Autistic Innovator 

Can I get some advice from the #WritingCommunity?

I’ve been putting off writing more of my book for a while now, but have recently become more motivated to write it. I got on Atticus and wrote a few sentences today, but then my cat distracted me and I stopped.

How often do you work on your writing? Sentences a day, paragraph a day, section/chapters? Or a few times per week? What keeps you writing?

It’s a non-fiction book. If that makes a difference.

@writing

Jul 6, 2023 at 11:46pmWeb
Show threadLauralee MossJul 6, 2023
@ashleyspencer @writing for me personally, I have to do something every day. Even if my writing is terrible, even if I only crank out 5 words, I write the same time every day.
Show threadNowhere GirlJul 6, 2023
@ashleyspencer @writing I'm a fiction writer and typically do three chapters a week with each chapter taking a day. I don't write on weekends. I usually have the story planned out in my head but I leave enough wiggle room to keep myself interested as I'm going.
Show threadMarie GreeneJul 7, 2023
@ashleyspencer @writing Have you read The War of Art? I tend to agree with the author that making daily writing a habit is the secret to success. I'm on my 5th traditionally published book, and while I don't write fiction, I find that I still require the consistency of daily writing. It can help to give yourself a set amount of time to write each day vs trying to hit a specific word or page goal. Hope that is helpful!
Show threadRS, Author, Novelist, ProsaistJul 7, 2023

@ashleyspencer @writing

How often do you work on your writing? [Other questions on how much you write.]

I would advise to put in your mind that any writing you get done is good, and it is all excellent practice no matter how small.

The bad word is fail. Setting goals is good, but it is bad if it allows you to define what failing is for you. It has been pointed out to me numerous times until it mostly sticks that comparing oneself to what others do is searching for the definition of failure. Let's not do that.

Like all the other authors answering this thread have related, we all write except when we don't. It makes us a writer. Personally, when I am in a groove, I can write thousands of words. Then again, I also burnt-out for 14 years and wrote nothing during that time. I do write stuff for Mastodon more periodically than I am actually writing for sale or online publishing, but that's just seasonal. Sometimes the need to write is so intense, characters wake me up in the middle of the night and won't let me sleep.

I am #actuallyautistic, so I've had to learn what works for me, learn how to (in your parlance) lock the cat out of the room, and be okay with writing when the feeling hits me—willing to put the world on hold to do so. Keep focused on you and what you want to do, writing so it feels good and not writing when it doesn't. The rest you'll eventually figure out.

Adding a few more hashtags to see if others will read the original post and add their thoughts.

#writing #writers #writer #author #writersOfMastodon #BoostingIsSharing #writingAdvice

Show threadrob mclennanJul 7, 2023
@ashleyspencer @writing : what kept me going through my 20s etc was simply that routine: daily work, which allows the project to move at a good rate of speed; but what you need to find is the way that YOU best work, yes? and: if it helps, irritation at a project not being completed is a good prompt if it pushes you to keep moving; keep moving! its the only way projects get completed,
Show threadRocheleRJul 7, 2023
@ashleyspencer @writing I write in spurts. There may be months where I don’t touch writing but then I’m in the right headspace and have the time to churn out several chapters in one sitting. I try to work with the ebb and flow of my creativity because I’m Multipassionate and try to make room for everything I do while acknowledging that I can’t do everything in one day or week or even within a month.
Show threadChoosyChowJul 7, 2023
@ashleyspencer I heard that Neil Gaiman wrote “Coraline” over the course of like a decade. He said sometimes one or two sentences at a time. Don’t fret too badly, friend. You’ll get there.
Show threadPeculiar SusanJul 7, 2023
@ashleyspencer @writing recently every day, but that was hard to get to. I wish I could say it makes it easier, but some days it makes me feel like trashing the whole WIP.
Show threadMaria The Martian Jul 7, 2023
@ashleyspencer I really enjoy writing fiction stories but I have trouble sticking with it for longer than a few weeks. I know I have a book in me, if only I could get it out of me. 😸
Show threadBlippy the Wonder Slug (MOVED)Jul 7, 2023

@ashleyspencer @writing
Firstly, tho I spew words fairly frequently, I would by no means call myself a writer.

But it IS an affliction. If I had to label it, call it Vogon Poetry Syndrome.

To answer your question... every day.

I look at it more as personal hygiene, or therapy of sorts, sopping up the mess oozing inside my skull.

If I have "writer's block," I'm actually doing OK.

Soory it's not much help.

Show threadFish Id Wardrobe ⁂Jul 7, 2023
@ashleyspencer @writing Agh. Once a month if I am lucky? Do not take me as an example.
Show threadcyborgJul 7, 2023

@ashleyspencer @writing I got writing advice at university.
Most valuable lesson: Track the hours not the letters.

So You can get a habit of spending one hour per day at your desk - "writing"
It could be busily typing - note taking - musing - sorting chapters - anything that is connected to the writing process.

Tracking progress in numbers is good for conversation and when you already have a deadline with a publisher