This is so accurate! I got sucked into this trap while at the Novelry. It wasn't their fault; it was just that there were so many workshops in addition to all the other educational materials I was finding online. I would spend all my time learning things I've learned a dozen times already. I even made a spreadsheet plotting my novel against several writing methods, because I didn't know which one I was supposed to use. In the end, I wasn't getting ANY work done on my novel.
Crazy, right? I built spreadsheets with a million tabs, filled whiteboards, pinned color-coded index cards on my wall like a “serious writer” does—yet didn't write a single scene. I bookmarked websites, podcast-binged writer-interviews, even Novelry-ed my share of workshops on motivation and stakes and hooks… then I shut the circus down and 50K words poured out in one month!
It's comforting, in a way, to hear that someone else experienced the same pitfalls I had. It makes me feel less of a fool or faux-writer. And it's incredible what we can accomplish once we actually get to writing!
You are definitely not a fool (or a faux-writer)! Experts sprout up from every corner, waving like they have THE answer! What worked for me was to pick the one voice that connected, and then I got out of the arena and started writing :)
I did indeed head on over to your website - and it's awesome! I'm picking my process (Save The Cat) and sticking with it. Great advice, and honestly not something I've ever tried.
Gosh, you and I have had this conversation so many times! I was always running to the next shiny program, expert, or guru, like my brain was on fire and they had the extinguisher! LOL
This is so accurate! I got sucked into this trap while at the Novelry. It wasn't their fault; it was just that there were so many workshops in addition to all the other educational materials I was finding online. I would spend all my time learning things I've learned a dozen times already. I even made a spreadsheet plotting my novel against several writing methods, because I didn't know which one I was supposed to use. In the end, I wasn't getting ANY work done on my novel.
Crazy, right? I built spreadsheets with a million tabs, filled whiteboards, pinned color-coded index cards on my wall like a “serious writer” does—yet didn't write a single scene. I bookmarked websites, podcast-binged writer-interviews, even Novelry-ed my share of workshops on motivation and stakes and hooks… then I shut the circus down and 50K words poured out in one month!
It's comforting, in a way, to hear that someone else experienced the same pitfalls I had. It makes me feel less of a fool or faux-writer. And it's incredible what we can accomplish once we actually get to writing!
You are definitely not a fool (or a faux-writer)! Experts sprout up from every corner, waving like they have THE answer! What worked for me was to pick the one voice that connected, and then I got out of the arena and started writing :)
I did indeed head on over to your website - and it's awesome! I'm picking my process (Save The Cat) and sticking with it. Great advice, and honestly not something I've ever tried.
Gosh, you and I have had this conversation so many times! I was always running to the next shiny program, expert, or guru, like my brain was on fire and they had the extinguisher! LOL