(no subject)

[nny]

I don't think I can be a decent writer until I learn to admit - to myself, more than anything - that I have feelings. I write about them in my journal and then lock them up somewhere, I don't experience them. Write what you know, and all, and I know nothing. Faking being human ain't gonna cut it if I want to affect people in any way.

I do want to write. None of my behaviour supports that, I realise that; I go out of my way to avoid writing, as a matter of fact. But some of my ideas - they're good enough that I'm scared of screwing them up, but they're also good enough that the idea of them not existing as a finished story upsets me. Possibly this is arrogance, but I think in some respects I could do with a little more of that.

'course, I'm twenty four and I'm pretty set in my ways. And I'm always vaguely depressed by all the amazing writers on LJ who're years younger than me, and that makes me think I'm past it and there's really no point. It's another of those self defencey things - making no effort so that no one notices when you fail.

Gonna have to write out that Gneil quote about making mistakes, somewhere large and visible. Gonna have to aim for the day when I don't have to read it any more, and I'm gonna have to do that by not just sticking it up on the wall and then ignoring it in the hopes it'll sink in by osmosis.

I dunno. You have any advice?

Comments

[bethbethbeth.livejournal.com]

Heh. I shouldn't laugh because you're clearly dealing with some serious issues, but I was just talking to a friend the other day about the babies on LJ who are already five times better writers than I'll ever be - and I was using you as my prime example. See, the thing is that I'm twice as old as you, which means that from my perspective, you and the eighteen year olds are basically the same age, you know?

In any case, even *I'm* not set in my ways yet, so if that's something you want to change in yourself, I'm guessing you can: it's not really a question of age at all.

[fahye.livejournal.com]

Buuuuuuullshit. Twenty-four is YOUNG, it's bloody young, and you're a very good writer with a healthy and original imagination. No. Shut your mouth. You are. And I don't know what you mean by set in your ways - even if you never do improve (doubtful), your technique is such that I would consider you eminently publishable, should you work at one thing for long enough. And you may only be a third or a quarter of the way through your life - don't write yourself off as unchangeable JUST yet :) It's naive and it's a little lazy.

Well, I managed to insult you but good. Um. Consider it tough love - I meant what I said about your technique, you know.

If it's what you really want then spill, spill, spill the words, and don't listen to anyone - especially not yourself - who tries to hold you back.

That's my advice.

PS - writing your feelings down and then locking them up is how you write, darling. You don't have to experience them. Disguise them as little as you can stand and lock them into prose. There's nothing fake there; or only as much fakeness as is required for the creation of fiction.

[darthrami.livejournal.com]

It's never too late.

[schiarire.livejournal.com]

I have reservations about the P.S. (because I suspect that it's not true for everyone), but on everything else, I'm with Freya.

I probably wouldn't have used such comprehensible English, though. I would have said something like, "Nny young! Plz to come out many words! Somebody set Nny up the self-doubt."

[blueeyedtigress.livejournal.com]

Brava! Extremely well-put, and oh, BTW, we're the same age. ;]

'Nny. Age means nothing. NOTHING. Once a person is an adult, age is an arbitrary number. You can argue that age = experience, but look how wildly experience varies from person to person! It's like the old saw about size -- what matters more is what you do with it: the techniques you learn to use, the practice-practice-practice that you make yourself get, the willingness to grow in your abilities, the openness to constructive criticism (and to praise!)

There! See? Writing is love/sex/relationships. ;]

[gramarye1971]

To get better as a writer, you have to write. It's as simple as that. Why do you think I keep working on my Tuesday Book Reviews? They keep my brain from going to sleep when I'm at work, but they also force me to boil down my ideas into something simple and concise.

I've been going back and looking at the Crossover Monstrosity lately, and I can tell you that I've been cringing at some of the things I wrote in there. Overly elaborate descriptions, thesaurus abuse, repetitive sentences, and the like. Stuff I'm kicking myself for now. But people still tell me it's good writing, after all that -- I just got a very nice e-mail review yesterday, for that matter. The only way I could get better at writing was to write, and post my things for other people to pick at them, and thereby improve my way of expressing myself.

I pay my rent by copyediting, and it's amazing how deep the depths of bad writing can go. But it's also amazing how simple it can be to switch sentence order and revise punctuation and make that bad writing into better writing, or to change a few words around and make that better writing into quite decent writing. People seem to be bad at writing because they don't do it enough, and don't get proper feedback when they do. One of the things that really bothers me about Books Five and Six of the Harry Potter series is that it's painfully clear that JKR didn't have a good editor -- she didn't have someone to tell her that entire sentences and even chapters simply weren't necessary, that she doesn't need to abuse adverbs, and so on. She can write, yes, but without proper feedback, her wordcrafting doesn't improve.

You want to get better at writing. That's the best start you can have. So write, damn it, and talk over your writings with someone. *holds up a hand to volunteer*

[skygiants]

Thirded. Possibly with even less coherency, but - yes.

(And at 21, I have days of 'omg everyone else is so good so tiny people are being brilliant all around me I have WASTED MY LIFE'. But it's not true. And I know it's not true. And if it's not true for me, I know for a fact that it is not true for you. A few extra years are a blessing and not a curse. You do learn things from them. Even if the emotions get locked up and set away, you still experience things, and learn things, and then you can lord it over the little ones and claim wisdom!)

[fahye.livejournal.com]

*nods* Ji's got a point, it's not true for everyone. But what you - Nny - said about not experiencing your emotions: that resonated with me. I experience my own selectively. But I don't think that has to impact my ability to write, as I said.

[maggiebloome.livejournal.com]

Being in more or less the same boat, if a few years behind, I can only tell you that resolving to do shit tomorrow isn't working out for me so far.

As far as motivational Gneil things go, I have resolved to find a comics store and buy the Sandman issue title "Fear Of Flying" ...tomorrow.

[villainny.livejournal.com]

It's actually taken me this long to respond because I've kinda been in shock. Seriously. I got your story for the go_exchange written kinda late, and part of that was the arthritis, but a huge part of it was the fact that OMG I'd actually heard of you, and I respect you, and I was utterly terrified. So. Kind of an enormous thank you for the ego boost, and for the words of wisdom. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. :D

[villainny.livejournal.com]

All of which I'm hopeless and/or hopelessly inexperienced at. XD

I do know age means nothing. It's just another in a long line of excuses not to get any writing done. ;)

[blueeyedtigress.livejournal.com]

As am I. So what, really, about actual Real Life experience -- I know you understand complex romantic relationships because of your RPG work with copinggoggles.

So. To drag my point (kicking and screaming) back to my original analogy: how about approaching all your writing the same way you approach your RPG writing? Maybe it would help to compose for yourself a Successful Author Persona, and get into her headspace when you sit in from of the computer to write?

Hell, maybe I'll try that myself. Glad I thought of it ...... ;]

[vimeslady.livejournal.com]

"I'm always vaguely depressed by all the amazing writers on LJ who're years younger than me, and that makes me think I'm past it and there's really no point."

That's the scariest thing I read in ages!

*Hides under bed*

Seriously, I'm considerably more than twice your age, and I really hope that doesn't mean I'm 'past it'. I know very well that you can write, because I've seen some of the great stuff you've written. I really don't have any advice about motivation, though. I wrote like crazy for about a year, and now have written nothing for the past four years.

What is the Gneil quote?