The biggest problem with my writing...

[Orrex]

is that I’m so damned eloquent that no one can understand me.
(wait for laughter)

Okay, that’s not my biggest problem. In fact, what most derails my writing is my apparent and utter inability to function without a deadline. I can produce works of reasonably good quality in a very brief period, such as if someone says “I need those ten pages in three hours,” but if no time frame is given, then those same ten pages will take me until the literal end of the universe. I've tried setting deadlines for myself (a la, "I'll finish these 50 pages by the end of the week") but to no avail.

I’ve also found that if I’m working on someone’s behalf, such as when I’m editing/co-writing a story for a friend, I can get the job done in a fraction of the time that a similar project of my own would take (even just an equivalent rewrite of my own work).

What’s the deal with that? I’m not a particular slouch when it comes to overall ability; in previous fiction workshops my writing was (to judge by grades and reader response) of at least the same quality as that of other writers. But god damn it if I just can’t summon the longitunal staying-power to see my work through to the end.

Really, I feel most sorry for the readership at large, which is denied the pleasure of reading my poignant wisdom.
(wait for laughter)

Does anyone else suffer from a similarly stupid brain-fart?

Any insights will be much appreciated.

[gmoney]

1. Suffer, yes. Insight, no.

"She would of been a good woman," The Misfit said, "if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life."

-- Flannery O'Connor, "A Good Man is Hard to Find."

[deutsey]

2. That describes me to a proverbial T.

For a while I had developed a routine where I wrote for about an hour first thing every morning. It didn't matter if what I wrote was crap or not. I wrote it anyway. The routine worked rather well; I actually salvaged some gems from what I wrote and could build them into something worthwhile. I found the whole process also built its own momentum; writing wasn't a chore anymore, but something I just did every morning as part of my day.

Then things got screwy at work along with some family emergencies, and I fell out of practice.

Now I'm back to where you are, producing things for other people under deadline pressure, but largely neglecting my own writing.

I think with this latest personal project I'm working on, I'm going to get back into the daily ritual of writing first thing every morning.

[oneighty]

3. Biggest problem

with this forum is few visit it, few read it and few comment.

It is difficult to draw attention to one's writing efforts.

Write something every day good or not good. Keep your thoughts active.

BTW, how about a sample? Do not fear throw it out there for us to see.

180

[Orrex]

5. I was afraid that someone would ask that

How can I languish in my tortured introspection if I let others peek under the lid?

Oh, well--I don't have anything with me right now, but I'll try to put something up tonight.

Thanks for the tips, too.

[oneighty]

6. I asked Skinner

if I could have my own forum. I will call it 'Oneighty's Forum' (180's) for short. I will only allow people in that will praise my efforts. It will be so cool. I think I will have two members counting myveryownself.

Yes.

180

PS. I have a lot of excellent stories in here.

[punpirate]

4. I believe it was Richard Rhodes...

... who said that one of his editors told him, early in his career, that the first rule of writing is: "apply ass to chair."

The message in that is more or less unmistakable. :)

[sybylla]

7. One thing that has helped me produce regularly is a writer's group

I used to shun them because I could never find people in them who I thought had the skill to analyze my work. Though I have now, a secondary benefit of being in it is that I now have a deadline.

Once a month I meet with three other writers with similar aspirations and skill levels. Everyone must produce regularly though there are some allowances for writer's block but each should have something to share even if it's merely story ideas or a plot that needs fleshing. The regular date has really kept me at it, motivating me to work harder at putting out more and better stuff.

So I would suggest even a writer's group of mediocre talent might help with pushing you to produce material even if you get nothing else out of it.

[Panda1]

9. I too shunned them

Now I'm actively looking for a new one. I think my ego got in the way. I'm not as far along in the process as most of you seem to be.
I have trouble with the "ass in chair" aspect and keep a lot of notebooks.
I just know I'll be brilliant if I ever get over myself. ;)

[OldLeftieLawyer]

8. Try this

When I had to start working on the edit of my first book, I froze. Literally crawled into bed, pulled the covers over my head, called my agent and told her to give the money back.

She hissed at me, "Don't even JOKE about that."

Then, she very sensibily advised me to look at "one line at a time."

So I called my editor at HC, and told her that my agent was being mean to me. She told me not to worry, that she'd be really happy to edit it if I didn't think I could do it.

I had no idea they'd spoken about this even before I called - they're two total pros who'd seen it before.

But, what I learned was what my agent said: See it as one line at a time.

If you write one line, you've written one line. It's sometimes all one can do.

In the end, of course, it's a matter of how much you really want to do it, coupled with self-discipline. That's all, really, and it's surmountable. But, it's up to you, and, unless you've got an agent and an editor you can call from under the covers, I would suggest you decide that you want to do it. Or not.

The bitch of it is that no one else will ever do it for you. My editor lied.

[WCGreen]

10. i have found over the years....

that if I am passionate about something, it just flows...

Maybe for your non deadline projects, you are not that invested, trying too hard to get something that might not be there.....Just a thought

[petgoat]

11. Is your problem procrastination or perfectionism?

Either one can be attacked through deadlining.

Another way to impose discipline: austerity measures. Cheap beer or
cheap shaving cream or no TV or (horrors!) no internet until you finish
your task. And when you do, reward yourself--go to that movie, buy good
beer, buy that coffee grinder, whatever.

[Shipwack]

12. I'm similar in work habits...

... I really enjoy being against a deadline. That's partly from the thrill of having "gotten away" with goofing off for a spell and then "pulling it off" at the last minute. Which, of course, makes me superior to all those boring types that work diligently through out the time allotted (suckers!).

For me, editing someone else's work is easy, too. Why should it not be? I didn't write it, so obviously it's not perfect. As opposed to my scribbles, which are transcribed right from the mouth of a Muse.

(In reality, I'm of two minds about my writing; half of me thinks I've written "Citizen Kane", while the other half knows I'm a talentless hack.)

[petgoat]

13. " having "gotten away" with goofing off "

Well "not writing" is an essential part of the writing for me. It can
be very frustrating when I've spent my entire weekend "not writing"
and on Sunday night I'm finally ready to begin--but I have to work on Monday.

For me "not writing" is not goofing off. For one thing it's often so
unpleasant I get into hassles with family members in this period
before I know what to do. In motivational terms it's a "piling up of
obligations" before I do the work.

--"editing someone else's work is easy"--

I've found that too. Editing my own work has gotten to be easy too.

--"half of me thinks I've written "Citizen Kane", while the other half
knows I'm a talentless hack."--

Norman Mailer talks about the journey of the ego from the dungeon to
the tower and back, I think in "Advertisements for Myself". It's just
part of it. You need both minds to be good. You need the mind that
an recognize the significance and value of your work and generate the
enthusiasm to keep at it, and you need the mind that can recognize its
shortcomings and work to improve the work. We're all schizos on this
bus--God bless us!

[tiptoe]

14. Could be genetic...and since you sound desperate, try this...

(...that is, if you know your birth data, including whether your delivery was "natural", i.e., non labor-induced or -delayed, such that "time" on birth certificate reflects a "natural delivery time").

My Free Chart

Then refer to Michel Gauquelin's "The Scientific Basis of Astrology"
and findings of different professional occupational temperaments being indicated (not caused!) by different planets and their positions relative to "key angles" in the birth chart.

Note: It is illogical to draw individual inferences from aggregate analysis (...Some doctors choose to ignore this when self-interest serves them to do so) ...Plus, the author apparently committed suicide in the 1990s.

;)