Oh man, this thread.

I'm not a good writer but I really wanted to be after this summer and I came up with a good system to just generally improve my life. Next to my computer I've got my calendar and some highlighters and I mark on what I've done that day. Different colours for Studying, Gym, Writing, Cleaning. Let me see my productivity at a glance. I was working on a few stories and, like Palindrome, I must reread a sentence a bazillion times before I write the next few but I was writing like 200-500 words 5 days in a week.

Then Black Friday came and I got Crusader Kings 2, and I can't get out.

Guys, I need help, please.

 

This. So much this.

See above. I think the best remedy for this, honest to god, is some good whiskey ( or your inferior drink of choice). I find that, whenever I'm stuck, there are two things that tempt the muse back -- alcohol and reading books or articles on story construction.

I'm not sure if the second one will work for you (I can suggest quite a few, if you want to try but don't have the material), but the first seems to work for us all.

 

Bump because I just did a similar video on my writing process:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEsaRI6liDg

I feel like people watching this video will have new insight into why my updates are so slow XD

 

That video is a beautiful thing and, I think, a little more attainable for normies like me. It's interesting to see you iterating towards a form of words that you feel is best in the situation.

Purely out of interest I did the same when I decided I was going to write for something or other:

[yt]wp28vRu27kM[/yt]

Apparently my style is 'slowly'.

 

I look at those videos, and I can't help but try and parse out the story

 

I used to handwrite everything. I would buy a big five subject notebook and would use the first section to plot out my fanfic, chapter by chapter. I would the rest to write the actual fanfic. Once I would finish a chapter, I would pull up google docs and begin to type it all in, editing as I go. After I finished typing and editing the chapter, I would give it a few days and come back, edit again and then post. Repeat.

I have since changed my method of writing, that got a bit too bogged down in the editing process, although it helped to churn out good quality fics. A problem arose though that I would lose my original notebook for weeks at a time, or if I did find it I wouldn't have the motivation to actually get it out and write. Now, I just straight write into google drive docs, and I even have the docs app on my phone so I can still write when I don't have the motivation to boot up my computer and get online.

 

Don't you feel it easier to write your ideas out, and then rewrite the parts that isn't good?

Btw, when are you publishing the story?

I usually make a form of numbered list of things that have to be in the text, and when gradually replace the items in the list with the content. After I've written out everything, I read through the text and replace words, remove and add passages etc.

Tl:dr: I begin with a list and let it step by step grow into the finished product.

 

Quick question.

In dialogue, should titles be capitalised? For example, in this block of text should the bolded part be capitalised?

 

If you want to read something motivational, I just read this blogpost again and like always it does wicked things with me. It's aptly titled How do you do it?

 

I reread material I've written up until current, and then rant at my beta for a couple of hours before finally writing a few sentences. Then I say fuck it, play on my PC/PS3-4/whatever for the next two days and finally ram in about 3-4k words when I've got no vacation time leftover.

 

How do I write?

I'm still trying to figure that one out, myself.