The Insecure Writers’ Support Group, set up by Alex Cavanaugh, is a monthly chance for those of us who describe ourselves as writers to put our insecurities out in the open, and see that others feel the same.
One piece of writing advice that I try to apply is that it’s important to write consistently, regardless of mood. ‘If I waited until I felt inspired to write, I’d never write’. For that reason, I try and write something every day, and try and get something finished most days, even if it’s something small and relatively inconsequential.
The downside to this is that often, when I apply my rear end to a chair and sit in front of a keyboard, nothing comes out. So, what I’m trying to do at the moment, is to make myself more aware of the various writing tasks I have ahead of me.
I could probably be better at this (creating more thorough and complete lists, for example) but I’m finding that, when my mind is unproductive I can do the dull, monotonous tasks such as searching through the web for stories that might turn out to be interesting, and leave the creative stuff for later.
By contrast, when I’m feeling energetic and full of ideas I can speed through the creative stuff, throwing ideas down on the page, and try and make some sort of rational sense of them later on.
All of this is the theory at least, though I’m far from mastering it at the present.
As always, I feel like everything I learn is a reminder of how very far the road to where I want to be really is. But it’s a journey worth taking.
SciFiFootball 
It’s a bitch alright.
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Yep, it can be pretty damn annoying. Grrrr.
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Very true! I think sometimes we have to refill the creative well, and it’s okay to have a time where we’re not writing as much.
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Exactly. Even when its something we love, we need a break from time to time.
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It can be so hard to write sometimes! I have to force myself to get the words down at least half the time, but I set a minimum goal of 1000 words a day and whether I feel like it or not, I make myself to sit down and type. Quite often, the act of writing itself inspires me and I end up exceeding the limit even on days where I didn’t feel like writing at all! But I do sometimes take breaks between projects, and the planning is something I procrastinate a lot on. I think it’s because drafting’s my favourite part of the process!
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Yeah, I find that a fair bit as well. Sometimes its easier just to do a bit of plotting – moving things arund and developing vague ideas – than adding new stuff.
1000 words most days is a pretty decent level though.
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I’ve heard from lots of writers that you have to just write even when there’s nothing flowing and each word is just agony. I think it’s just plain discipline to do that, and sometimes I’m out of it. However, knowing others get stuck like that does encourage me that I’m not the only one with those tough days, or weeks or whatever. it seems to happen to most of us, so I find comfort in that. Thanks for visiting – it was nice to meet you.
Tina @ Life is Good
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No problem – I can find sometimes that what I write when I’m in a funk turns out to be a disjointed mess, but even a disjointed mess is easier to sort out than a blank page!
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