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!604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVxVDCGhi8K
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Me: *opens laptop*604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXL6IfvTYPf
Me: *opens WordPad*604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK9LQ41EJ21
Me: *saves file*604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzn4aPmt83J
Me: *poises fingers, ready to type*604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0R87EWI8x
Me:604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfSXQAT10Yq
Brain:604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpCvQrdDgO
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!!604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZqbLA8Tju(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!604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZBz0zL7Io
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.604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAnB0ZFvAxe
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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.604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡizbT5ec1wj
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.)604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGdgVoqB8LC
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.604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3irY4XBJbRHopefully, 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.604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6AyfX0iVXZ
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.604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡakNqZIkGTL
Timetables are helpful for this. I find them tough to follow at first, but it gradually gets easier as you fall into routine.604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFbxsvG9u3v
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.604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2k1sS4dPB2
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.604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIUAythK5H0
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". 604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZ1BEGBvzW
Stare at the topic some more. Any ideas yet?604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0M180GksNI
Write words. Maybe the same word over and over until you get bored and leave. (Mission failed.)604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGeBNGQTcWP
Take a walk. Drink water. Come back, and write something.604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5GWKRU4x7
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.604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8LttALRFL
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.604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbIv2nbDoK
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.604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF8wozgwCq3
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(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.)604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUEukKXvvAX
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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?604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8xoKtgTaQB
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.604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFOtMDeFeyy
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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.604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JpaWzZTDz
...Not to judge, but604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7C4Rybe7v
if you didn't want the writing tips604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbKseaAbZaJ
then why are you here?604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdHcvlZBDv
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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_
:(604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVAHc3z2zAq
Your PC ran into a problem. Now attempting to restart.604Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMd88dTNMwQ
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and then Add to home screen.