lupac's post on my Space race thread got me thinking about this but also Someone has as their sig a great quotation "the only difference between a writer and wanting to right is the width of a postage stamp"
So it got me thinking what is the 12 step program to acutally being a writer.
My contribution is #1 admitting you are writing something for "real".
I hate admitting to doing something I won't succeed at, so before my last post I'd not admitted I had such an ambition as a comprehensive Space epic alot like Kim Stanley Robinson but with like a GRR Martin Twist. (Near Future not far future if you're wondering)
So anyway what else helps someone work through the being a "writer" struggle or am I alone in my struggle against my Left Brain.
Posted by Silver3 (Member # 2174) on :
#2 BIC
Posted by cvgurau (Member # 1345) on :
# 3. For the first draft, gag the inner editor, tie him in chains, stuff him into an old (but watertight) foot locker, and cast him into the deepest depths of the ocean, where he shall remain until said first draft is done.
Posted by Calligrapher (Member # 2985) on :
#4 Feel the rejection to the core of your existence. Admit defeat; then bounce back.
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
#5. Write what you want to read.
Posted by Elan (Member # 2442) on :
#6 Get out of your own way, and let the characters help shape the story.
[This message has been edited by Elan (edited January 27, 2006).]
Posted by Elan (Member # 2442) on :
Actually, when you mentioned a 12-step program for writers, I thought step #1 was going to say: We admitted we were powerless over our compulsion to write; that our personal lives had become unmanageable as every waking thought became obsessed with the characters talking in our heads.
Posted by Matt Lust (Member # 3031) on :
That definitely is a far powerful statement than mine
Posted by Kolona (Member # 1438) on :
#7 Remember: Grammar is your friend.
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
7b Corrolary: Grammar is also your relative.
Posted by Kolona (Member # 1438) on :
Einstein did well with relativity.
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
That's because he listened to his grammar.
Posted by Matt Lust (Member # 3031) on :
WoW :P
Posted by 'Graff (Member # 2648) on :
8. Write, revise, receive rejection, repeat.
8a. Try not to cry about it too much.
----------- Wellington
Posted by Isaiah13 (Member # 2283) on :
#9 Learn the rules, but don't let them rule your writing.
Posted by x__sockeh__x (Member # 3069) on :
10) Write what you know, unless you're planning to do some research.
Posted by yanos (Member # 1831) on :
11 Critiquers are neither your friends nor your enemies but are always to be appreciated.
Posted by cvgurau (Member # 1345) on :
11a. If one person comments (on a character, storyline, setting, inacuracy, etc), it's an opinion. If five people comment, it's a fact.
Posted by Matt Lust (Member # 3031) on :
did we ever get to 12?
Survivor I know you've got something witty to add.
Posted by Clove (Member # 3125) on :
#12 Admit that there's no such thing as writer's block. It's a myth. If you can't write something good, then write something bad.
[This message has been edited by Clove (edited December 18, 2009).]
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
No, my sister (and my other sister) wouldn't like it if I started making fun of 12 step programs...and if you play it straight, the writer's 12-step would have to be oriented towards breaking our addiction to writing.
And while I'll push a lot of bounds, posting a straight line aimed at getting writers to give up writing...I'm not going to do that anywhere, least of all here.
:P