Day 117: Editing as I go is more fun for me
I'll be continuing my experiment from yesterday, writing on my Alphasmart and then seeing if self-editing after each writing session is as much of a mental hurdle as it usually is.
I'm not sure why but I'm feeling a bit light-headed today, as well as headachey. I really hope I'm not coming down with something. Otherwise I feel fine so I'll try to still get some writing done today.
***
I did a writing session on my Alphasmart, and as I expected, it was such a pain to go back and correct things that the rough draft was rife with spelling and grammar errors. My words per hour was very high, 2200 words per hour, but the piece needed extensive self-editing to correct everything and look up the notes I made for myself.
I did my self-editing as soon as the sprint was done. It was actually much easier than when I leave it for the end of the book. However, it was still rather difficult to get myself to do it--I procrastinated quite a bit before I actually went to my computer and did it. Also, I found myself not doing a very good job reading and editing, mostly because I wanted to get it done quickly.
The number of words the scene ended up being after self-editing was 2969. The number of minutes it took to write it and then edit the mess was 107. So that ends up being a final writing rate of 1664 words per hour. That's a little bit faster than when I edit as I go. (Although I'm not counting the time I procrastinated instead of just doing the self-editing.)
One problem with the Alphasmart method is that I stopped at the end of the scene, and one thing about 4thewords.com that has really been helping me is that I will hardly ever finish defeating a monster right at the end of a scene. Typically when I finish a scene, there's still words left to defeat the monster, so I'll immediately go on to the next scene until the monster is defeated.
This has been incredibly helpful because when I usually wrote, I would finish a scene and stop to take a break, but starting the new scene was a bit of a mental hurdle, too. (I have a TON of mental hurdles! I'm supposed to love writing! There's something wrong with me!) So 4the words has been helping to overcome that mental hurdle almost effortlessly.
If I use the Alphasmart, I need to keep better track of my word count and stop when I know I'm close to finishing a monster. That way I'll be able to stop in the middle of a scene and not fall prey to the difficulties of starting a new scene at my next sprint session.
Another thing I noticed while writing on the Alphasmart is that I don't know that I really get into creative flow because I'm writing as I check my blocking notes. It's not like the words are flowing out of me in a stream, because I will check my blocking, then write a little, check my blocking, then write some more.
If I had pantsed the scene with only the bare minimum of blocking notes, I think I would have gone into creative flow more easily on the Alphasmart. And I've done that before in the past a few times.
But from experience I know that my scenes will most consistently turn out better when I have detailed blocking notes. This is different from most other writers I've known, but this is how it works best for me.
It's usually because in blocking, I've made all the decisions about movements and character decisions, and I've determined what would be logical or not. As I get older, I've realized that my decision-making skills are very very slow (my dad is actually the same way), and it will usually take me a long time to decide something, even something as simple as what to eat for lunch.
Without blocking notes, sometimes I will stall at some point as I try to decide what to do next, and sometimes the stall time will lead to me walking away from the writing and procrastinating. So deciding character actions in my blocking notes helps me write faster and without hiccoughs.
But the third problem I noticed when writing on the Alphasmart is that the writing just wasn't as fun as when I edit as I go. Maybe it was because my brain was shrieking at the typos I left behind, maybe it was because I was dreading the work I had to do later when I left a note for myself for things I knew I needed to fix but didn't have access to the internet to do it. Maybe it was because I couldn't see the pattern of sentences and words throughout the manuscript, since I could only see four lines at a time, and feeling like I was being repetitive in my sentences (when I was self-editing, I realized that I was, to an extent).
A part of me really does want to make it work on the Alphasmart so I can get into creative flow. But there's too big a part of me resisting, for various reasons, which is flying in the face of standard writing advice.
So while I wouldn't advise this for any other writer, I think I'm going to continue to edit as I go when I write. It's simply more enjoyable for me.
Maybe there are days I can switch up my routine and use the Alphasmart, just to change things up and stir the creativity pot in my brain. I wouldn't mind doing that. I actually really like my Alphasmart since it's an INDESTRUCTIBLE TANK!!! and I can write anywhere, including in sunlight.
But for now, I think I will try to just make this writing work as it is.
I feel kind of like a failure because I went through all this effort to make an experiment, and yet I'm ignoring the experiment results (small though the sample size was) simply because I wasn't having fun. Doesn't that sound kind of childish??? And yet, writing is so hard with such a terrible ROI, who would want to do it if it wasn't fun?
Paradoxically, I've been trying not to feel so down on myself that my words per hour is so much slower than before. But maybe I can improve that. I'll have to see. Maybe I can come up with something that will help me with that, aside from just pushing myself more in my writing sessions.
***
Since I reached the end of the scene, I worked to do some blocking for the next few scenes, but I didn't record the number of words since I decided not to do the write-messy blocking I tried to do earlier. The primary reason is that when I was writing, it took time for me to decipher my messy blocking notes, and it distracted from the writing flow. So I decided to do my blocking the same as before, a bit neater and more organized so that the writing will be easier.
I'm still getting hit by bad IBS every so often, and there were a few times where I had to stop and rest for an hour here and there. I didn't spend as much time writing today as I wanted, but I did get a fair number of words done total, and these are edited words and not the rough mess from my Alphasmart.
Still, I want to increase the amount of time I spend writing eventually. I have to figure out how I can do that. I feel like my focus and self-discipline just isn't there.
Blocking: Time spent: 1 hour 10 minutes
Writing: Time spent: 2 hours 13 minutes
Writing: Total number of words: 3457 words
Writing: Average speed: 1575 words per hour
Time spent doing other writing-related business: 2 hours, 2 minutes
My takeaway for today: Even if I can't get into creative flow mode, editing as I go is more fun for me when I write.
I'm not sure why but I'm feeling a bit light-headed today, as well as headachey. I really hope I'm not coming down with something. Otherwise I feel fine so I'll try to still get some writing done today.
***
I did a writing session on my Alphasmart, and as I expected, it was such a pain to go back and correct things that the rough draft was rife with spelling and grammar errors. My words per hour was very high, 2200 words per hour, but the piece needed extensive self-editing to correct everything and look up the notes I made for myself.
I did my self-editing as soon as the sprint was done. It was actually much easier than when I leave it for the end of the book. However, it was still rather difficult to get myself to do it--I procrastinated quite a bit before I actually went to my computer and did it. Also, I found myself not doing a very good job reading and editing, mostly because I wanted to get it done quickly.
The number of words the scene ended up being after self-editing was 2969. The number of minutes it took to write it and then edit the mess was 107. So that ends up being a final writing rate of 1664 words per hour. That's a little bit faster than when I edit as I go. (Although I'm not counting the time I procrastinated instead of just doing the self-editing.)
One problem with the Alphasmart method is that I stopped at the end of the scene, and one thing about 4thewords.com that has really been helping me is that I will hardly ever finish defeating a monster right at the end of a scene. Typically when I finish a scene, there's still words left to defeat the monster, so I'll immediately go on to the next scene until the monster is defeated.
This has been incredibly helpful because when I usually wrote, I would finish a scene and stop to take a break, but starting the new scene was a bit of a mental hurdle, too. (I have a TON of mental hurdles! I'm supposed to love writing! There's something wrong with me!) So 4the words has been helping to overcome that mental hurdle almost effortlessly.
If I use the Alphasmart, I need to keep better track of my word count and stop when I know I'm close to finishing a monster. That way I'll be able to stop in the middle of a scene and not fall prey to the difficulties of starting a new scene at my next sprint session.
Another thing I noticed while writing on the Alphasmart is that I don't know that I really get into creative flow because I'm writing as I check my blocking notes. It's not like the words are flowing out of me in a stream, because I will check my blocking, then write a little, check my blocking, then write some more.
If I had pantsed the scene with only the bare minimum of blocking notes, I think I would have gone into creative flow more easily on the Alphasmart. And I've done that before in the past a few times.
But from experience I know that my scenes will most consistently turn out better when I have detailed blocking notes. This is different from most other writers I've known, but this is how it works best for me.
It's usually because in blocking, I've made all the decisions about movements and character decisions, and I've determined what would be logical or not. As I get older, I've realized that my decision-making skills are very very slow (my dad is actually the same way), and it will usually take me a long time to decide something, even something as simple as what to eat for lunch.
Without blocking notes, sometimes I will stall at some point as I try to decide what to do next, and sometimes the stall time will lead to me walking away from the writing and procrastinating. So deciding character actions in my blocking notes helps me write faster and without hiccoughs.
But the third problem I noticed when writing on the Alphasmart is that the writing just wasn't as fun as when I edit as I go. Maybe it was because my brain was shrieking at the typos I left behind, maybe it was because I was dreading the work I had to do later when I left a note for myself for things I knew I needed to fix but didn't have access to the internet to do it. Maybe it was because I couldn't see the pattern of sentences and words throughout the manuscript, since I could only see four lines at a time, and feeling like I was being repetitive in my sentences (when I was self-editing, I realized that I was, to an extent).
A part of me really does want to make it work on the Alphasmart so I can get into creative flow. But there's too big a part of me resisting, for various reasons, which is flying in the face of standard writing advice.
So while I wouldn't advise this for any other writer, I think I'm going to continue to edit as I go when I write. It's simply more enjoyable for me.
Maybe there are days I can switch up my routine and use the Alphasmart, just to change things up and stir the creativity pot in my brain. I wouldn't mind doing that. I actually really like my Alphasmart since it's an INDESTRUCTIBLE TANK!!! and I can write anywhere, including in sunlight.
But for now, I think I will try to just make this writing work as it is.
I feel kind of like a failure because I went through all this effort to make an experiment, and yet I'm ignoring the experiment results (small though the sample size was) simply because I wasn't having fun. Doesn't that sound kind of childish??? And yet, writing is so hard with such a terrible ROI, who would want to do it if it wasn't fun?
Paradoxically, I've been trying not to feel so down on myself that my words per hour is so much slower than before. But maybe I can improve that. I'll have to see. Maybe I can come up with something that will help me with that, aside from just pushing myself more in my writing sessions.
***
Since I reached the end of the scene, I worked to do some blocking for the next few scenes, but I didn't record the number of words since I decided not to do the write-messy blocking I tried to do earlier. The primary reason is that when I was writing, it took time for me to decipher my messy blocking notes, and it distracted from the writing flow. So I decided to do my blocking the same as before, a bit neater and more organized so that the writing will be easier.
I'm still getting hit by bad IBS every so often, and there were a few times where I had to stop and rest for an hour here and there. I didn't spend as much time writing today as I wanted, but I did get a fair number of words done total, and these are edited words and not the rough mess from my Alphasmart.
Still, I want to increase the amount of time I spend writing eventually. I have to figure out how I can do that. I feel like my focus and self-discipline just isn't there.
Blocking: Time spent: 1 hour 10 minutes
Writing: Time spent: 2 hours 13 minutes
Writing: Total number of words: 3457 words
Writing: Average speed: 1575 words per hour
Time spent doing other writing-related business: 2 hours, 2 minutes
My takeaway for today: Even if I can't get into creative flow mode, editing as I go is more fun for me when I write.
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