I mean, it only took five continuous days to copy and paste text into over 200 files but it's done now :)
(And if you're interested, I'm on sync.com and used ZipCrypto encryption with a password that should take four thousand years to guess because I'm paranoid even though there is no identifying data inside that zip... heck, I wanna keep my secrets, 'kay??)
Apparently, Camp NaNoWriMo was meant to have been going on this month. I didn't realise; time has become meaningless to me. But still, now that I have scarce little to do between now and the fateful 20th August and I really don't fancy trying to read Thai again, it's time to get some sweet words onto the paaaage!731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoneM3Xu5TE
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojLij0wFZK
Me: *opens laptop*731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKvedjF5dW
Me: *opens WordPad*731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5kewZPukr
Me: *saves file*731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxyXXrIw3Q7
Me: *poises fingers, ready to type*731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ35QCccxMY
Me:731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTBLDO0Qr2M
Brain:731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJRmoA2uou
Me:
...Wait. What? I had this weird thing called motivation a second ago, but now that I'm sitting down and primed to write, there's nothing on my word processor!!731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzMyQeY2xxk(Clearly not in this specific case, but this is because I sometimes break out the Grandparent Ability, allowing me to spontaneously prattle nonsense and spew it all over the keyboard. I will later return to edit and organise my thoughts in a somewhat coherent and understandable way.)
Motivation's strange. It's there sometimes, and not there whenever you need it. Life's strange. [Insert existential crisis here]
So here are a few tips from yours truly for dealing with this strange phenomenon.
1. Note your ideas!731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllzcvneKfX
Writing's an art. Art requires inspiration. So if you're lucky to get hit with such a spark (or a lightning bolt), note it. As soon as. It helps to keep a physical notepad somewhere - I have a small one with rainbow tape on it - but you're allowed to make do. Piece of paper in your front pocket? That does the trick, just don't lose it. Notepad app? Me too, nice.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8nJ0YTyaRj
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡieTt4Cmxwx
I'm an orange on a roll so let's follow this tangent. I've gone through the dilemma of finding a notepad app, and I'm currently settled on ColorNote (which allows you to sync between devices. Sooo handy.) EverNote's a nice alternative, and then there a few more I can't remember off the top of my head. Might elaborate on this in another part because I feel I'm veering off-topic.
2. Find your optimum operating hour.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0c2vgap3I9
I'm not sure if this works for everyone, but I'm fairly sure I can't be the only human-like organism for which this applies... When I'm writing fiction, I work best in later, unholy hours of evening and night. (Perhaps it's a state of delirium that does the trick? I'm certainly more grounded in the day time, ideal for non-fiction entries such as this.)731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeAjtyJ1cL
I'll start writing after food, around eight o'clock, and I can easily continue into 1-2am. Please do not follow my example on a regular basis, this is likely an unhealthy habit, but I'm not doing this every day, promise. I'm just turning nocturnal very, very slowly.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjLP3AV81jKHopefully, you'll have a healthier optimum operating hour at which you're best at writing. You could experiment with this by trying to write at different times and see how you feel about each time. This leads on to...
3. Set habits.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwVPvg4ujqR
Writing for a hobby is all well and good, but I know I have a short attention span, so if I leave something unattended, it'll fast fade from my memory. Or it might wreck havoc on everything depending on the nature of the work. It definitely becomes a bit easier to finish something when you're working on it periodically.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFWjw1jxypU
Timetables are helpful for this. I find them tough to follow at first, but it gradually gets easier as you fall into routine.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBOJwQu0K2n
Unfortunately, it's all too easy to break timetables and routines unless you're a highly organised super-individual. Still, I reckon it's enough to just write something every single day, or every two to three days.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR4CRKijC3J
It doesn't have to be at the exact same hour each day, but it certainly goes a long way in terms of progressing your work. I for one know that I've half-finished a helluva lot more following loose schedules for past NaNoWriMos than without.
4. Just write something.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2uOjsk6qjH
This works for essays, at least. If it's meant to be based on a topic, stare at that topic. Do a few searches, but limit this to ten minutes or else risk the abandonment of your train of thought into the abyss we call "the internet". 731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8BWAvTdnCW
Stare at the topic some more. Any ideas yet?731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yK9B839zg
Write words. Maybe the same word over and over until you get bored and leave. (Mission failed.)731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5sxgK4rmY9
Take a walk. Drink water. Come back, and write something.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBMRjWatMJ
Just write anything. As a perfectionist, I know it's agonising when you read back on something that's nowhere as good as it could be. But we all need a starting point, and it's much easier to improve a first draft than it is to edit the writing of a blank page.
5. You're doing fine.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKd2Zz9kaZ6
Seriously, tip #5 is purely motivational. Odd, perhaps, but this is exactly what I needed to hear as a confused, small human trying to put one foot after another in this desolate writing world.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXF3fgFXP48
I've abandoned so many stories in their early stages simply because I didn't feel like they matched the standard I wanted them to be; yet my standards keep on getting higher. How will I ever reach them? Not in a single jump, that's for certain, but in steps. Start somewhere and keep working up. You can learn from everything, even stories that you look back upon in future and cringe at, because I know I do.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmOPTvMP3Q
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTjdcxPUOIc
(E.g. I did a romance story once. I don't like it nowadays because the pacing seemed off and everything happened unrealistically fast. Conclusion: Remember to pace naturally unless you're trying to prove a point, like the whirlwind romance of Romeo and Juliet proving that the couple's love burnt out too quickly.)731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtEVVAFXpbM
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZtI5f4uQR
Lesson learnt. For you to progress, you gotta finish this (even if you hate it for its tiny flws), get it over with and on the page and you move on. After all, practice makes perfect, right?731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIfUbsC8Ac
This is essentially a rewording of tip 4. You shouldn't expect to get everything entirely perfect first time. As long as you have something down, you're doing good.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXaVxkugFnY
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpacHBKH82f
Now, this isn't to say I improved from practice alone - if I can claim I've mproved at all. But it certainly helped when it came to waffling for exams :D
In conclusion: this is all quite personal to me... but if any of my own observations can be of help any of you readers, then I'm happy. If not, well. I hope it was an interesting read nonetheless.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ31ow4zevqK
...Not to judge, but731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡit88Itbel2
if you didn't want the writing tips731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHFneNL4Mm
then why are you here?731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0PQCGeGQ8f
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfCX3TrSZj
Do I seem like the kind of person with enough competency to provide valid tech support to you? Operating on nothing but my own self-taught skills and an entry-level computing theory course? Nay, for I have far more personal experience in the field of writing than anything! Hours of my life spent analysing compelling character portrayals and realistic development arcs, hours spent dreaming up conflict-driven plots! Not to inflate myself as a pompous fool, but I have been dabbling in this trade for foUr yEA_
:(731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh2aJ3EL0cl
Your PC ran into a problem. Now attempting to restart.731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUINlTfRhES
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVTnh46znL
731Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaR35XIarxr
