October 2021's Writer Support Thread

No worries and no pressure. Being open about vulnerabilities has value, to show how similar all our experiences really are at the core, but it’s also a level of exposure that may not be right for someone like you who has a natural predilection to privacy about her work. Everybody’s got different processes, and all that really matter at the end are the results they yield.

However, I’d argue popularity is actually an objective metric, in that it’s easily quantifiable and not necessarily up for debate. I can run the numbers and tell you with absolute certainty that, say, Trees Don’t Tell is less popular than War for Magincia. But what I cannot say is that War is more successful. Because only one person in the world can define what success means for their story, and that’s the person who wrote it. If it set out to do what you wanted it to do, even if all you wanted was for it to exist at all, it’s a success. Anyone who claims otherwise can go screw, because they’re straight-up incorrect.

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I really enjoyed reading that thread @hustlertwo! Like @Eiwynn I’m mulling over what I’d want to add that might be of help but it was really thoughtful and gave me a lot to think about.

Halfway through October, I’m so nearly - nearly! at the end of Royal Affairs Chapter 6. There’s a lot of character development for each major character, and plot leading into the latter half of the game to juggle. But it’s getting there…

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I’ve started writing Relics 3, the last entry in the trilogy (obviously). Looking to finish the Prologue by the end of the month, but I might not make it: it’s quite a long and involved one this time.

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I definitely feel like I’m missing something.

I’ve spent much of the past two weeks designing a system for my day job, which involves loads of abstract thought, figuring out all the conceivable scenarios and then mapping out the flow of data, the code required and just staring at the screen and mapping out the process in my head. I’ll walk round the house talking to myself about it, I’ll think about it in the shower and when I go to sleep. All in all, like the nerd I am, I have enjoyed figuring out this puzzle.

Then I sit down to write, squeeze out a sentence or two and my mind wanders - I just can’t get into the flow of it. I know what I want to do - the feel of the next paragraph, the flow of the next section, the ideas and emotions I want to convey. But I just can not get into any rhythm of writing the words.
I’m a lot better than I was (where I wouldn’t write anything), or spend ages trying to craft the perfect sentence, word by word. Now I try and just write something and then come back to it later.

In 10 months I have written about 10,000 words, which is not that bad. But considering the amount of time I have actually sat down to write, it should probably be 100,000.
I mean, I just wrote these 250 words in 5 minutes… Why can’t I do that on the damn page?

If you’ve got any spare motivation, please share!

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Artificial deadline? Game Jam? Think of it like University programming assignment that is due at midnight at a certain date. And then, just turn something in. :yum: (Because you can’t edit without a first draft. :pray: Good luck. :four_leaf_clover: )

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Indeed. I set myself the goal of a presentable WiP by the end of the month. It’s still possible if I get my head into it.

I suspect that deep down there’s a feeling that I’m not a good enough writer, and so ultimately there’s no point in putting in the effort because it’ll never be good enough. So I find it hard to consciously push on.
There’s probably a quote out there along the lines of ‘success is continuing to do something that you’re no good at, until you are’

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Imagine if a non-coder says they’ll never be good at coding, so why bother trying. :innocent: What would we tell them? Sometimes, you just have to write some code (copy from example if you must), then trial-and-error your way until you understand what’s happening. I think the same can apply in the other direction. We think a story should have certain key elements and have beautiful vocab, amazing turn of phrases (when I see Anathema’s writing :star_struck: ), leitmotifs, symbolism, callbacks, foreshadow, build-ups, etc. etc. But we still gotta write something and trial-and-error our way until we understand what’s working. If you enjoy refactoring code to achieve ultimate efficiency/elegance, you have to at least have some code to begin with, spaghetti or not. :joy:
:handshake:
(and maybe try to set realistic expectation of our craft as beginners; I think if you read a lot, you’ll already have better influences to learn from than me :blush: )

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Sharing motivation picture

IMG-20211019-WA0000

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Honestly, this looks like an impossibility :sweat_smile:

It reflects feeling of a lot of us

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Ecstatic to report that I have finally managed to update the demo of The Flower of Fairmont to version 0.2. Granted, I did this by compiling the scene files to HTML using the compile tool that comes with CS (not through CSIDE) and packaging it as a ZIP file for itch. But it works!

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@Hazel

Are you having upload issues with dashindon’s? I’m not even sure how to access your demo now… by downloading the zip and then unpacking it as if it was a standalone onto my hdd?

Yeah, I was having recurring problems with the write permissions on the scene files. While I try to sort that out, I was working with HTML files. The itch version should be playable in the browser, just within the container of the itch.io website. That’s the only difference.

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I’ve always enjoyed the story about how Stephen King threw the manuscript for Carrie, his first novel, in the trash. He was a highschool teacher living in a trailer and wrote it in their laundry room, using their washing machine as a desk. His wife, Tabitha, dug it out and sent it in without telling him, and it sold. Things have gone well for him since.

I think suffering yourself is the hardest part of writing: your words, your own company. If you don’t find yourself insufferable, you might be too extroverted to write! Anyway, you might have the loathing down. Sometimes loathing is what drives me to create, because the thing I’m looking for doesn’t exist and won’t unless I make it. It seems to me that consistency, which you’ve demonstrated over 10mos, is the failing point of most would-be writers. If you’ve got that, you’re golden. Motivation? Inspiration? I say save that shit for the painters and songwriters who can get through the creation act, end to end, in a single sitting. It doesn’t map onto something you have to show up for over a year. Silence your inner critic with action.

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I’ve been working on chapter 6 yesterday! Im also at 16 thousand and something ( can’t remember the exact number) worlds I’m a little bit stuck though, writing a scene from the cannon antagonists perspective. It’s proving just a little bit difficult.

Speaking of chapter 6, I’ve found a way too make it work has a “villains chapter” that is a chapter primary told from the antagonists perspective, dispite starting from the protagonists perspective! That way is the simple cut!

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my moping has ceased; i have put pen to paper again

hold on for the wip thread in…a couple weeks. this one’s a doozy

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Is anyone gearing up with a NaNoWriMo mindset for November? I’m basically treating this coming weekend as the start of NaNo, with a goal of finishing Talon City in November, which will entail about 40k-50k words?

Is anyone doing things differently in November to help you focus on a NaNo push? I’m blocking off mornings from 6:30AM to 8:00AM M-F (before I go to work), taking 2 days off work (one in the first half of the month and one in the second half of the month), giving up watching football, and taking my high schooler to the library on weekends whenever she asks because it’s so deliciously quiet with no Schnauzers around.

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I’m going to do NaNo, but I’m not sure if I’ll change my habits other than checking in with other NaNo participating friends. I wish I could clone myself to carve out more time, but alas…

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I’m giving up video games for November. Currently rushing to finish Assassin’s Creed: Liberation before the start of the month to clear the decks! Goal is to have a new demo up by the end of November (I’ve been making better progress than anticipated this month, so I’m pretty confident I’ll achieve that).

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Giving up video games sounds like a wise idea if that’s a time sink for you. Since you mention that, I think I need to delete FB, Twitter, and all games from my phone for November. Risk, Battleheart, and Plants v. Zombies have all taken enough of my time as it is.

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