An interesting question for some you story writing folks out there. I got an question for some of you guys. Whenever I start a story, and get to the 1st/2nd paragraph I start to get frustrated and begin to give up, mainly because I hate checking my spelling and my grammar and checking If the story makes sense, and so I do line by line. Instead of just making 5 sentences In a paragraph. Instead, 2 sentences, and a line and than a other 2 sentences. I dunno, What I should do with this problem; or try sticking to creating a story putting 5/6 lines of words. In a paragraph trying to force the frustration to back off.
My advice? Stop checking your work and just write it. You can edit after you're done. Remember that editing is important too, but don't let it frustrate you. I personally love editing my work so that part of it all doesn't bother me that much.
Seconded. Some people like to edit as they go along. You aren't one of those of people, and that's perfectly OK. Do what works for you. I'm not really sure what you mean here. Are you trying to make your paragraphs have a certain number of lines?
Just write it and don't stress about it too much. Eventually you get to a point where spelling and grammar are a non-issue in your first draft. As for passage length, don't worry about that either. It's not exactly report writing where each paragraph is used to present one individual idea and round it out neatly. You can have as many or as few lines as you need to get your point across.
Oh my. What you're doing doesn't sound like any fun at all. I agree with the others -- just write. Force yourself to write 10 or 20 or whatever number of pages without editing a single thing. Some people don't edit at all until they're done with the entire novel. Some do chapters or scenes. But whatever you choose, don't go line by line as you write. You'll sap your writing mojo.
I don't understand why you want to write. If you can't get any further than the first or second paragraph before giving up, what makes you think you'd make a writer? As for making sure the story makes sense - it's such a basic requirement that if you can't hack that you don't stand a chance. You cant use a formula for constructing paragraphs, specially if the whole point is to make the writing easier on yourself. A story needs what it needs and it has to flow. You won't get that if you've constructed a scaffolding to hang your words on. The frustration you feel is maybe telling you that you're trying to commit to something that's not for you. You're already looking for short cuts and that's not going to do your writing any favours and it's certainly not fair on your readers.
Screw if it makes sense or is spelled right. Just write the darned thing out and worry about that stuff later. Better to have a completed draft that is filled with mistakes than a fraction of a draft that is all nicely polished but will never be finished.
Follow these simple rules: Sit down quietly and get yourself in a peaceful frame of mind. Think about what you want to say before you write. Do this for at least 10 minutes. Make out a few notes in longhand if necessary. Start tapping it out on the computer. You must not stop to revise anything on your screen before you have written 250 words minimum. You must not turn off until you have at least 250 words down. After a week or so of this, increase the minimum to 500 words. If you can't stick to this, maybe writing is not for you.
Try some drug that helps relax and loosen or induce a flow, just perhaps to learn the feeling, and then induce it yourself later. Imagine a person vomiting energy.
Get out of the mindframe that what you write has to be perfect - first shot out. It doesn't, in fact in can be misspelled, lovely gibberish - as long as it's down on paper/computer screen - then like the others said, you can always go back over it. Just don't sweat it. It's like painting - the first few layers are awful - but only through crazy layers can clarity come.
What I mean Is, I start to do this sometimes. Just an example story; A knight, join ventured onto the scaled and vamp hills hunting down a mystic dragon. Than he went onto the mountain, beginning. So yeah.
Thanks for the advice, and I think he means some kind've drug that helps you smoothen up, (drugs are also medicine/we are not talking about weed and his 2 drug brothers) I try that when I start a story, I try to make sure I can stay focused, not care about my spelling and grammar, until I reach 250 words and not delete the story. I hopefully force that to happen. And, I'll do a big edit when I'm full stamina to type fast.
it doesn't matter what kind of drug it is... anything that makes you not feel as you naturally do should be avoided, imo... and that includes alcohol...
Yeah, I'm not in favor of anything that alters the way your brain works (with the exception of psychiatric drugs, of course). But as to the writing, it does seem that you're just not one of those writers who can edit as they go. Some can, some can't. So work on getting the thoughts and ideas down first and then going back and cleaning up, and see how that works.
Welcome! You have entered the world of being a writer, and these feelings of frustration will not be going away. Best to accept them and heed the above advice. All of it is sound. If you aren't one of those edit on the go writers, don't try and be one. This may be a good time to experiment with your process. It's a trial an error thing. Can you write a short in one go without editing and feel good about it? This helps sustain the emotional feeling you're trying to capture, but also exhausts the creative reservoir. Or are you like me? I write in spurts. Try to keep it to 15-20 minute sessions at a time, and I make to sure always end the session with ideas and juices still bubbling in my brain. That way, when I pick the pen back up again, it's not so hard to get back into the flow, for those ideas simmered in my break and, sometimes, produced a few directions I wasn't considering while actually writing. This also works for me, because if I try and write something in one sitting, I usually deplete my creativity by the time I'm a few pages in, or in your case, a few paragraphs in. Then, the rest of the story feels flat and boring and stiff, and the characters seem like talking heads, and the setting lacks color, and all my skies are cloudy and a gloomy gray. But, and let me stay on these latter feelings I've described for a bit, because no matter what your process is, you will run into these things, especially writing the Novel. It's normal for a writer to doubt themselves, to experience a sense of disconnection. One minute, the idea is there, and you can feel it, see it, and know it. The next minute, it's all gone, and you're wondering why you even started writing in the first place. You think your sentences and words suck, the idea is shit, and you begin to convince yourself no one is going to want to read this story, anyway (In my case, this is usually true lol). That's okay! And completely normal! You're human, and these are the moments that separate the real writer from the hopeless romantic. We push through these times and put strength in the faith we believe our writing will come out alright on the other side. Besides, there's always revisions, and everyone on this site knows great writing comes from re-writing. Who cares if the first draft is shit? Get the damn ideas out, put them down, organize them later, give them life later, spice them up, prune them, clip them, add to the story later. For now, just finish the piece. That's the journey. You either have the want to deal with those periods of mania, or you don't. But, something tells me you have the want, otherwise you wouldn't be trying to do something about it. I know, for me, I took myself a little bit too seriously when writing. And it took me an even longer time to discover I could have fun, that everything doesn't have to be perfect, that I don't have to feel a certain way all the time--living inside a dream where that magical feeling of romanticized inspiration is the only thing fueling my writing. Nonsense. Make it fun. Try different approaches. Write about the things you love, and hate, and want to kill, or want to save. Write about mysterious worlds and faraway lands where winds blow with an electricity that tingles the skin senseless, and the trees breathe as we do. Try traditional structure, or turn paragraphs and sentences and scene breaks on their heads. Keep it interesting. It'll make trudging through those periods of doubt and frustration much easier, while strengthening your writing, for you'll be striking the page with lightning. In the end, you're writing for yourself. So, be yourself, and have fun.
Thanks for the large advice, I red It and you told be about being more of a junior writer. I have red many stories, all are great; but I hate mistakes, thats why I have this frustating nightmare to writing. I guess? If you make mistakes, your trying?
Mistakes come with the territory, large or small, no matter if you're the novice writer just putting his first sentence down to paper, or the professional with twenty or more short story sales, and a published novel. With experience, your mistakes will become mistakes of content, rather than grammatical errors. That's not to say professionals don't make grammatical errors. I just recently read a story by Anton Chekhov, and I found three sentences that were impossible, containing present particples that could not go together in one action. But what I mean is that you'll begin to start seeing your mistakes regarding a character's voice, or plot sequence, or a misplaced scene, or a scene that shouldn't even be in the story, or sentences that have nothing to do with the story, or stray outside of the POV or tone or feel of the piece. You'll start seeing the original direction for the story was not the right direction, and that you need to walk down a different path. No one will ever write perfect all the time, especially in a rough draft. So, welcome the mistakes. The perfection comes through hard-work and revision. Good writing is re-writing.
