Routine, writing, & processing

[willsdarklady]

hi, all. i was wondering if any aspiring authors out there wrestle with the same issue that i do--trying to write while dealing with processing issues. sometimes, my mind is clear, and i can write for what seems like forever, no problems at all. other times, my mind is so muddy that i very literally cannot find two words to string together with any sort of coherence. and still yet other times, my mind is racing at such a speed that i can't grab words as they thunder by me. ultimately, aside from scheduling difficulties because of my job, this processing issue keeps me from establishing any sort of routine, such as SKing describes in On Writing, since my state of mind can be annoyingly unpredictable.

the only solution i've found thus far is to write when my mind works and to walk away when it doesn't. that's far from ideal, and the situation is extremely limiting and frustrating. yes, it is a medical in nature, and i am receiving treatment. however, i'm doing all that i can in that regard, and this is the furthest point i've reached.

if anyone could offer any words on this topic, it would be much appreciated, as i need to figure out if i can overcome this limitation or if i must accept it and the "solution" i've found. actually, it's appeared as a theme in my writing (quite on its own, i assure you), which is ridiculously meta. anyway, i'm interested in hearing others' thoughts. have a great evening!

jb

[GNTLGNT]

Your only limitation is your own mind...just write, when you can-and don't try to keep to a set number of words-just write whatever is being fed to you by your Muse at that time...bless your heart and good luck!

[ECJ75]

I am finding that writing something (anything) at night is really helping my creative juices flow. Whatever it is, I write it down and let it flow until I feel the urge sated. I'm currently letting the feeling take me wherever it goes...I can figure out a story when I reread and see what is what and if things can actually go together. I am of the feeling that when you write like this, focusing on one thing and then another, sometimes it works out that these two (maybe three or four) threads can actually string together. If I could give any adivce, it would be to unfetter your thinking process to let it flow. Once the well is tapped, you can gauge things. Freeing your mind I find to be the one thing writers can do when other people just won't let it go. There's something very Zen about that. :^)

[J.T. Adams]

I think most of the time when we feel we can't put anything on the page, is that it is only our own insecurities that keep us from writing. Sai King was shocked when he won an award for writing The Man in the Black suit. He didn't think it was that good, and went on to say that sometimes writers are the poorest judgers of one's own work. So just write and believe.

[Patricia A]

This is my third go-round with On Writing. This time I'm listening to the Audio Book, I highly recommended it. I'd actually gush about it but I've already done that once this week.
Anyhow, I think I finally figured out what SK meant when he said you write for yourself when you write the first draft.
When you do the second draft you are writing for your intended reader.
So simple! A classic "I should have had a V-8" moment for me.

When I write fiction it's always some kind of an inside joke I don't think anyone else would get. When I think about someone else reading the stuff I write it makes me laugh because it really is a mess but I like it, then I'm done, not finished, just done.
When I write freehand I have notes all up and down the margins no human being who lives outside of my brain would ever be able to follow. It even confuses me.

What I need to do is go ahead and FINISH flat out not even thinking about someone reading it, it's ok. This one is just for me.
Then by God I leave it and let it mellow over time.
Then I go back in for the second draft and rewrite it in a way that will not give someone who may want to read it vertigo.

I think I'm going to go dig up some of my old stuff I never finished and finish them and tuck them away until I'm ready to share and get to work on the second draft.
Oh Lord I have a quest, this one is even going to be more fun than my quest for the elusive parsnip.
Maybe not quite as tasty though.