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Okay. I need help. Okay leave the snickers out of this and the idea that we all need help. :)
I'm trying to write. I have the time but whenever I get behind the keys its like pulling teeth without Novocaine. When I'm away from the keyboard it all comes so easy. I hear the story, the conversation, the scene in my head (yeah I need help fersure) but when I get behind the keyboard it's like I can't type. Not unless I get very angry and I just Vent to no one in particular. Okay there is one in particular.
It's funny I can put it in an e-mail but not on a white screen that looks like a sheet of paper.
Any suggestions?
Comments
Maybe try another time of the
Maybe try another time of the day for writing?
I'm a pretty prolific writer in the evenings, but editing works better early in the day.
hearing and seeing it in your head versus writing it down.
The seeing and hearing of a scene in your mind can occur very quickly. Converstations can also occur at a conversational rate (ie. fast) writing (or typing) is slow, therefore you lose some of your train of thought and become frustrated at the lack of speed thus blocking your productivity.
Although it will take some time to become accustomed to the act, try using a digital recorder and as a scene appears in your head, describe it and what is said verbally. True, this will still be slower than the way it occurs in your head but it will be much faster than trying to scribe it down.
Once you have a portion (or all) of it in the digital recorder (or analog recorder) then you can take your time to go over it again and again to put it onto paper or into your computer... Eventually your mind will reach the point where it will automatically store it all and release it at a rate your fingers can almost keep up to. I say almost because the translation from events to words will still cause some errors and frustration but at least you will be getting the story down in written form.
Good Luck.
A.
Hey, that's what I was gonna say!
A recorder is a great idea. Not only will it allow you to get the ideas out while they're fresh, but if you do things right you can keep up vocal inflections and mood to help you keep tone better than just writing it down out of your head might do. There's even speech-to-text programs you could use if that helped, though they're a far cry from the accuracy and control you have with a plain ol' keyboard.
Anything that helps your creativity is a good thing, though, and it'll be great to have more content for BCTS!
Melanie E.
Experiment
Have you tried writing longhand? At least two authors I know of - Philip Pullman and Tanith Lee - can't write any other way.
Or you could set up the screen so it isn't just a featureless expanse of white, experiment with different fonts and backgrounds. I found it much more stimulating with Palatino Linotype as the default font because it looks like the print you see in books. These things matter to us creative types. 'No I'm not doing it in Arial, I don't care what company policy is!' Sort of thing.