Dont know how to write

[sozme]

It takes me literally forever to come up with a paragraph that I think is readable. For example, writing this: Scene with fight (1,162 words) took me ~40 hours or so. That's how slow I am.

 

[Zen Dragon]

When you say that it took so long, was it the writing or the editing that made it so lengthy?
From what I have gathered, write first, edit later. Never at the same time.
There is a quote about how you cannot edit a blank page, and the science is that your Right Brain is creative, and makes the words, where your left brain is logical and edits the words. Turn one side off and go.

 

[sozme]

When you say that it took so long, was it the writing or the editing that made it so lengthy?
From what I have gathered, write first, edit later. Never at the same time.
There is a quote about how you cannot edit a blank page, and the science is that your Right Brain is creative, and makes the words, where your left brain is logical and edits the words. Turn one side off and go.

I can just kind of do a simple rough draft where all I do is tell, and I can move pretty fast and it is pretty fun to do. Mostly it is hard for me to do this though because I worry about not having enough of the scene outlined, i.e. what the goal/conflict/disaster is, etc. I get hung up on the details.
Also when I go back to edit, I literally spend several hours per paragraph.

 

[MemoryTale]

Can I ask if you plan or pants? If yo get hung up on the details, then planning and outlining first could help. At least you'd know what all the goals and conflicts were before you got to the actual writing.

 

[Brian G Turner]

It takes me literally forever to come up with a paragraph that I think is readable.

I can just kind of do a simple rough draft where all I do is tell

I worry about not having enough of the scene outlined

I get hung up on the details.

You're recognising something a lot of aspiring writers don't, and that's problems with voice.

Here's my suggested solution: just write the story as if you were speaking it aloud to someone. And don't stop the narrative at all to add any details in to help explain what's happening.

The latter is the writer being too writerly. If you really want to add details, put them in a side note and leave aside. IMO this will help you come back to your natural writing voice and style.

Don't worry about conflict issues - you will not have a proper overview of these until you've finished your first draft. The first draft is simply trying to put the plot together. Once done, you can see how things can and may develop better in the story, and go back and rewrite.

It is a complete fallacy that a writer is supposed to bang out a great first draft piece. Barely anyone ever mentions that the biggest part of writing is rewriting what you've done.

Rewriting isn't noticing that your prose could be better, but instead, noticing that your conflicts need developing, your characters need better arcs, some scenes would be better off told form a different POV, some scenes are redundant and need deleting, some scenes are missing and need writing in, etc.

2c.

 

[TonyNic]

You're recognising something a lot of aspiring writers don't, and that's problems with voice.

Here's my suggested solution: just write the story as if you were speaking it aloud to someone. And don't stop the narrative at all to add any details in to help explain what's happening.

The latter is the writer being too writerly. If you really want to add details, put them in a side note and leave aside. IMO this will help you come back to your natural writing voice and style.

Don't worry about conflict issues - you will not have a proper overview of these until you've finished your first draft. The first draft is simply trying to put the plot together. Once done, you can see how things can and may develop better in the story, and go back and rewrite.

It is a complete fallacy that a writer is supposed to bang out a great first draft piece. Barely anyone ever mentions that the biggest part of writing is rewriting what you've done.

Rewriting isn't noticing that your prose could be better, but instead, noticing that your conflicts need developing, your characters need better arcs, some scenes would be better off told form a different POV, some scenes are redundant and need deleting, some scenes are missing and need writing in, etc.

2c.

I signed up and made an account just so I could say thank you for this.

I've been writing, I say writing but it's a mess of ideas and scenes, of a story for the past 6 months. This is probably the best advice I have read. Just write. I've heard that before. This time, how you put it, it clicked. I just need to write the thing and fix what I need to fix later.

It's a simple thing.
Thanks again.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Great advice so far! I would also suggest trying the writing challenges that we hold each month, sozme. They've helped me with the concepts (and practice) of plotting, characterization...the importance of using the right word/words in expressing ideas. When you have only 75 words...or 300 to tell a story, each one needs to really count. So editing is also something I am more comfortable with thanks to the challenges.
There are a few others too...there's Secret Santa, and the 100 worder. If you tried some of these for maybe even six months, you might come out the other side a bit more confident, and experienced. I think it's fair to say that a number of us here have benefited greatly from these quick, fun exercises in story writing. Just a thought, and best of luck, CC

If you're interested, here are the links to the threads for the winning stories from the past 75 and 300 word writing challenges. You can see how much can be achieved in just a very few words...amazing. These challenges also make writing fun, which might be a problem if you're struggling with your longer work. Oh! And another thread you can write in just for fun and practice - Three-Legged Improv. Practice really does help!

The Seventy-Five Word Writing Challenge Roll of Honour
The Three Hundred Word Challenge Roll of Honour

 

[Brian G Turner]

Thanks again.

Not a problem, and welcome to the chrons forums.

 

[Steven Sorrels]

I agree with what has been said above me. I have the same problem sometimes, which is to say I try to perfect a paragraph and it slows me down to a crawl. Try to let go of the part of your head that wants to make it the best it can be and just write the story. You can go back and fill in better details and make corrections later.

If you need a bit more direction, try reading Stephen King's On Writing. Probably one of the best books I've read on how to pound out a story. And let's be honest, that man can pound out a story in no time lol