Some of these are things I've learned through trial and error, and other things just come naturally.
1. I don't ever share my story with anyone until I have written the last word of the first draft. This one has been one of those trial and error things. And I have only recently figured it out, and so I have lost a lot of good stories and hard work to the problem of sharing it with others. What usually happens is I get excited about something I'm working on, so I want to share it. I love it when people compliment me on my writing, and that can only happen if they read what I've written, so I share. Except, while they do say good things about my writing, they usually have ideas and thoughts about what I should do with the story, and try to interpret things, which in turn changes how I thought about things and. Other times they take one thing they read, one thread that I hadn't finished writing about, and then they make fun of me for it for weeks and weeks, until I can't stand to think about the story anymore and toss it.
2. I don't listen to any kind of suggestions, except from Artemis (my inner editor who I talk to like a crazy person. Seriously, my inner editor is a real persona and she can be pretty mean sometimes, but she always steers me in the right direction.) Usually the suggestions of others don't mesh with my original idea, but they sound cool anyway so I add them to the story and then they multiply like plot bunnies until the story is so overloaded that I scrap the whole thing.
3. I pick one method of writing and I stick with it for the whole story. Sometimes that means I'm writing with pen and paper, sometimes with my laptop or my desktop, and sometimes that means I'm forcing myself to not be frustrated with the crappy keyboard on my phone or iPad. Either way, the story gets put onto paper (literal and figurative) the same way for the whole story. It is my way of setting my brain up for writing, because I don't really have a specific place I write. So as soon as I pick up my laptop or iPad, I know it's time to write.
4. I write when the inspiration strikes. This kind of means I'm a fickle writer. When I'm in the middle of planning for one project and a brilliant idea strikes me, then I have to immediately sit down and start working on that. This is something I need to change, because I need to figure out a way to finish something.
5. I don't write anything plot related down. Ever. It's hard for me to get the right words down no paper, because I don't create the stories in my head with words. It's all a movie up in here, and translating that to the written word can be challenging. So when it comes to plot and things, I usually leave it up in my head, where I can understand it better, and just let the writing flow. If this means I forget a few minor details, that's fine. But so far, I'm pretty good at remembering everything.
6. When I'm working on a writing project, I don't read, I don't watch movies or TV, and I try my darnedest to stay away from music videos. Because all of those things are idea machines for me, and when I'm trying to work on something, getting more ideas is usually not a good idea.
7. When I'm looking for story ideas, the first place I look is K-Pop music videos. This may seem kind of silly, but a lot of times my greatest ideas have come from a music video. I usually take the basic idea, or maybe create an individual scene from the video, and then my brain takes it in a completely different direction so that the final product is usually completely unrecognizable when put next to the idea or video.
8. I agonize over character names. I have been told that it's okay to have placeholder names for while I'm writing the first draft, but to me, names have a lot of importance in the character's development, and if they don't have the perfect name to begin with, then their development is stunted considerably. I have two characters that I have had to change their names for various reasons, and I still struggle to call them by their new name, instead of their
9. While I'm writing, I try to listen to things that won't interrupt my writing (like k-pop). My current favorite writing sound is MyNoise's Flying Fortress, set on The Real Thing, which is really REALLY loud, but relaxing to me, and usually creates the perfect mood for writing. But occasionally I have to work a little harder to get in the right mood, and I'll listen to specific playlists I have like "Fighting" or "Romance" or "Depressing".
10. When I'm writing, I sometimes forget to eat. Or I decide not to eat so I can write instead. It's not really healthy, but specifically when I'm in class and only have an hour for lunch, that's an hour I could write, or an hour I could got get food. And I usually choose writing over food.
So, there you have it. I don't have the best writing habits, but I'm working on it. For your information, I am currently working on a pretty exciting idea (on my iPad, which can get annoying) and while I don't expect to have it finished anytime soon, I do hope this one has the right staying power for me to make it to The End.
Do you write? If you do, what are some habits you have that help you get the words on paper? Tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading, and sorry for missing Sunday.
What I've been writing lately are letters to a lonely Marine Recruit, and a few blog posts. Someday I'll get back to writing fiction and non-fiction (which I like too). I write in snippets, which is why I always have paper and a writing instrument nearby.
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