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!872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrm8U191rDd
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Me: *opens laptop*872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRKIvbWgBZf
Me: *opens WordPad*872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlicoLfigsF
Me: *saves file*872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7IEprBM1e
Me: *poises fingers, ready to type*872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrs1TJ0UZsb
Me:872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMoxKVtN0Kk
Brain:872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwnSVgAdtMs
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!!872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCne1HLP1Jm(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!872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR9p8Q8JCBi
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.872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcTeQqakDhi
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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.872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvk1iTgdnc1
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.)872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Gr6ORua2I
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.872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5b1Q64dsWLHopefully, 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.872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YvXGo7CZo
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.872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcu9PrCo4bG
Timetables are helpful for this. I find them tough to follow at first, but it gradually gets easier as you fall into routine.872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcR6Dc0R4jO
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.872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxOInJ2Is7
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.872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3TW3YOqup
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". 872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzxxsgbfsQb
Stare at the topic some more. Any ideas yet?872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrRSuUvGMnl
Write words. Maybe the same word over and over until you get bored and leave. (Mission failed.)872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Hr4LC8RuW
Take a walk. Drink water. Come back, and write something.872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjEvXPpa5Ap
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.872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjGrtfbNkBf
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.872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjLAFEcS2wQ
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.872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡISHahOda39
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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.)872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ22TwNh6O1s
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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?872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRPk0kH6Jq
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.872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQV7d0VHU8
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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.872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDCBNmBTNAs
...Not to judge, but872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnh6fDAxw03
if you didn't want the writing tips872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQQwfNYaEs
then why are you here?872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡff8ELu1klB
872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdFeiLXGeUv
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_
:(872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMMn9QLKhHY
Your PC ran into a problem. Now attempting to restart.872Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlNO7qFHiLT
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