Monday, May 26, 2014

Resurrecting the #DailyWriting Tag

For most of last year I used the #DailyWriting tag on twitter as an aid to writing.  I set a target of either typing at least 500 words or handwriting 3 notebook pages a day (roughly 1-2 hours of writing).  Before going to bed I'd tweet the word/page count.  I doubt the people of twitter cared either way, but having the illusion of witnesses was a good way to keep me honest.  It was a good discipline aid.  One of the best tips for writing is to make it a habit.  Once it becomes a habit it's a lot easier to keep the words flowing and a few pages every night eventually pile up into a full novel.

I stopped doing it earlier this year.  A big part of that reason was because I'd become pissed off with twitter and all the self-righteous, holier-than-thou jerks that stink out the place.  It was also because I was worried it had become a creative straitjacket - that I'd end up joylessly grinding out a bare minimum of useless words every night because of trying to keep to arbitrary targets.

I was also worried about how it would look on my twitter feed.  Posting word counts is often sneered at as something those vulgar self-published types do.  It's just not the done thing.

By the way, that reason above is without a doubt the stupidest reason of the lot.  A quick check of most of the more vocal, sneery writery types on social media will reveal them to be rather light in the publishing credits column.  Give those characters a wide berth (and most online writing communities in general, though there are exceptions) and your muse (and readers) will thank you.

Anyway, I decided to stop using the #DailyWriting tag.  I was getting the pages done anyway and there was no need to bore the world with the proof.  Then indiscipline crept in.  A couple of weeks ago I was off work and had a good writing week where I finally burst through a Succubus Summoning chapter that had been blocking me for a while, as well as finishing off another short story that had been clogging up the tubes for a bit.  Then the following week I was a lazy cunt and barely got anything done at all.

After that I decided to resurrect the #DailyWriting tag.  I'm a shameful procrastinator.  Once I start writing I can normally clock in a good hour or two.  Starting that first hour and not bumming around on facebook or youtube is the problem.  It's surprising how much difference a little tag can make.  When I stopped using it I'd have those nights where I'd fart around until the clock ticked past midnight and then think, fuck it, it's too late.  The first night I decided to start using it again the same thing happened, but instead of going to bed I thought, no, let's get those 3 pages written first.  Sometimes a little psychological push is all that's required.

So the #DailyWriting tag is back and you can follow my feed here:
https://twitter.com/manyeyedhydra

It also has the nice side effect of reassuring people I'm still alive and writing during those periods when this blog goes quiet.  I know a few people were concerned about that given the shit that went on earlier in the year.  It should also give an idea of what I'm working on currently and how far along I am.  (The next chapter of Succubus Summoning needs a further 2.5-3K words typed up and a full edit before posting).

15 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. He already answered both
    1. Dailywriting is to keep track and reach a 'goal' every day, so he will not fall behind on writing.
    2. (The next chapter of Succubus Summoning needs a further 2.5-3K words typed up and a full edit before posting).

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    1. Yep, this. 208 is nearly typed up. It will require a little more editing and I'm going to be traveling at the end of the week, so I don't want to give an exact date (because I've been fairly shit with keeping to those of late). I'll let people know as soon as it's posted.

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  3. Hydra, I am not sure if you are aware of this site http://www.summoningsuccubus.com/ but I gotta say, I find it quite funny, I mean sure....some of us read erotic books about succubus, but I still found this a bit funny.

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    1. Heh, I was tempted to go down the Crowley path at one point, Didn't have the chutzpah to brazen it out. I tend to be skeptical of those kind of sites, but the world is a weird place, so who knows.

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    2. I completely agree on the world having bizarre things, to a lot of people us reading about succubus and you writing it is also something society does not take kindly to (They would definitely call us crazy). But I am kinda wondering if he's doing it for fun and what not or if he's really serious about it, if he's, then he should probably stop taking LSD :)

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    3. Well you know...these things are connected on one level or another, so you don't have to particularly exclude them. Some people have all sorts of experiences, whether it is as an. inspiration or actual dream like encounters.

      Interesting how you chose to go back to using Daily Writing. Although it gave you a headache, it is nice that you realized it's value to give you some extra commitment :)

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    4. CivilDeviation29/05/2014, 15:48

      Sadly, I'm chalking Mr. Erik up to being a sociopath/psychopath/con artist rather than an occultist. The "pay" for membership, dark charm, circular supporting content, and time-frame deals are akin to a "1 miracle trick to make any woman fall in love with you, get it before it gets banned" advertisement. I think I'll stick with my online girlfriend from Nigeria that folks say doesn't exist just because she's had the last 3 travel fares get stolen. ;-)

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  4. Good to know you're back, I was a little concerned you'd packed up. Welcome back tgo

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  5. Sounds like you're in a nice place with your writing, keep it up!

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  6. http://www.ulmf.org/bbs/showpost.php?p=572391&postcount=2172

    huh, so pretty much all enemies are recruitable......


    I am SO getting micaela and lucifina

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  7. So how is SS 208 coming along, since you've already written, presumably having not edited and typed it yet, 5 pages of SS 210?

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    1. Going to see if I can type up more of it today. I'm on the move at the moment, hence a lot of time spare for writing 1st drafts in notebooks and less time to plant a laptop down and do the typing up. My main plan while on holiday is to get a large chunk of SS 1st draft done.

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  8. Just read about Amazon targetting erotica books again, so much for "cultural freedom" eh.

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  9. Small update. Dieselmine has updated their website, regarding VH5. Characters look sweet :) Finally, something to wait for.

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