to jump ahead then use that to your advantage. Go ahead and write the idea and then go back and write the other stuff. I never write my stories in order. I wrote an outline listing all the important plot points that I knew I absolutely had to write for the story to work and then when I feel like writing I pick one and write that part. Then oce I have all the main bits written in draft form I'll start editing and typing them up and connecting as I go.
Sometimes instead of tea what you need is to find a secluded space where you can write without distraction, although you should keep the music with you at all times.

***Tessar*** · 08-17-2003, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Eärniel
I can make myself three cups of tea, drink them all and STILL won't be able to start.

THREE CUPS OF TEA AND YOU STILL CAN'T WRITE?

Freak

.

Hehe, just teasing you

.

But yea, the tea isn't really NEEDED, It's just a nice little extra.

***Earniel*** · 08-17-2003, 03:58 PM

What can I say? I'm a big tea-drinker but no big writer.

Elenka · 09-14-2003, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Eärniel
What can I say? I'm a big tea-drinker but no big writer.

On the coldest days I'm known for drinking 5-8 cups a day. 2-3 before school (hey, I have to walk, and Michigan get cold!), 2-3 after, and 2 maybe later at night. But I'm a procrastinator, so no work gets done.

Lief Erikson · 09-14-2003, 02:49 PM

For several weeks, I also have been procrastinating on needed editing for my book. I'm close to the end of Part 2. It's been finished being written for a while, and I'm nearly finished with the first round of editing. I'm going to have to add one more chapter into the end too, because I leave one character in such a horrible condition that it would be unendurable to readers to have him stuck that way.

Arat-Falathion · 09-16-2003, 03:04 PM

Oh, Finish that book already Lief!!!!!

Tessar: When will we get another taste of your story?

Lief Erikson · 09-17-2003, 03:43 AM

Yeah, Tessar. Not nice to keep us waiting

. I'm also interested in reading more

.

I'm editing again, Falathion, I'm editing. Did five and a half chapters today and four yesterday. I'm back in the mood

. I'll be done with the first complete editing of Part 2 this week, at this rate- there's only 30 pages left to do. After that, I'll be able to start reading Part 3

.

Arat-Falathion · 09-17-2003, 03:47 PM

Ah! That is great to hear Lief!

Keep it going!

Tanoliel · 09-27-2003, 01:57 PM

My harddrive is jammed full of stories and bits of things...and only a few of them are finished.

Sometimes I feel like writing on something I already have and sometimes I just want to write something new--I guess it's best (for me at any rate) to just write and write and write no matter how it's supposed to fit together, and even if you're writing new things everyday. Often things will fit together in a while.
I also never write stories in chronological order...I think I may have once. But the story was two and a half pages long...

Editing...can be good. Can also be the devil.

I like editing other people's writing....

Tea is also good...as are chocolate tea biscuits. Definetly a writing stimulant.

Tano

Ianua · 09-28-2003, 06:58 AM

Find it better to stick to poetry, as i get my characters into sticky siutuations and find it difficult to get them out, and nigh on impossible to make it sound beleivable...all of my stories are short, most unfinished (longest was 20 chapters) or finished abruptly with the death of the main character.
All this talk about tea is having a funny effect on my feet...they're slowley edging toward the kitchen.....

08-14-2003, 01:40 PM	#1
*Tessar* Master and Wielder of the Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: IM IN UR POSTZ, EDITIN' UR WURDZ Posts: 6,433	Totally Disjointed Writing Syndrome Bah, I'm getting this a lot now that I'm trying to work on Ice Village more. I have the next two chapters written out, but they need heavy editing and I can't bring myself to get to it! Instead I finished mapping out the plot line for the first book and I wrote a chapter that's going to have to be for a second book. Anyone else have this a lot, or maybe have a cure? I guess what I really need to do, is make myself a nice cup of hot tea, put on mood music, and set my rear end down to just DO it. Also I have these great (I think ) ideas, but I know that I'm not a good enough writer to really present them the way I wish I could.

08-15-2003, 04:32 PM	#4
*IronParrot* Fowl Administrator Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Calgary or Edmonton, Canada Posts: 53,420	That's interesting, because I find myself in a similar rut. I'm about 10,000 words into a novel I've been working on for a long time (about 1/8 done) but is currently sitting in limbo, but I have another fresh idea that I want to jump on at some point or another. I don't want to jump ship on the first one, or I really will never finish it - yet the second one has an enticing concept that may be more publishable as a first novel. The cup of tea helps, it's the "DO it" part we all have trouble with, I guess. __________________ All of IronParrot's posts are guaranteed to be 100% intelligent and/or sarcastic, comprising no genetically modified content and tested on no cute furry little animals unless the SPCA is looking elsewhere. If you observe a failure to uphold this warranty, please contact a forum administrator immediately to receive a full refund on your Entmoot registration. Blog: Nick's Café Canadien

08-17-2003, 02:09 PM	#6
Willow Oran Deus Ex Machina Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Seattle Posts: 1,951	If you can't just sit down and do it and you still want to jump ahead then use that to your advantage. Go ahead and write the idea and then go back and write the other stuff. I never write my stories in order. I wrote an outline listing all the important plot points that I knew I absolutely had to write for the story to work and then when I feel like writing I pick one and write that part. Then oce I have all the main bits written in draft form I'll start editing and typing them up and connecting as I go. Sometimes instead of tea what you need is to find a secluded space where you can write without distraction, although you should keep the music with you at all times. __________________ "5. Plain Rings with RUNES on the inside. Avoid these like the PLAGUE. -Diana Wynne Jones Tough Guide To FantasyLand ...it's not much of a show if somebody doesn't suffer, and preferably at length. Suffering is beautiful in any case, and so is anguish; but as for loathing, and bitterness... I don't think they belong on the stage at all. - Isabella, I Gelosi

08-17-2003, 03:58 PM	#8
*Earniel* The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: N?n in Eilph (Belgium) Posts: 14,363	What can I say? I'm a big tea-drinker but no big writer. __________________ We are not things.

09-16-2003, 03:04 PM	#11
Arat-Falathion A'mael Dalharen Eldarele Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Norway Posts: 707	Oh, Finish that book already Lief!!!!! Tessar: When will we get another taste of your story? __________________ Atharon, where heroes are born. A constantly evolving forum rpg created by Lief Erikson, Falathion and its players.

08-15-2003, 04:16 PM	#3
*Tessar* Master and Wielder of the Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: IM IN UR POSTZ, EDITIN' UR WURDZ Posts: 6,433	yea, but now I need YOU to tell me to do it...

09-14-2003, 02:49 PM	#10
Lief Erikson Elf Lord Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Fountain Valley, CA Posts: 6,343	For several weeks, I also have been procrastinating on needed editing for my book. I'm close to the end of Part 2. It's been finished being written for a while, and I'm nearly finished with the first round of editing. I'm going to have to add one more chapter into the end too, because I leave one character in such a horrible condition that it would be unendurable to readers to have him stuck that way.

09-17-2003, 03:43 AM	#12
Lief Erikson Elf Lord Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Fountain Valley, CA Posts: 6,343	Yeah, Tessar. Not nice to keep us waiting . I'm also interested in reading more . I'm editing again, Falathion, I'm editing. Did five and a half chapters today and four yesterday. I'm back in the mood . I'll be done with the first complete editing of Part 2 this week, at this rate- there's only 30 pages left to do. After that, I'll be able to start reading Part 3 .

09-17-2003, 03:47 PM	#13
Arat-Falathion A'mael Dalharen Eldarele Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Norway Posts: 707	Ah! That is great to hear Lief! Keep it going! __________________ Atharon, where heroes are born. A constantly evolving forum rpg created by Lief Erikson, Falathion and its players.

09-27-2003, 01:57 PM	#14
Tanoliel Eccentric Chocolate Crow Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: The Emerald City--Seattle, WA Posts: 1,861	My harddrive is jammed full of stories and bits of things...and only a few of them are finished. Sometimes I feel like writing on something I already have and sometimes I just want to write something new--I guess it's best (for me at any rate) to just write and write and write no matter how it's supposed to fit together, and even if you're writing new things everyday. Often things will fit together in a while. I also never write stories in chronological order...I think I may have once. But the story was two and a half pages long... Editing...can be good. Can also be the devil. I like editing other people's writing.... Tea is also good...as are chocolate tea biscuits. Definetly a writing stimulant. Tano __________________ Wisdom for Short Attention Spans...Ozy and Millie. It rocks. Food Of The Gods: 3,7-dihydro-3,7-dimethyl-1H-purine-2,6-dione Feed Me.... Another Online Dwelling Place... "All right, I confess. It is my intention to comandeer a ship, pick up a crew in Tortuga, to rape, pillage, plunder and otherwise pilfer my weasely black guts out." -Captain Jack Sparrow "The trouble with unknown enemies is that they are so difficult to identify." -Amelia Peabody Emerson "Most people obey the orders of someone who is pointing a gun at their head." -A.P. Emerson

09-28-2003, 06:58 AM	#15
Ianua Hobbit Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: England Posts: 28	Find it better to stick to poetry, as i get my characters into sticky siutuations and find it difficult to get them out, and nigh on impossible to make it sound beleivable...all of my stories are short, most unfinished (longest was 20 chapters) or finished abruptly with the death of the main character. All this talk about tea is having a funny effect on my feet...they're slowley edging toward the kitchen..... __________________ Happy, Clappy, and annoying beyond belief ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Her Lips were red, Her looks were free, Her locks as yellow as gold, Her skin was as white as leprosy, The nightmare life-in-death was she, Who thicks man's blood with cold -Intrveiw with the vampire- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 'I can resist everything exept temptation'- Oscar Wilde

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