writing is hard

[fannishliss]

Okay here is a thing.

When I write something in a "flow state" and it just pours out, that is when my writing ALWAYS gets the best reception.

When I LOVE  a project and when I pore over it and work for it, nada.  WHAT.  WHY.

So hey all you writers.... is it possible to incorporate the flow state into a daily writing ethic? if so how?

I have to say it's terribly frustrating for me as a writer to see work that I just "toss out" climb to the top while my darlings sink into obscurity.  Is this "kill your darlings"?  I hate that phrase.  WHY. 

Comments

[kalliel]

OMG I know what you mean!!! I swear to god this is always the way of things, and I'm not sure why. Is it just because I'm less aware of my 'flow state' works, and since there tend to be more of them (as they take so much less time and effort), my mind just highlights the ones that were successful and I don't remember the rest, whereas I'm much more acutely aware of the reception things I worked hard on did not yet? Is it all psychological? Or is there something to this?

I would love to know!! Because yeah, there's definitely something to be said for that flow state and great things do unexpectedly arise from it, but... there's also very big things to be said of things that take more effort. And it's frustrating as hell when the reverse never actually seems to be true--that is, something you worked really hard on actually being more widely received than something you flashed through.

Sigh!

[killabeez.livejournal.com]

I've commented on this before, too. It's the same for me, and it's frustrating! I wish I had an answer.

[chomaisky.livejournal.com]

It's the same with drawing, I guess :(

[runedgirl.livejournal.com]

It's totally the same for me. I probably should just wait for that flow state to come over me and do all the writing then...

[jessalrynn.livejournal.com]

The flow state is that precious moment of inspiration, where everything is just there?
I want to answer this, I have a suggestion. Bear with me for putting in a place holder, but at the moment I'm not going to be able to explain. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

-Jessa

[datenshiblue.livejournal.com]

I'm not kidding, there is a book that explains exactly what you asked - how to incorporate the flow state into daily writing.

http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Writer-Dorothea-Brande/dp/0874771641/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414104841&sr=8-1&keywords=becoming+a+writer+brande

This is not a book about how to write, it's a book about how to be a writer. The most helpful book I ever read.

Good luck!

[develish1]

Since my muse seems to have gone into hibernation again, I really can't offer any advice, sorry.

I give good hugs though, apparently

[igrockspock.livejournal.com]

I have been contemplating this post for a week because it's interesting and I empathize. I too often find that the stories I scribble down in a couple days do better than the ones I labor on for weeks. Sometimes I think that spontaneity is visible in our writing in ways that we're not conscious of. Maybe there's just something fun and appealing about the vibe of a story that was hastily written. So maybe it's not about killing our darlings, just not polishing them so much.

But I also think that the kind of projects I slave over for weeks tend to have less appealing subject matter than the ones I scribble down quickly. One of my most popular stories is borderline crack about Natasha making inappropriate greeting cards for the SHIELD team. I wrote it in maybe two hours and it promptly climbed to the top of my AO3 hit list and stayed there for almost two years. I think it's sort of like chips and queso -- one of those things that everyone likes and consumes mindlessly. On the other hand, the story I worked the hardest on in my whole five years of writing was about Hikaru Sulu grieving when he thinks his mother was killed in battle. That's not something that everyone wants to read, especially if they're coming to fanfic to have fun and unwind. That doesn't make it any easier when nobody reads that story though.

For me at least, sanity as a writer comes from having balance between the stories I write totally for me and the stories I write at least in part because I feel like having something fun to share with other people. Most of my MCU stories fall into the latter category, but I needed a break, so I'm slaving away at Veronica Mars stories that very few people are likely to read. And that sucks, because I'm proud of those stories, but I'm also not willing to kill my darlings by not writing them.