Which urbanites are writing books?

[Brainaddict]

no. i don't mean when on drugs.
but when on a come down, which i have to say, is the majority of my week
what else do you do?

that doesn't work for me either. i can only be properly creative when my brain is in pretty tip-top condition. I've been finding that taking drugs at the weekend makes me incapable of writing properly at least until thursday, often friday
which is one of the reasons I'll probably soon be taking less drugs than I have been lately.

 

[tastebud]

lie on your bed with tunes on, falling asleep too early, then waking up about 11 and not being able to sleep all night thus continuing the cycle

or just sit up staring at a blank screen until 5 or 6am every night.
awaking again at 8 or 9am.
thus continuing the cycle.
-sorry for the derail ba. i will bugger off now.

 

[phildwyer]

that doesn't work for me either. i can only be properly creative when my brain is in pretty tip-top condition. I've been finding that taking drugs at the weekend makes me incapable of writing properly at least until thursday, often friday
which is one of the reasons I'll probably soon be taking less drugs than I have been lately.

That's bollocks. You can write in almost any condition if you put your mind to it. Feeling ill or tired provides an excellent *excuse* for not writing, though, and often any excuse will do. And chain yourself to your desk for a certain amount of time each day, even if sometimes nothing comes out. You have to write *every* day to make a success of it, I find, as in 365 days a year. No excuses, ever, otherwise you'll just find new ones all the time.

 

[Brainaddict]

or just sit up staring at a blank screen until 5 or 6am every night.
awaking again at 8 or 9am.
thus continuing the cycle.
-sorry for the derail ba. i will bugger off now.

twasn't too bad a derail - all will be forgiven if you post up the first chapter of your book by the end of the week.

 

[Brainaddict]

That's bollocks. You can write in almost any condition if you put your mind to it. Feeling ill or tired provides an excellent *excuse* for not writing, though, and often any excuse will do. And chain yourself to your desk for a certain amount of time each day, even if sometimes nothing comes out. You have to write *every* day to make a success of it, I find, as in 365 days a year. No excuses, ever, otherwise you'll just find new ones all the time.

Always so quick to assume other people's ignorance aren't we phil? Clearly you would know a lot more about my brain than I would.

 

[phildwyer]

No mate, its good advice I'm giving you. Sit at your computer screen for 2-3 hours every single day of the year, no matter how hungover or whatever you may be. That's all it takes. You'll be amazed at how much you produce. Its not much to ask, most people wouldn't consider 2-3 hours a day to be working at all, but there is nothing lazier than a poet/writer manque. And believe me, I've seen enough dreamer-writers fail through nothing more than laziness. You are already making excuses for yourself--just do it, or shut up about it. Writers write.

 

[nick1181]

I've done one chapter of my new best-seller. New year's resolution innit. If I manage one chapter a year, then I'll have finished by the time I'm about 60 or so.

It's going quite well other than that. So far it's about a cat going down the shops. He gets about 1/2 way then forgets where he's going, and that's about as far as it's got.

It's quite difficult writing books actually.

 

[Badger Kitten]

I'm blogging. People are reading it. I done become a writer.

Still got the day job though.

 

[ruffneck23]

I've done one chapter of my new best-seller. New year's resolution innit. If I manage one chapter a year, then I'll have finished by the time I'm about 60 or so.

It's going quite well other than that. So far it's about a cat going down the shops. He gets about 1/2 way then forgets where he's going, and that's about as far as it's got.

It's quite difficult writing books actually.

sounds great , i think you should see it through

 

[Groucho]

No mate, its good advice I'm giving you. Sit at your computer screen for 2-3 hours every single day of the year, no matter how hungover or whatever you may be. That's all it takes. You'll be amazed at how much you produce. Its not much to ask, most people wouldn't consider 2-3 hours a day to be working at all, but there is nothing lazier than a poet/writer manque. And believe me, I've seen enough dreamer-writers fail through nothing more than laziness. You are already making excuses for yourself--just do it, or shut up about it. Writers write.

You are a right twat. And boring with it. Why not leave these boards and get on and write your life changing book? You know God wants you to.

 

[Dubversion]

i found out on saturday that i'm actually a character, which is curious.. if anyone ever saw any issues of defunkt stoner magazine Northern Lights (i certainly never have ) see if you can tell which one is me

 

[phildwyer]

Its already got more action than Beckett.

 

[Iam]

No mate, its good advice I'm giving you. Sit at your computer screen for 2-3 hours every single day of the year, no matter how hungover or whatever you may be. That's all it takes. You'll be amazed at how much you produce. Its not much to ask, most people wouldn't consider 2-3 hours a day to be working at all, but there is nothing lazier than a poet/writer manque. And believe me, I've seen enough dreamer-writers fail through nothing more than laziness. You are already making excuses for yourself--just do it, or shut up about it. Writers write.

True, but it's not really volume I'm looking for.

I find it particularly difficult to write when I've been working, for precisely that reason - I can do it, but the quality is not really what I'm after (turgid, generally). And I'm far too lazy, as well. I often do bits of plotlining and fleshing of ideas or characters, but it's been a while since I've done any work on the actual body of the story itself.

I find it comes to me in patches and then goes again just as soon. I figure that by the time I'm 70, I might actually have finished, but I can live with that. In between, it's a lot of fun planning and playing with ideas and that's enough.

 

[trashpony]

No mate, its good advice I'm giving you. Sit at your computer screen for 2-3 hours every single day of the year, no matter how hungover or whatever you may be. That's all it takes. You'll be amazed at how much you produce. Its not much to ask, most people wouldn't consider 2-3 hours a day to be working at all, but there is nothing lazier than a poet/writer manque. And believe me, I've seen enough dreamer-writers fail through nothing more than laziness. You are already making excuses for yourself--just do it, or shut up about it. Writers write.

I write for 5-6 hours a day because it's my job. Still doesn't mean that it's not massively harder to write anything half decent when I'm fucked from the night before. IME, it's a bit pointless struggling over your prose because you only have to rewrite it all the next day anyway.

I do agree that there is a certain amount of discipline involved in writing - it has to be treated like a job - dilettanteism is never going to get the job done.

 

[phildwyer]

Yeah, I'm a character too. At least one, probably one and a half. I don't like it much.

 

[butchersapron]

Its already got more action than Beckett.

....and a better story than most autobiographical novels...

 

[bluestreak]

That's bollocks. You can write in almost any condition if you put your mind to it. Feeling ill or tired provides an excellent *excuse* for not writing, though, and often any excuse will do. And chain yourself to your desk for a certain amount of time each day, even if sometimes nothing comes out. You have to write *every* day to make a success of it, I find, as in 365 days a year. No excuses, ever, otherwise you'll just find new ones all the time.

you're getting more and more of an annoying git every day. personally i find that when i force myself to write i only have to throw it all out later on. but then maybe i'm not as clever as you.

 

[phildwyer]

I write for 5-6 hours a day because it's my job. Still doesn't mean that it's not massively harder to write anything half decent when I'm fucked from the night before. IME, it's a bit pointless struggling over your prose because you only have to rewrite it all the next day anyway.

I do agree that there is a certain amount of discipline involved in writing - it has to be treated like a job - dilettanteism is never going to get the job done.

That's right. There's no big mystery to it, writing's a craft, and practice makes perfect. The more you write, the better you'll get at it. You have to treat it like a job, even if its not your job. That means turning up for work even when you're hungover or coming down. And, generally speaking, the people who actually do write don't talk about it much. The people who talk about it, don't do it.

 

[ruffneck23]

you're getting more and more of an annoying git every day. personally i find that when i force myself to write i only have to throw it all out later on. but then maybe i'm not as clever as you.

mayb your just over - critical of your work

 

[butchersapron]

That's right. There's no big mystery to it, writing's a craft, and practice makes perfect. The more you write, the better you'll get at it. You have to treat it like a job, even if its not your job. That means turning up for work even when you're hungover or coming down. And, generally speaking, the people who actually do write don't talk about it much. The people who talk about it, don't do it.

What if you hate the boss?

 

[zenie]

We've all got a book in us right?

I have one in my head it's just breaking it down into sensible chunks and then chapters etc.

 

[exosculate]

We'va all got a book in us right?

I have one in my head it's just breaking it down ito sensible chunks and then chapters etc.

True - but not everybody can write it down in such a way that others give a ........

 

[tastebud]

twasn't too bad a derail - all will be forgiven if you post up the first chapter of your book by the end of the week.

i just had a sudden thought t'other day, tbh, but i'll endeavour to try !

 

[trashpony]

That's right. There's no big mystery to it, writing's a craft, and practice makes perfect. The more you write, the better you'll get at it. You have to treat it like a job, even if its not your job. That means turning up for work even when you're hungover or coming down.

Errm - that's not exactly what I said. I said: IME, it's a bit pointless struggling over your prose because you only have to rewrite it all the next day anyway.

I have to write every day because it is my job and I can't afford not to do it because I got a bit messy the night before.

The point I was trying (and obviously failing) to make was that if you're serious about writing, you need to make a few sacrifices - cut down on the hallucinogens/drink/whatever it is that stops you writing.

 

[phildwyer]

You are a right twat. And boring with it. Why not leave these boards and get on and write your life changing book? You know God wants you to.

Julie Burchill had a brilliant line about "writer" men who spend the years between 25 and 45 "rotting away in the Groucho Club, contemplating their novels." I do believe she had you in mind.

 

[exosculate]

The point I was trying (and obviously failing) to make was that if you're serious about writing, you need to make a few sacrifices - cut down on the hallucinogens/drink/whatever it is that stops you writing.

Don't tell Burroughs/Kerouac/Huxley etc that!

 

[ruffneck23]

Julie Burchill had a brilliant line about "writer" men who spend the years between 25 and 45 "rotting away in the Groucho Club, contemplating their novels." I do believe she had you in mind.

until i was barred for life i believe she had me in mind too

 

[butchersapron]

Errm - that's not exactly what I said. I said: IME, it's a bit pointless struggling over your prose because you only have to rewrite it all the next day anyway.

I have to write every day because it is my job and I can't afford not to do it because I got a bit messy the night before.

The point I was trying (and obviously failing) to make was that if you're serious about writing, you need to make a few sacrifices - cut down on the hallucinogens/drink/whatever it is that stops you writing.

Why? Did Malcolm Lowry and countless others no harm. Stopping things that make you unable to write is one thing, but saying that these things also make others unable to write is streching it a bit - if anything there's a whole list of writers who claimedthat it/being fucked up actually helped them to write. Claims not always being truth of course

( Re-reading your post you're not even saying what i thought though are you?)

 

[phildwyer]

Errm - that's not exactly what I said. I said: IME, it's a bit pointless struggling over your prose because you only have to rewrite it all the next day anyway.

I have to write every day because it is my job and I can't afford not to do it because I got a bit messy the night before.

The point I was trying (and obviously failing) to make was that if you're serious about writing, you need to make a few sacrifices - cut down on the hallucinogens/drink/whatever it is that stops you writing.

Ha! And Ha! Again. Tell that to William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dylan Thomas, Malcolm Lowry, Jack Kerouac, Kinglsey Amis, Peter Ackroyd, Christopher Hitchens... need I go on? The *most* prolific writers spend much of their time feeling like crap. The difference between you (at present) and them is that they don't make it into an *excuse* for *not* writing.

 

[trashpony]

Don't tell Burroughs/Kerouac/Huxley etc that!

Yes but it's the hangovers/come downs that are the killers. Did they even bother or just keep themselves in a state of constant murkiness?