How do you want to improve?

[whaley]

How do you want to improve?

(To be clear, choose a couple writing skills you want to improve, or a bad habit, and explain!)

I’m pretty good at writing things in an abnormal way (such as strange metaphors), but I don’t think abnormality is definitely, certainly, indubitably good. It can be confusing. It’s often detail-oriented, without giving the big picture. There can be a balance between normal and abnormal, and I’ve seen it done really well, so that’s what I’d like to do.

Endurance is something I don’t have much of, at least when it comes to writing less exciting scenes. I lose focus too easily. I learned something from roleplaying, which is to add fun descriptions to the action or dialogue. (I.e. ‘Her laced veil sheathed her sharp gaze.’) However this takes too much time when I’m supposed to be speed-writing a first draft.

Finally, I’m always tweaking things too much. Some of my stuff is better left alone, because otherwise it’s never going to have a final form. Some projects, sure, I’ll keep changing for fun. But I want to leave some of those brain relics alone.

How do you want to get better? It can be something big or small. 🙂

"If I don't like something, it's probably sanctification. Ugh." -E.C.S.

[whaley]

Tagging some people to make them aware of this area on KP!

@mineralizedwritings @savannah_grace2009 @linus-smallprint @ellette-giselle @freed_and_redeemed @rae @godlyfantasy12 @theshadow @princesachronicle22

Y’all are also free to answer last week’s question if you like.

"If I don't like something, it's probably sanctification. Ugh." -E.C.S.

[Trailblazer]

@whaley

I feel like I’m usually pretty good at getting down the idea of where I want my story to go, but then when it comes to actually writing out the scenes (and especially the in-between scenes that are necessary but not easy to write) I struggle a lot with inspiration. For example, I know I want that brother-sister relationship to work towards getting to know each other better as friends and move past some of the emotional walls they put up, but when it comes down to ideas for the scenes themselves, I start drawing a blank.

At this point my writing is mostly just a side thing I do when I have free time and not something I’m seriously focused on growing in during this season of life, so there are probably other things I need to improve too lol.

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

[Trailblazer]

@whalekeeper

Oops why do I do that? Lol. See above.

"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley

[Ruee Hamster Huey]

I’d like to improve on all writing things in general, but I guess a more specific thing I want to improve upon is my writing style and the pace that I write.

I’m currently a relatively slow writer. I will write 500-1,000 words daily some weeks, and then won’t touch my writing for a while, or will only write like 100 here and there. I’d like that to change.

But i also want to improve my style. Sometimes I can pull out a wonderful style that people say they really like, and other times, or more like most the time, I have a writing style that’d I’d call probably mediocre. I’d like to change mediocre to so good it blows the reader away.

So, yeah.

Every time you smile, a flower blooms somewhere in the world.
#AnduthForever (hopefully💕)

[Andrew]

Basically all @rae said, but mostly writing more, because I haven’t written anything recently…

I have sagely sageness everyone!
#AnduthForever (Lord Willing)

[Linus Smallprint]

@whalekeeper, thanks for the invite! I joined Kingdom Pen about a month after Kathleen stopped doing these and was disappointed she didn’t continue, so I’m glad to see you’ve started this up again.

I would like to improve my writing discipline. I tend to get distracted quite a lot and often feel that I could be doing a lot more than I am. I find writing on a laptop with the internet is bad as well. Whenever I get stuck, instead of brainstorming solutions, I often go see if any new things on YouTube that might be interesting, then often end up watching a video that is a waste of time. A bad habit I hope to break. I find I am better at being disciplined if I am more excited with my story.

I’m always seeking to improve my understanding of what makes a good story. I find story structures and how every little bit works together fascinating. When I sit down to do this with my own story, this gets a little more complicated as I try to figure out exactly what each point means and how this can work for my story. Yesterday, I was talking to my sister about a character, trying to figure out what he wanted versus what he needed. This was an odd experience as we both sort of knew the answer, but every time we tried to put it into words, we failed. Eventually, we did put the answer into words. I know the more I understand of this, the better I can both write and provide feedback to others that I feel confident it.

Sometimes it is necessary to paint the sky black in order to see the stars.

[The Most Esteemed Feathered One]

I want to use was and were less. I’ve noticed this mostly in my essays. I’ll write sentences like he was, or this was, and in my last essay I eliminated a lot of those, and it sounded a lot better.

I want to get better at worldbuilding. That’s something that always gets neglected in my stories. I generally just make stuff up as I go along, but I’ve written a textbook style article on part of my magic system, and I feel like that helped with my understanding of it.

I want to stop procrastinating. After CWW, I didn’t write for almost a month. I’m very busy, but I could still probably manage at least 20 minutes of writing per day. And when I get stuck, I just ignore my writing instead of trying to fix it.

I shall be a vestibule of unhampered sanity.

[TheShadow]

@whalekeeper

What if I said everything 

Hm, I guess I would like to get better at writing more interesting, distinct sentences and showing more than telling. I think I’ve gotten a smidge better at writing okay sentences, but nowhere near as using excellent word choices or stuff like that.

I would also like to show my themes better instead of making them obvious or preachy.

Oh… and maybe getting more confident with sharing writing and taking honest critiques.

“Our house is full of ducks!!!!”

[GodlyFantasy12]

@whalekeeper for me I feel like my writing isn’t like…good enough? Like it’s too childish? or…idk…not (mature isn’t the right word…) like I don’t like doing descriptions…so def description writing, but I just feel like its not great. I feel like I wrote better in the past and that thought process stinks so I try not to dwell on it…

#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb

[Loopy]

I just need to write.

Official KP archivist ✨

[Koshka]

I need to work on consistency, which I get is mostly self-discipline (and which is something I’ve always had to work on, writing life aside). I want to write, but I don’t have to write, and there are many things in my life right now that I have to do. Setting aside a specific time to do what I want, even when I’m tired, has been hard. But I’m trying to work on that. Writing is serious for me, besides being a pastime. It’s one of my dream careers that I’m working to make a reality.

The other thing I want to work on, I know will improve if I just get a steady writing schedule down; actual writing. Sure, I write snippets and scene sketches all the time, many of which have nothing to do with my actual WIPs. But have I progressed beyond Chapter 2 in any of my main WIPs in the past four years? Not really (and if I do it’s bound to be torn to pieces in a short matter of time. So maybe I need to also put a silence button on my inner editor, if such things exist). I sit down to write. And stare at the page.

And stare at the page.

And type a few words.

Then immediately backspace and proceed to StAiR aT tHe PaGe.

Poetry. I want to write more poetry, not for poetry’s sake (because frankly, most poems I’ve managed to write are quite bad) but for words sake. For the depth that comes when everything hangs on a word-by-word basis. I’ve seen that depth in other works, and I hope to see it someday in my own.

 

So there’s my ramble of what I need to work on. *Sighs at the frustrating complexity of life and leaves to go vacuum my room*

• This reply was modified 8 hours, 46 minutes ago by Koshka.

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
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[Loopy]

@koshka

Yeah. That. Everything you said. Same.

Official KP archivist ✨

[Elishavet Elroi]

I need to write too. XD

Actually though, I’m trying to make my writing itself be consistent. I’m finding it hard to keep a balance of action/description/dialogue. That makes it even harder to write, because what I do write doesn’t even sound like the same book. Or needs a lot of action to connect it, but not summed up, sped through action like “they walked a long time.”

Also, I have recently felt that my characters were cookie cutter and boring. Like, not enough texture to them, even though I have backstory and hobbies and personality. They’re just… There. And not knowing exactly what I want to do in their stories doesn’t help.

So yeah. Balance, Structure, and realistic, personable Character Growth.

You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan

[Koshka]

@loopylin

XD

Thank you, thank you.

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
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