Do you struggle to write every day? Come join an accountability team and compete for the prize of most consistent writers! Here's how it works: 1️⃣ Reply to this message seeking an accountability partner, or reply to another user's request. Each team must consist of exactly two members. 2️⃣ This coming week, keep track of the number of days you have spent at least fifteen minutes working on your book, blog, or other writing project. The number of successful days is your score. 3️⃣ Add your score together with your partner's. The maximum number of points a team can earn is 14. 4️⃣ Next week on Sunday, a new announcement will be posted. One member of your team must reply with the team's score. Be honest. If you lie, your pants will spontaneously burst into flames. 5️⃣ The team with the highest score will be declared the winner! In the event of a tie, the winning team will be chosen randomly. Remember, the goal is not to write a million words. Rather, the goal is consistency—writing every day. 🎉 Prizes! 🏆 Bragging rights Becoming a better writer Two links of your choice (one from you and one from your partner) will appear at the top of next week's announcement. This week's competition will run 1/14 - 1/21. Happy writing!
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
I love this way of looking at it. My first novel was crap -- I just didn't know it.
But the only way to advance through the levels is to write.
Keep writing!
> You don't start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it's good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That's why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence. > > -- Octavia E. Butler
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
Congratulations on winning this week! If you have content to promote, please let me know what two links you'd like to have pinned at the top of Sunday's announcement.
Keep writing!
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
What's the purpose of the megathread? I'm so confused what's going on with this community...
> The easy-looking, and the simple things in all art matters are more difficult than the complex and intricate. It is a rule that easy reading is hard writing, and to construct anything that the mind takes in without effort, and without being puzzled by it, is a triumph of art. > > -- [Charles Allston Collins](http://books.google.com/books?id=UDcNAAAAYAAJ&q=%22hard+writing%22#v=snippet&), 1860
> My life is, by every objective measurement, very very good. > > And in spite of all of that, I struggle every day with my self esteem, my self worth, and my value not only as an actor and writer, but as a human being. > > That’s because I live with Depression and Anxiety, the tag team champions of the World Wrestling With Mental Illness Federation.
In 1876, Leo Tolstoy lamented to a friend that the book he was writing had become “sickening to me,” “unbearably repulsive,” “terribly disgusting and nasty,” and “a bore, insipid as a bitter radish.” After nearly two years without making any progress, a concert sparked an intense surge of inspiration. Tolstoy wept as the music surged. Reinvigorated, Tolstoy returned to writing, viewing his characters with newfound empathy. After two uninterrupted weeks of writing, Tolstoy completed what would become his most influential -- "Anna Karenina". [article](https://writingcooperative.com/how-leo-tolstoy-rekindled-his-passion-for-writing-d0d2f262dfc9?sk=6e4d7a4aa9cbe7ebd95cf8d219548772) / [mirror](https://pastebin.com/3Jw0mqDN)
Linda went to an Ivy League university, but, like many others, found that the prestigious education came with its own set of challenges and pitfalls. [article](https://medium.com/better-families/status-update-from-envy-to-eccentricity-in-the-age-of-social-media-499b507a554a?sk=5275294f722b2e875d6332f0ba1e3c4a) / [mirror](https://pastebin.com/JeRYkthv)
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
The only real rule is you need to be writing. Other than this, you can do anything 👍
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
I made a new thread for this week. Reply with your score and you just might win! https://lemmy.world/post/2032447
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
Sorry you didn't find a partner... I've started a new thread for this week. Hopefully you'll find a partner this time! https://lemmy.world/post/2032447
Do you struggle to write every day? Come join an accountability team and compete for the prize of most consistent writers! *Last week's contestants: please reply with your score. Everyone else, keep reading!* Here's how it works: 1️⃣ Reply to this message seeking an accountability partner, or reply to another user's request. Each team must consist of exactly two members. 2️⃣ This coming week, keep track of the number of days you have spent at least fifteen minutes working on your book, blog, or other writing project. The number of successful days is your score. 3️⃣ Add your score together with your partner's. The maximum number of points a team can earn is 14. 4️⃣ Next week on Sunday, a new announcement will be posted. One member of your team must reply with the team's score. **Be honest. If you lie, your pants will spontaneously burst into flames.** 5️⃣ The team with the highest score will be declared the winner! In the event of a tie, the winning team will be chosen randomly. _Remember, the goal is not to write a million words. Rather, the goal is consistency—writing every day._ **🎉 Prizes! 🎁🏆** - An all-expense paid trip to your own restroom (toilet paper not included) - Bragging rights - Becoming a better writer - Two links of your choice (one from you and one from your partner) will be pinned in a comment at the top of the following week's announcement. This week's competition will begin once we have at least two teams signed up. Happy writing!
> The soul—let us go further and say the substance, the bulk, the actual and valuable material of all human utterances—is plagiarism. > **All ideas are secondhand**, consciously and unconsciously drawn from a million outside sources, and daily used by the garnerer with a pride and satisfaction born of the superstition that he originated them; whereas there is not a rag of originality about them anywhere except the little discoloration they get from his mental and moral caliber and his temperament, and which is revealed in characteristics of phrasing. > **When a great orator makes a great speech, you are listening to ten centuries and ten thousand men**—but we call it his speech, and really some exceedingly small portion of it is his. But not enough to signify. It is merely a Waterloo. It is Wellington’s battle, in some degree, and we call it his; but there are others that contributed. **It takes a thousand men to invent a telegraph, or a steam engine, or a phonograph, or a photograph, or a telephone, or any other important thing—and the last man gets the credit, and we forget the others. He added his little mite—that is all he did.** -- Mark Twain If you're interested in the context behind this letter, I wrote an [article](https://writingcooperative.com/mark-twains-brilliant-letter-to-helen-keller-about-the-myth-of-originality-61bb11fc43c4?sk=20a35dbc6d2e4a3b08e260ca28c2c990) *([mirror](https://pastebin.com/Z2mXVquZ))* about it.
I watched an [interview](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cV9scmH2SWs) with J.K. Rowling, and the interviewer found it hard to believe that she didn't know Harry Potter would be such a huge success. The interviewer kept on asking how Rowling envisioned what it would be like to get famous, but she kept denying any visions of grandeur. "You are wasting your time," she said at last when asked for advice to writers who are sure they're destined for the top, "Just get on and work." When we start writing, it's easy to imagine our stories becoming bestsellers, adapted into blockbuster movies, and gaining widespread acclaim. But fantasies don't finish drafts. The path to becoming a successful writer is paved with hard work, determination, and the willingness to face the challenges head-on.
The anti-spez crows likes to paint people who keep using Reddit as sheep. But are there people out there who actually think he's doing a good job?
The reader doesnt need sympathy for the characters. just empathy. they don't need to like them, just believe in them as consistent entities.
If you're struggling to keep in the habit of writing but bounce off of even relatively light requirements, try writing a single sentence a day. You might be surprised by how well it works.
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
What are you upset about? $0/hr is a generous salary.
And this was his response: > I won the 2004 Hugo Award for Best Short Story for an H. P. Lovecraft /Arthur Conan Doyle mashup fiction, so fanfiction had better be legitimate, because I’m not giving the Hugo back. > Or the 20O5 Locus Award for Best Novelette. I’m not giving that back either. [source](https://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/655051316456996864/do-you-consider-fanfiction-legitimate-writing)
Yes, I understand you want your chapters to end up thousands of words long in the final copy. But for your first draft? Just get the basic plot done. Save the finer details for later.
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
Oh! I just thought of something -- disconnecting my computer from WiFi! I'm going to go try that as soon as I get a chance ☺️
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
Oh, old school paper... never thought of that! I'll have to try doing something I can do to help get the thoughts out. Hmm...
Being overly negative about your own work will prevent you from seeing the parts of your project that need to stay the same, or should be highlighted. Otherwise, you're just making something other people enjoy, not you.
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
Yes, my username on discord is caspianxi. Feel free to message me!
You never know how useful your idea will become unless you flesh it out -- and the only way to do that is by writing.
Seriously, once you get to the editing stage, names like that will turn into a nightmare.
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
A video game sounds cool! Are you a developer? Or are you using a drag and drop engine?
Most of my writing is for my blog, but I'd really like to get back into working on a novel of mine. It's just such a beast of a project, and blog posts are just so easy because of their bitesize nature. But I really miss the feeling of working on something huge...
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
I've always been very critical with both myself and others. I, personally, don't like it when people give me all positive feedback and no negative because I don't get any valuable ideas about how to improve.
To me, launching into a laundry list of negatives feels natural. But I'm starting to wonder whether most people might not feel the same. I'll have to try to be more sensitive in the future.
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
You know, that's exactly what I did -- a whole truckload of suggestions at once.
I have a very critical eye when it comes to editing, and I was eager to help. (Also, I forgot to say anything positive about her writing.) I think it came across as an attack against her writing.
Next time, I'll remember to give the critiques one at a time. Thanks for the feedback.
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
In hindsight, I was too harsh. I was so focused on helping her improve that I forgot to say anything positive.
But that's a good point about stating my genuine intentions to help. I think I tend to be overly critical as part of my personality, and it doesn't really come across that I have good intentions.
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
Sorry, I posted this too soon, and didn't provide any context. I've edited (as in -- completely rewritten) my post to provide more details.
A really good friend showed me a personal essay and asked for my honest opinion. She was looking to enter a contest, so I wanted to give her some good feedback to make her writing stand out. But as it turned out, this was her final draft, and she was really just looking for affirmation that she's a good writer. The essay needed a lot of work. But when I gave my friend a list of the things that needed to be fixed, she got so upset that she deleted the draft and didn't enter the contest at all. Now I feel terrible. What should I have done differently? How do you gently break the news to someone that theor writing needs a lot of work? I do think I was too harsh. But I also didn't want her to enter the contest without having a stellar piece.
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
I just sent you a message. The messaging system on Lemmy is a bit clunky, so let me know if you want to switch to another service. I have email, google hangouts, LINE, and What's App. Let me know which one you prefer :).
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
I write a blog on Medium.
You need to have a ton of content to make any amount of money. After writing 200 articles, I started making a consistent $100/month. Not quitting my day job any time soon, but I have a lot of downtime at work, so it's a productive way to pass the time.
Oh, and the $100/month is pretty consistent. I took a month off from writing, and they still sent me money for the read time on my old articles. The pay is low... but my boss wouldn't send me a smal stipend if I decided not to show up for a month.
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
All things in moderation.
I'd never recommend dangerous thrill seeking to try to get some more experiences to write about. But never feel as if your scars are holding you back.
Hemingway didn't just sit in a cozy cabin, sipping whiskey and penning stories about gritty characters in war-torn landscapes—he lived it. Hemingway's own experiences as an ambulance driver in World War I are intricately woven into the fabric of his writing. He witnessed the horrors of war firsthand—the bloodshed, the chaos, the loss—and it seeped into his very being. Hemingway's brush with death, the injuries he sustained, the diseases he battled—they all found their way onto the pages of his writing. The pain, the struggle, the sheer grit of his characters mirrored his own battles, making the story resonate with authenticity and raw emotion. Hemingway didn't just write about war; he lived it, and that's what sets "A Farewell to Arms" apart from the countless war novels that followed. In the end, it's the scars we carry, both seen and unseen, that enrich our writing. Hemingway's life experiences were a crucible, forging him into a writer who could capture the human condition with unparalleled depth and resonance. The next time you sit down to write, remember that your own triumphs and tribulations have the power to infuse your words with a truth that can't be manufactured. Embrace your scars, wear them proudly, and let them guide your pen.
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
There was a quote from Dan Brown (sorry, couldn't find it after a few minutes of googling) where he explains how to write characters smarter than yourself. Brown would spend days -- sometimes even weeks -- coming up with an explanation for how his characters would realize something in a matter of minutes.
Writing brilliant characters is hard. But that's part of what makes good writing so worth reading.
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
Idiots are way too easy to write, but it takes a genius to write a genius. That’s why we have so many idiots in books and TV…
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
Absolutely. Your first draft is like hewing a large block of stone and drawing it out of the ground. Of course it’s ugly… that’s why we edit.
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
Wow, I hadn’t heard of that… I’m bookmarking this comment and adding that to my reading list!
Execution really is everything.
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
You know, I hasn’t bothered to look it up. Thanks for doing that for me 😆
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 70%
These are people who want to be mods of communities. If you don't understand the basics of how this platform works, you probably need to spend more time as a regular user before becoming a moderator.
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
Bosses hate this one. The things they'll do for a full office...
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
When you order something with 2-day delivery, it not only needs to be in stock... but it needs to be in a warehouse in your city. This requirement means there needs to be a surplus.
They don't know where the orders will come in, so they make enough to send them to every warehouse in the country. But if all of them got sold, the supply would drive the price down. So, they wait until a certain number gets sold (say... a few hundred) and then destroy the rest.
It's sickening that this is even a thing. But that's the world we live in.
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
Welcome aboard! I'll be your partner 🙃 (but I'll step aside if anyone else shows up and needs a partner)
Let's PM each other at the end of each day -- just a simple message saying whether you wrote today or not. This competition will run from Monday (7/17) through Sunday (7/24).
Don't worry... I'm also not terribly consistent, which is why I created this community in the first place 😉.
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
@earthseedle@lemmy.world and @Lakija@lemmy.world, welcome aboard!
Interest in this announcement is starting to die down (that's life in a small community), so we might not get another team for you to compete against. Let's go ahead and get started, because there's no time like the present to sit down and write! If another team shows up within the next day or two, we'll figure out a way to modify the rules to squeeze them in.
This competition will run from Monday (7/17) through Sunday (7/24). Be sure to keep track of the number of days you wrote for at least fifteen minutes within that range.
I'll post an announcement next week on Sunday, where you can reply with your score. In the event that you don't have any competitors, I'll pick a random number between 1 and 14. If your score is higher than that number, you win!
Edit: We have another competitor... hooray!
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
Thanks for the feedback -- I'm really excited about starting this community, and I think I overdid it on the promotion 😬
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
"Bilingual" is really hard to define.
I live in Taiwan (English is my native language), and have studied Chinese to be passably fluent. I can trick people into thinking I can follow advanced conversations, interjecting comments here or there (even though I'm mostly lost -- just picking out the tidbits I do understand and commenting on them).
But am I bilingual? At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter. What matters the most is whether your level is "good enough" to do what you want! In my case, I just want to be able to go to the store, buy things, and hang out with friends. I can read the newspaper, but I'll never be able to read/write business contracts -- but that's not a goal of mine.
There are so many different shades of bilingual. Don't worry about it... and just be as good as you need to reach your goals!
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
Welcome aboard! I really hope this commumity provides the support you need. Keep writing!
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
That's a great perspective, and it's liberating to remember, first drafts are rarely perfect.
I have a novel that I've been setting aside for years because it has some major flaws I don't know how to fix. Someday I'll figure it out!
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
Fixed it 😆. Thanks!
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
I've tried many different things when this feeling hits... I wish I could recommend something that works, but anything I try just makes it worse.
I keep on starting novels. I get what I think is an amazing premise, but a few chapters in the story is so dull I feel as if it's irredeemable.
One novel I powered through all 46 chapters. I spent a year writing and rewriting, then put it away for a month. Came back and realized it was crap.
I can only conclude I don't have the skills to write the stories I want to read. I just need to keep practicing, I guess.
I keep on telling myself that a concert pianist will spend hours upon hours doing scales and drills -- and that's the way I view the hundreds (thousands?) of pages I've thrown away. It helps a little.
I'll keep writing, but it's just hard to know that my current skill level is so far below where I want to be.
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
Does this mean I need to start by getting writer's block?
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
Falling in love with the idea is important -- because that's what's going to keep you going when the going gets rough.
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
end
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 100%
That's a great example. Just think of all the brilliant ideas that must have been lost due to people never getting around to writing them down.
Just write! If it's crap, you can always edit later. But you can salvage what you haven't written.
CaspianXI 1 year ago • 80%
I don't think that's a sock. I have a feeling that's something like a fleshlight (a sex toy). It's not supposed to go on your foot...