Post: #1

I've noticed a lot more guys on here lately interested in writing. Thought this article would be a great share for those trying to increase output. Apparently he has an entire book on the subject over at Amazon, but this article seems to give a pretty good breakdown.

Been slacking on my new novel and getting back after it again this week - want to see if I can up my daily word counts.

How I Went From Writing 2,000 Words a Day to 10,000 Words a Day

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #2

I didn't read the whole thing, but I will get back to it later. I've always been fascinated about writers' process. Whenever I meet someone that's a writer, be it novels or songs, I ask them about how and when they write. I've read pieces about famous novelists and songwriters over the years, and some set aside time each day to sit down and write. Others were the types that had a notepad on the night table, because something would hit them at any given hour, and they'd want to write it down right then and there because they feared they'd forget. Songwriters often write on the road while on tour to pass the hours. I just read a bio of Van Morrison, a pretty prolific writer who tapped into his own life experiences for most of his work, but still had long periods where he couldn't write at all. Guys that were around Tupac said he go to take a shit, and come out with a new song. I find the process very fascinating.

Post: #3

Solid Post.
I can also recommend a small 1 dollar ebook from Carol(?) Tice in this context, "13 Ways to Get the Writing Done Faster".

She recommends just banging that shit out and not worrying about the quality. Focus on quantity over quality because thats how writers get paid. You can always polish it up later. That really helps me as I used to worry alot about quality and whatnot. Now I think if noones complaining Im doing alright and dont worry too much about what I put out.

Post: #4

(08-19-2013 07:28 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  I've noticed a lot more guys on here lately interested in writing. Thought this article would be a great share for those trying to increase output. Apparently he has an entire book on the subject over at Amazon, but this article seems to give a pretty good breakdown.

Been slacking on my new novel and getting back after it again this week - want to see if I can up my daily word counts.

How I Went From Writing 2,000 Words a Day to 10,000 Words a Day

This is excellent. I'll be using this as I write college essays this fall.

Beyond Borders, I have been going back and looking at some of your posts on writing online for $. Although they are not directly useful to me right now, I think I should keep a folder of all your posts on writing so when that muse calls I can quickly have go-to resources.

Post: #5

Is writing your main source of income?

(08-19-2013 07:28 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  Been slacking on my new novel and getting back after it again this week - want to see if I can up my daily word counts.

Post: #6

(08-20-2013 12:26 AM)roid Wrote:  Is writing your main source of income?

It's my only source of income now. Freelance though - I've only got a novel and a couple short stories out there, so the profit from my own work is minimal.

My current 12-month goal is to self-publish 8 more novels and make enough per month off writing for myself (even if it's just enough to get by in Southeast Asia) to let go of my writing clients and focus on my own books full-time. I've been doing a lot of research on self-publishing fiction and am convinced this goal is not as unrealistic as it might sound.

In any case, even if I don't make it there in 8 more books, I will get there eventually.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #7

I read the article and thought it wasn't that groundbreaking advice. While I'm not a serious writer, it seems like "knowledge" is just one way to enter the creative process (Stephen King advocates the opposite, if I recall correctly), while "time" and "enthousiasm" is pretty generic advice.

I'm very interested in learning processes and value productivity. One of the best blogs on this subject in my opinion is

http://calnewport.com/blog/

It is written by a young computer science professor and is part career advice ("what are the requirements for a job that makes you happy?"), part experiments on value productivity.

One post that is relevant here:

http://calnewport.com/blog/2013/08/04/wo...ductivity/

In his own words:

"I'm a 31-year-old computer scientist interested in why some people lead successful, enjoyable, meaningful lives, while so many others do not. Being a geek, I'm not satisfied with simplistic slogans (e.g., "follow your passion!") or conventional wisdom (e.g., student success requires stress). Instead, I dive deeper, looking to decode underlying patterns of success, in all their nuanced glory."

Post: #8

(08-20-2013 09:57 AM)GreenGranted Wrote:  I read the article and thought it wasn't that groundbreaking advice. While I'm not a serious writer, it seems like "knowledge" is just one way to enter the creative process (Stephen King advocates the opposite, if I recall correctly), while "time" and "enthousiasm" is pretty generic advice.

I'm very interested in learning processes and value productivity. One of the best blogs on this subject in my opinion is

http://calnewport.com/blog/

It is written by a young computer science professor and is part career advice ("what are the requirements for a job that makes you happy?"), part experiments on value productivity.

One post that is relevant here:

http://calnewport.com/blog/2013/08/04/wo...ductivity/

In his own words:

"I'm a 31-year-old computer scientist interested in why some people lead successful, enjoyable, meaningful lives, while so many others do not. Being a geek, I'm not satisfied with simplistic slogans (e.g., "follow your passion!") or conventional wisdom (e.g., student success requires stress). Instead, I dive deeper, looking to decode underlying patterns of success, in all their nuanced glory."

Thanks for the recommendation. I just purchased How to Become A Straight-A Student by Newport. First time I've come across him. Look forward to reading this.

Post: #9

(08-20-2013 09:57 AM)GreenGranted Wrote:  While I'm not a serious writer, it seems like "knowledge" is just one way to enter the creative process (Stephen King advocates the opposite, if I recall correctly), while "time" and "enthousiasm" is pretty generic advice.

Yes, there are other ways. The "to outline or not" discussion is one of the oldest arguments in writing and there are good cases for both sides - mostly it's personal preference. I'm still trying to decide which I prefer, at least as far as fiction goes.

You're right that King does not outline. This article is about writing faster though - and outlining is indeed the way to go when your priority is speed. As a professional writer, I can attest to this. King isn't especially known for speed; he doesn't need to write fast to make money as everything he writes becomes a best-seller based on name alone.

And while King is certainly an unmatched legend, I don't take every word he utters on the subject as etched in gold either. There are other people out there with worthy opinions. In fact, he tends to contradict a lot of his own advice if you read his work closely.

As for the other points in the article, I agree they seem a bit generic on cursory glance (most writing advice everywhere is pretty generic), but if you really pay attention to what he's saying, he has some good ideas and arguments within the deeper analysis. For instance, saying that you're better off skipping the tedious parts of writing because they'll be just as tedious to read - most book writers accept that necessary parts of the book are not going to be fun to write, so I find his observation here poignant.

Quote:I'm very interested in learning processes and value productivity. One of the best blogs on this subject in my opinion is

http://calnewport.com/blog/

It is written by a young computer science professor and is part career advice ("what are the requirements for a job that makes you happy?"), part experiments on value productivity.

Cool, I will check it out.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling