How This Critter Crits
Viewing comments for Chapter 18 "Written Today's Half-Pound Yet?"GROWTH? ADULATION? HURRY -- CHOOSE!
60 total reviews
Comment from Dawn Munro
I think that "write" is the soundest advice ever given to a writer. Certainly it's advice I try to follow religiously, and believe it or not, my muse is usually rather decent about it, so I won't kill her (although there are days I have to leave her behind. I swear it shows in my work though - she's a talented little thing, when she's not out to humiliate me...but that's a story for another day)...
This is hilarious. I loved every word (except the murdering part--you stay away from my muse! See above^^!!! I NEED her. Discipline is important, and certainly comes in handy for the drudge work, but I tried ignoring that little witch once and spent years unable to write a thing that wasn't garbage.) LOL.
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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I think that "write" is the soundest advice ever given to a writer. Certainly it's advice I try to follow religiously, and believe it or not, my muse is usually rather decent about it, so I won't kill her (although there are days I have to leave her behind. I swear it shows in my work though - she's a talented little thing, when she's not out to humiliate me...but that's a story for another day)...
This is hilarious. I loved every word (except the murdering part--you stay away from my muse! See above^^!!! I NEED her. Discipline is important, and certainly comes in handy for the drudge work, but I tried ignoring that little witch once and spent years unable to write a thing that wasn't garbage.) LOL.
Comment Written 13-Sep-2015
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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Hey, what can I say? You've found something that works for you. Don't change a bit of it. This was written for the rest of us who would use "a muse" to help us procrastinate.
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:))) Oh, I agree - whatever works. And not for one moment do I think there isn't a necessity for discipline in a writer's life! It's all too easy to be distracted. I was merely giving you a glimpse of my own situation these days. It wasn't always like this, believe me! :0)
I guess my attempt at humour fizzled...I was trying to be funny, Jay...I've been slammed so often by a couple of people for being prolific - "the quality of the work suffers when quantity is the push", etcetera. That's ridiculous - it's not 'my' push - it's the little witch's. (*grin*).
Seriously though, I have never been after 'rankings' here - this is a vanity site!!! I am after 'serious' publication. But a few seem to think that's why I produce like I do. To them I point out best-selling authors who are also prolific (not that I would ever compare myself to a best-selling author skill/talent-wise, but I aim for it) but I write what comes, and there's a lot I have never posted here too - it's either not good enough, not ready or I've already posted two for the day and I forget about it or get back to it when I hit a day or two of 'dry spell'. If that doesn't fire up the juices, I WILL sit and write until it begins to flow again. But it just doesn't happen to me often anymore (thank God)! I NEED the occasional break. LOL.
I guess, like that one review set the tone for you a little, being continually, throughout my time at FanStory, told my work suffers because I have so much of it does still sting a bit. The smarter half of me KNOWS those folks have their own agendas though.
There is no black or white to me - just many, many shades of grey (including the screw-ups. LOL) I'm not NEARLY as sensitive as I was when I first joined.
How's about you? I imagine you don't GET much criticism anymore, IF you EVER did. I mean dishonest or incorrect criticism. Are there those who still get under your skin?
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I get some GOOD criticism here from a handful of critters, you being one. What I hate are the occasional crit I get that says nothing but praise, sterling commentary on my post and then gives me a 3. I used to comment back and simply ask if they intended a three. But now I don't do that any more unless I know it was a mistake because it was out of character.
Don't ever give up being prolific. Just keep writing. What I do when I go through spells like that is tell myself I will at least re-read it before jamming it in the drawer.
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Yes, and re-reading it after an elapsed time, it sometimes surprises me - it often just needs a little tweaking, or leads to more of the same story or poem.
Yes, I hear you about 'those' reviews too - they're annoying, and my way of dealing with them is to remind them that anything less than an excellent rating, to be a good review, should come with suggestions on how to improve the piece - and they SHOULD! Unless, of course, as you say, the rating is out of character for that reviewer. Then I merely ask if it was intended. I think those reviewers know me well enough not to be offended (I HOPE so, anyway) and won't feel I am griping or challenging them.
Comment from Gert sherwood
JAY
What a great Blog about how a writer mind get blocked especially when you told us ~
Don't spend so much time crafting the perfect sentence somewhere behind your eyeballs, let it splash out in all its inane structure and grammatical incorrectness. Let it be as rough as a block of granite, lying there. Grab your mallet and chisel.
Here is a poem I wrote years ago when my thoughts got locked ~
It's time again for me
to allow the strong breeze
to blow my words about
before I toss them out.
Writers call it a block ~
I say, "Take a long walk,
flock up my original thoughts
that can be easily caught;
lock them behind a door
before stray ideas soar."
Gert
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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JAY
What a great Blog about how a writer mind get blocked especially when you told us ~
Don't spend so much time crafting the perfect sentence somewhere behind your eyeballs, let it splash out in all its inane structure and grammatical incorrectness. Let it be as rough as a block of granite, lying there. Grab your mallet and chisel.
Here is a poem I wrote years ago when my thoughts got locked ~
It's time again for me
to allow the strong breeze
to blow my words about
before I toss them out.
Writers call it a block ~
I say, "Take a long walk,
flock up my original thoughts
that can be easily caught;
lock them behind a door
before stray ideas soar."
Gert
Comment Written 13-Sep-2015
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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You ought to paste that poem over your desk and refer to it even for those slow days. Today, my 2 hours of writing yielding about 1/4 oz of crap! But tomorrow I'll smear it around and see what else I can do. Thanks again for reading, Gert, and certainly for the six stars.
Comment from OLA THOMAS
Fantastic write, You run this with so much enthusiasm probably to teach and enlighten readers. I relate with every of your thoughts in the post. Very enlighten and very sincere. Thank you for this tutorial-like post.
ola thomas
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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Fantastic write, You run this with so much enthusiasm probably to teach and enlighten readers. I relate with every of your thoughts in the post. Very enlighten and very sincere. Thank you for this tutorial-like post.
ola thomas
Comment Written 13-Sep-2015
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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YOu are very welcome, Ola. I'm just so pleased you were able to take something away from it.
Comment from boxergirl
Awesome post, Jay! Full of honesty, humor, and great advice. I am going to use the calendar. ..I need something to make me accountable. Thanks for sharing your wisdom, my friend. 8-)
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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Awesome post, Jay! Full of honesty, humor, and great advice. I am going to use the calendar. ..I need something to make me accountable. Thanks for sharing your wisdom, my friend. 8-)
Comment Written 13-Sep-2015
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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Thank you, Karen. For the six and for the encouragement. If you have trouble with the link I gave you, check on Google. I found there are several calendars that do the same thing.
Comment from Margaret Snowdon
We are all good at making excuses, altho we really have none - if I get a block, I simply turn off the computer and walk away, but ALWAYS keep pad and pen handy for when things "come to me".
The problem is, my imagination keeps me awake at night, my mind working overtime. I've never relied on any muse, but rely on myself.
At least you'll have learnt your lesson over not backing things up - I have TWO back-up memory sticks for all my work for fear that might happen to me, since I've been told that even a memory stick can fail.
the famous French[,] Author - can't see why you've slipped a comma in there
prose than I!"Who am I kidding?" 0 space after explanation mark
I was determined I would't either.- wouldn't
Then, one day(,) I'm ashamed to say,
As for enjoying this - the six speaks for itself, Jay.
Margaret
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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We are all good at making excuses, altho we really have none - if I get a block, I simply turn off the computer and walk away, but ALWAYS keep pad and pen handy for when things "come to me".
The problem is, my imagination keeps me awake at night, my mind working overtime. I've never relied on any muse, but rely on myself.
At least you'll have learnt your lesson over not backing things up - I have TWO back-up memory sticks for all my work for fear that might happen to me, since I've been told that even a memory stick can fail.
the famous French[,] Author - can't see why you've slipped a comma in there
prose than I!"Who am I kidding?" 0 space after explanation mark
I was determined I would't either.- wouldn't
Then, one day(,) I'm ashamed to say,
As for enjoying this - the six speaks for itself, Jay.
Margaret
Comment Written 13-Sep-2015
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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Margaret, thank you for the six and the catches. I appreciate your encouraging crits.
Comment from Tessa Kay
I just flew through this article (no, I did't skip a word). We are so good at making excuses and then fall of the wagon and it's way over there somewhere in the distance, and we have a new excuse, 'it's so hard to get back on. I'm too far away from it.'
The amount of times I've started and stopped, paused, waited, made excuses.
Your article has encouraged me to be more disciplined. That's all it takes; a don't-give-me-excuses attitude.
Sorry about your computer. Mine crashed last week, but luckily I didn't lose anything.
Thanks for a very useful post.
:)
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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I just flew through this article (no, I did't skip a word). We are so good at making excuses and then fall of the wagon and it's way over there somewhere in the distance, and we have a new excuse, 'it's so hard to get back on. I'm too far away from it.'
The amount of times I've started and stopped, paused, waited, made excuses.
Your article has encouraged me to be more disciplined. That's all it takes; a don't-give-me-excuses attitude.
Sorry about your computer. Mine crashed last week, but luckily I didn't lose anything.
Thanks for a very useful post.
:)
Comment Written 13-Sep-2015
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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Bless you, Tessa Kay, for your encouraging words. It's so good to know that what I wrote is helping people.
Comment from barkingdog
Great article, Jay. Let's hope it gets the 'woe-is-me' group on their toes.
I've never believed in a muse. Why give the credit to somebody else? LOL That goes for the good and the bad. It's all each writer's own doing. I'm happy to write anything and then chisel away like mad. And sometime's I swear it's titanium.
Great writing tips.
:) ellen
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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Great article, Jay. Let's hope it gets the 'woe-is-me' group on their toes.
I've never believed in a muse. Why give the credit to somebody else? LOL That goes for the good and the bad. It's all each writer's own doing. I'm happy to write anything and then chisel away like mad. And sometime's I swear it's titanium.
Great writing tips.
:) ellen
Comment Written 13-Sep-2015
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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Hahaha! Thanks for your encouraging and humorous crit, Ellen. You are so appreciated.
Comment from Dashjianta
An entertaining and humorous post, Jay. I found myself chuckling a few times at your muse murdering ways--though I've yet to encounter a muse myself. There's just me, my imagination and my laziness to squish.
I can't do the regimented write so much a day thing though. Sometimes I need that day or two off to recharge, especially after an intense day or three. But finding the way that works for ourselves and sticking to it is what's important.
No nits to squish that I noticed.
Edit: Oops. My mistake. I forgot the one at the beginning:
respected for his honesty, once told me the famous French, Author Honore de Balzac
--No comma between 'French' and 'Author'?
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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An entertaining and humorous post, Jay. I found myself chuckling a few times at your muse murdering ways--though I've yet to encounter a muse myself. There's just me, my imagination and my laziness to squish.
I can't do the regimented write so much a day thing though. Sometimes I need that day or two off to recharge, especially after an intense day or three. But finding the way that works for ourselves and sticking to it is what's important.
No nits to squish that I noticed.
Edit: Oops. My mistake. I forgot the one at the beginning:
respected for his honesty, once told me the famous French, Author Honore de Balzac
--No comma between 'French' and 'Author'?
Comment Written 13-Sep-2015
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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Thank you, Alex. Got it, fixed it! And a six to boot. Thanks my friend.
Comment from Tomes Johnston
This is yet another interesting addition to the story about writing that the author has created with this piece of work. I am going through a bit of writer's block at the moment, but I am concentrating on my degree as my priority. I will have to get back to writing soon, but time is tight.
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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This is yet another interesting addition to the story about writing that the author has created with this piece of work. I am going through a bit of writer's block at the moment, but I am concentrating on my degree as my priority. I will have to get back to writing soon, but time is tight.
Comment Written 13-Sep-2015
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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I fully understand, Tomes. Good luck on your degree in the meantime.
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Thank you
Comment from Sis Cat
Thank you for getting back on the wagon. You wrote an excellent and compelling essay about overcoming writer's block, something that I have overcome recently. I love your drunk on procrastination metaphor:
During that time I fell off the wagon with my "calendar". I became a personal misery drunk. My drink of choice was procrastination. Usually I drank it straight, but occasionally I followed with a chaser of "woe is me!"
It is not lack of time or talent that are my biggest obstacles, but procrastination. You used a relevant metaphor here.
Your anecdote of Honore de Balzac weighing his writing compelled us to write more. You explain different strategies that have worked with others and you.
If you desire to be a successful writer, then keep your eyes peeled for your muse ... and when you find her, kill her! Or, at least send her packing!
No spags and I am also intrigued with how you embedded images to liven up the text.
This is a superb essay which you should publish in a writer's essay or share in a writer's workshop. It is fun and informative. Thank you for sharing and teaching.
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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Thank you for getting back on the wagon. You wrote an excellent and compelling essay about overcoming writer's block, something that I have overcome recently. I love your drunk on procrastination metaphor:
During that time I fell off the wagon with my "calendar". I became a personal misery drunk. My drink of choice was procrastination. Usually I drank it straight, but occasionally I followed with a chaser of "woe is me!"
It is not lack of time or talent that are my biggest obstacles, but procrastination. You used a relevant metaphor here.
Your anecdote of Honore de Balzac weighing his writing compelled us to write more. You explain different strategies that have worked with others and you.
If you desire to be a successful writer, then keep your eyes peeled for your muse ... and when you find her, kill her! Or, at least send her packing!
No spags and I am also intrigued with how you embedded images to liven up the text.
This is a superb essay which you should publish in a writer's essay or share in a writer's workshop. It is fun and informative. Thank you for sharing and teaching.
Comment Written 13-Sep-2015
reply by the author on 14-Sep-2015
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Thank you mightily, friend Andre. I'm so glad you found it useful enough to award me a sixer. Thanks for your encouragement.