Do you have another practice that might be more meaningful for you to start your day with?
For me the major purpose the morning pages serve is that they give me space to clear out some of the sludge that's in my brain when I start the day. It's rarely enough to clear out all the sludge, but I'm at least 3 pages lighter when I start the day. Sometimes that means I write down a bunch of gibberish, I play word association, I start listing things that I think of or that I see around me. Sometimes I use it as a space for dream journaling. Sometimes I'll take a few minutes to check in with my body and start writing something like "How are my toes doing? My toes feel okay. How are my ankles doing? My left one hurts a bit and I haven't stretched yet so they feel a little funny..." and by the time I get to the top of my head I've filled all the pages. Some days I'll grab a Tarot deck, pull a card, and start writing about it until I run out of things to say about that card and then I'll pull another, and keep doing that till I run out of cards
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My usual ritual is to hang out with the fams while I have my morning coffee, usually catching up emails or watching some tv before starting my routines. I think the thing is that I don't have any sludge when I wake up for the day. I'm refreshed and ready to go. Trying to think of something to write is an awful, homeworky chore, and it brings me no pleasure at all. I might try some of your tips, but I'm pretty sure it's just the opposite of what it's "supposed" to be for me. It works my stress levels up more than it clears anything out. I do like the tarot card idea (I've done meditations like that, but not used them as writing prompts). I just...am forcing it instead of feeling it, and that makes me more inclined to just drop the whole thing. I like the program. I just abhor the morning pages and find them extremely wasteful, for me
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As far as the daily sheets are concerned, I've done a similar exercise for different reasons and it's not a waste of time to write "I have nothing to write." What you'll find is that it leads into "I have nothing to write because..." which then leads you further into other ideas and eventually gets to somewhere really, really interesting. The trick is not to think about what you're writing and just write it out, so if all is in your mind is "I can't do this" just write that over and over, no pauses, no stopping to think. It may take a few days to get into the swing of it, which is why when you first start out and all you have is this, it seems like a waste of time, but it's worth persevering with. The exercise that I did you do for 11 days and the first 3-4 days have nothing useful at all and it's only really the last day that the best stuff comes out. I have pages and pages of the word "nothing" repeated but it wasn't a waste of time by any stretch of the imagination.
Did you get my note about not being able to find your number
I've only just checked all my emails, as I've been in "reading deprivation" all week. Technically, I'm cheating and quitting a few hours early. I'm done with it though. I was going to catch up on FB after LJ. Looks like you weren't on my emergency contact list, but I've added you, so you should have access to that link if you ever need it again in the future. I'll email you our number once I hop over on facebook
( ... )
I know that scattered, triggered feeling all too well.
Some writing advice just doesn't fit me as well. I loved the idea of just getting a few characters, starting to write and see what happens but for me that just leads to nothing. I'm a total plotter. It took me a long while to figure that out!
Man, plotting is totally my weakest area. I wish that I could figure out how to do that. I seem to do the opposite of you - setting & characters, and then edit it afterwards, assuming I ever find a plot within. Not all of my attempts lead to good storylines. What do you do when you're plotting, before you write?
I never used to plot when I did short stories but with novels I tend to dig myself into deep holes if I don't. I haven't been plotting for very long so I'm still not great at it but I'll try to explain a little.
For last year's NaNoWriMo I wrote out a chapter outline which helped a lot but I had no practice at using one so the emotions in the story ended up kind of flat or forced.
This year, I took a writing class. The main thing the guy taught us was to give the protagonist a flaw and then have him or her overcome that flaw as the story goes along. It sounds formulaic but I think if you worked with it enough you would be able to hide the structure. I can go into more detail if you're interested. Basically I've set it up so I have some idea of what part of my main character needs to change which makes it easier to make the plot center around challenging him.
That makes sense. I like flawed characters, anyway. I have kind of a basic outline, like a generic timeline. Like, "First baby born...first crime committed...captain gets preggers...mining mission..." that kind of thing. I don't even know that that counts as plotting. I've never been able to put together a chapter outline, but maybe I should try some exercises like that sometime. I usually never know where my story is going until I get there. I'd probably try with a short story first.
I apologize for reading this so late... I don't check LJ as much as I probably should. I'm sitting up late alternately crying my eyes out & typing with one hand because my other is holding one of my beloved little rattie boys as he slips away. I got them for Christmas 2007, a gift from my daughter. Since rats generally live about 2 years, he's due. He's laying in my hand grinding his teeth. So either he's comforted by my presence or he's annoyed.
I do hope you are feeling better now, darling. You're an amazing woman. Remember that, always. <3
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For me the major purpose the morning pages serve is that they give me space to clear out some of the sludge that's in my brain when I start the day. It's rarely enough to clear out all the sludge, but I'm at least 3 pages lighter when I start the day. Sometimes that means I write down a bunch of gibberish, I play word association, I start listing things that I think of or that I see around me. Sometimes I use it as a space for dream journaling. Sometimes I'll take a few minutes to check in with my body and start writing something like "How are my toes doing? My toes feel okay. How are my ankles doing? My left one hurts a bit and I haven't stretched yet so they feel a little funny..." and by the time I get to the top of my head I've filled all the pages. Some days I'll grab a Tarot deck, pull a card, and start writing about it until I run out of things to say about that card and then I'll pull another, and keep doing that till I run out of cards ( ... )
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Did you get my note about not being able to find your number
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I know that scattered, triggered feeling all too well.
Some writing advice just doesn't fit me as well. I loved the idea of just getting a few characters, starting to write and see what happens but for me that just leads to nothing. I'm a total plotter. It took me a long while to figure that out!
Reply
Man, plotting is totally my weakest area. I wish that I could figure out how to do that. I seem to do the opposite of you - setting & characters, and then edit it afterwards, assuming I ever find a plot within. Not all of my attempts lead to good storylines. What do you do when you're plotting, before you write?
Reply
For last year's NaNoWriMo I wrote out a chapter outline which helped a lot but I had no practice at using one so the emotions in the story ended up kind of flat or forced.
This year, I took a writing class. The main thing the guy taught us was to give the protagonist a flaw and then have him or her overcome that flaw as the story goes along. It sounds formulaic but I think if you worked with it enough you would be able to hide the structure. I can go into more detail if you're interested. Basically I've set it up so I have some idea of what part of my main character needs to change which makes it easier to make the plot center around challenging him.
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Anyways, thanks for your tips!
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I do hope you are feeling better now, darling. You're an amazing woman. Remember that, always. <3
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