Biweekly Discussion Thread #3

Summary:

How do you get your creative juices flowing?

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Biweekly Discussion Thread #3

Rounderhouse 05 Aug 2022 20:55

Hello!

Continued from our last thread, we're doing biweekly discussions on anything and everything related to the Library and the authors that comprise it (that's you guys!). This week, our prompt is:

How do you get into the mood for writing? Are you fueled by raw emotion or cold discipline? Do you have to read beforehand, or perhaps listen to the same song on loop? Do your habits change depending on what you're writing?

—submitted by LAN 2D

Discuss! And remember: if you have an idea for a discussion prompt, submit it here and it may be used in future threads!

Re: Biweekly Discussion Thread #3

Stygian Blue 06 Aug 2022 00:02

Writing Brain is elusive. Writing Brain is nomadic. Just when I think I know the places Writing Brain frequents, it moves. So, how do I get in the mood? I soak up ideas and fresh experiences all week, then from the smallest things (and I mean small — [Dandelions] was written from seeing a bit of dandelion fluff on my coat and wondering what would happen if I encouraged it to grow), banging out something in 2-3 hours. Writing when Writing Brain is near is critical. If I try to write when Gamer Brain is on and Writing Brain is five miles out, the prose is sad and the endeavor is fruitless. When I put my hands anywhere near a keyboard when Writing Brain is close, though, the words pour out like water from a pent-up dam. Keeping times throughout the day when I know I have the opportunity to drop everything and write my brains out is key for me to get stuff on the page (though I know this isn't how it is for everyone, nor even myself at times!) And when all else fails, dropping my expectations to rock-bottom and telling myself to just get the words on the page so I can edit them to become something good later works, especially when the Writing Brain is on a month-long holiday (as it did for Nowhere Express's ending). Getting crit can spur it along, too.

But yeah, that's how I write.

-Styg

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What is life if not the contrast between what has been and what will become?

Re: Biweekly Discussion Thread #3

Florita 06 Aug 2022 01:17

It’s a purely emotional thing for me, I do it when the mood strikes and have difficulty making linear stories as opposed to something like poetry.

Writing is less of a thing I do because I like it, and more of something I do to spit up emotional garbage to whoever wants to read it lol

Re: Biweekly Discussion Thread #3

Rounderhouse 05 Aug 2022 21:04

For my part, I'm very ADHD-brained and get extremely easily distracted by basically anything that moves or makes noise, so getting into The Zone can be difficult for me. Once I'm in it, I can easily bang out a ton of writing in a short amount of time, but getting there is the hard part. I've found that setting aside a distinct block of distraction-free time for writing can be really helpful. Turn off the TV, throw my phone across the room, close Discord and Twitter, even set my laptop on airplane mode if I really have to. Then just sit down for an hour and just write.

Music is also a really important part of my creative process. All media is, really — when I'm writing a specific kind of genre fiction I like to try and read or watch something in that vein before I start writing. Or it ends up being the opposite, where I read or watch something in that genre and then get the overwhelming urge to write something in it, lol. Either way, I try to consume the kind of stuff I wanna write. Music, I try to find a song that matches the mood of what I'm writing and then play that on loop about a bajillion times until the words lose meaning and its just white noise I can write to without having to think about it.

Overall I think I'm more on the side of discipline than emotion — I have a calendar that keeps track of how many words a day I do, the status of my various projects, etc. I think ultimately writing is, to me, more of a sport than an art. There's definitely elements of artistry to it, but at the same time you need to constantly be exercising and developing your writing muscles lest they atrophy. There's a quote I quite like on the matter, by Chuck Close:

“Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightening to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself.”

Obviously this is hardly true for everyone, but I like the feelings it inspires.

Re: Biweekly Discussion Thread #3

Linkinbrick 05 Aug 2022 23:23

I'm going to be honest, my writing is not fueled by anything right now; which is to say that right now I am failing to write literally anything.

Just saying this so we have a rock bottom defined.

Re: Biweekly Discussion Thread #3

Stygian Blue 05 Aug 2022 23:54

Says the daily iambic exerciser

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What is life if not the contrast between what has been and what will become?

Re: Biweekly Discussion Thread #3

Snapdragon133 06 Aug 2022 00:04

Unlike Rounder, I definitely can't see writing as work. As soon as it's required or I try to sit down and do it I can never find the words. Deadlines still motivate me, so stuff like contests are usually unaffected by this, but when it came to my most recently posted thing, I had it in my head for a month and I only started writing it while I was waiting for the dermatologist to come back.

Once I actually start writing something though, it's a different story. I'm always thinking about how I have this unfinished thing, and it's much easier to get back into writing until it's done. In the same example, once I started the poem it took me about a week to finish it and post.

I never try to force an idea, it's just unpleasant to try for me. The best way to come up with new ideas in my experience is engaging with life and media. A lot of the time, the ideas you have won't even relate to the thing you're doing, but they never would've surfaced if you were just thinking about coming up with an idea.

It's hard to say if I write from a place of emotion or discipline. I mainly write because I enjoy other people reading. I love the conversations that an interesting piece of writing can whip up. Every new story that I make adds another facet to my presence, same for everyone else. This site houses the weird and wonderous, and I just love writing stuff like that, visiting a universe for a short window of time, and then never hearing from it again. I think I write for the sake of writing, but more on the emotional side of things

Re: Biweekly Discussion Thread #3

Rounderhouse 06 Aug 2022 00:31

Unlike Rounder, I definitely can't see writing as work. As soon as it's required or I try to sit down and do it I can never find the words.

I should clarify that this is very much an intentional shift in mindset from me; my natural state is much the same, being filled with ideas but not starting on stuff until I have an external motivator, at which point it's very easy for me to finish. But I hate the fact that I can't internally motivate myself to create, so I'm kind of 'training' myself to see it as an on-off thing lol

Re: Biweekly Discussion Thread #3

Snapdragon133 06 Aug 2022 01:20

Very respectable I wish you well on trying to get into that mindset lmao

Re: Biweekly Discussion Thread #3

destinysday 06 Aug 2022 00:25

I say it all depends on the circumstance.

I usually work on drafts when I get the free time, add that to the fact I try not to go more than 2 months without posting something I suppose you could say I'm driven by discipline. I usually try to sit down and work on a little of a story each night. It's very rare that I'm suddenly struck by inspiration or a strong emotion to write and actually follow through on making anything right then and there.

But as for what drives me during writing, I usually have to find some nonlyrical music that fits the mood of the piece I'm writing. From dark orchestral to videogame ambiance music, I've gone through a lot of music to find the right thing to listen to while working. I can't just sit down without something playing in my ears, otherwise, I tend to distract myself and wind up with nothing done

Re: Biweekly Discussion Thread #3

CopperMunin 06 Aug 2022 00:54

Somehow I feel like I'm always in the mood to be making stories, but rarely in the mood to write them down. Creating entire stories in my head is really easy and fast, but doing the same thing in text format takes a very long time so I end up putting it off. The main thing that helps me is trying to be consistent. If I make a goal of writing for 5 minutes every weekday (or something similar) then what usually ends up happening is I sit down to write and end up staying for over an hour. I can pretty much always write something, the problem is starting.

If I'm editing something, music is a must. I highly recommend Message to Bears. Their music is pretty easy to tune out while still helping to get into the flow for editing, or at least it works for me.

Re: Biweekly Discussion Thread #3

meltedbee 06 Aug 2022 01:08

I'm usually in the mood to write, unless I'm exceptionally tired. For Atlas' Burden, I typically write stories after I come up with an idea of where to take the story, and for my other works I simply write to express my emotion. I'll sometimes listen to ambient noise to write (my personal favorite is the noise of a submarine at crush depth for some reason) but sometimes I'll have it silent.

Re: Biweekly Discussion Thread #3

Doctor Pann 06 Aug 2022 22:32

The significant chunks of my writing seem to come at early hours of the morning when I should be doing other things. Like sleeping. I think it is the sleep deprived delirium that lowers my inhibitions and stress about writing, and so I just go. Of course, I'm only in this kind of mood once in a while, so my writing output is very erratic. Not sustainable, especially during the school year. I like listening to music while I write, though I admit it probably works to my detriment when I do. I just can't be in silence though. The only time music really helps me is when I write action scenes. Pop on the Pacific Rim playlist and fuck shit up.

Edit: This all really only applies to narrative writing. The majority of writing I do is actually worldbuilding for myself. In the case of that stuff, I honestly just do it passively. I hope one day to use my worldbuilding for something greater, hence why I even bother with trying to write narratives in the first place. This is all training for me to get good enough to where I feel confident in trying something big, like a novel. I feel that's a long way off though.

Last edited on 06 Aug 2022 22:37 by Doctor Pann Show more

Re: Biweekly Discussion Thread #3

Din-Bidor 07 Aug 2022 00:36

I'm very chaotic in my creative process. I do things whenever I feel like it, and only as long as I feel like doing them. I can deepen and extend that mood by watching films, reading other works, and especially listening to certain music and letting my imagination flow. I usually fix on certain phrases on the books I read or in the lyrics of the songs I'm listening to (even titles).

I usually go back to certain songs and playlists depending on what I'm writing. Two Steps From Hell is my go-to artist for epic works of fantasy, while anything synthwave will do for cyberpunk and sci-fi in general. Horror and suspense go best with my usual goth artists: The Mission, Bauhaus, The Sisters of Mercy… I got a whole repertoire for this.

Re: Biweekly Discussion Thread #3

SunnySundays 07 Aug 2022 00:38

Allow me to ramble:

I have a candle. It is labeled "Tuscany Candles Premium Satin Wax Evening Fireside With Essential Oils Smoky Embers & Birch Soy Blend 14 OZ (397 g)." The candle is rarely lit, but when I choose to, I make it a whole occasion. I pour a glass of milk. I change into comfortable clothes. I pace back and forth replaying all the events of my life. So when I finally pick up the extra-long extra-thick match that takes several strikes to light and touch it to the wick, my mind immediately focuses because this is my cue to write.

I write. And write. I cannot leave the room while the candle is on, for my anxiety-riddled brain cannot bear the worry of a house fire. I use this to my advantage. I let the scent of burning birch carry me to faraway lands where dragons are real and good triumphs over evil. It is only after an hour passes, after the wax has melted an inch down and I have a page of words on my platter do I blow out the candle. Then I rest until it is cold to the touch and the smell has faded from my bedroom.

The written word is not my native tongue. When I want to express something, I first turn to art— you've probably seen my sketches in the Discord chat before. My first memories are drawings. I think my thoughts as images. I only write when I am struck with an emotion I cannot easily express in a single still frame, something that grips me and makes me feel like I must share it with the world lest I explode. Once this inspiration comes, I know to clear my schedule and grab a match because I will bring it to fruition. It's an addicting feeling.

It is storming heavily outside now. I have a glass of milk, an emotion I cannot express in a single frame, and a candle. I am going to write.

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