What are you writing about now?

[Ent]

as a place to share our writing projects.

Good, that and encouragement for one another to keep on goin' is the purpose and the point.

Even today, just discussing things, Ent's realized substantial changes needed to his project orientation and development as its scope grew and became more realistic in his mind.

And he's been encouraged to pull up his first project on "The Ents...," review it, make some subtle corrections and improvements to what's already written... in preparation for getting into the next phase.

Just the fact and process of 'sharing' alone can be a great encouragement. (and Ent really needs it..! the 'life stuff' you speak of above is a huge factor - a time thief much of it unless we're careful - so easily pulling us from one thing to another.)

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

I’m nothing of a good writer at all but have been writing a story about a teen who moves to a new town, makes friends and then they explore the mysterious abandoned sawmill in the woods. Haven’t worked in a few weeks because it’s more just for fun and probably won’t be very good anyways. But it’s something I guess.

I also had an idea for a Backrooms type horror book but not sure where to go with that one.

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

Yay, I did it, I got up early enough that I can write before work! This thread is very well-timed, because literally just a few days ago I finished my summer class and was thinking about how I should start a writing routine again.

 

[Ent]

Haven’t worked in a few weeks because it’s more just for fun and probably won’t be very good anyways. But it’s something I guess.

I also had an idea for a Backrooms type horror book but not sure where to go with that one.

Will encourage you nonetheless... for fun or otherwise. And 'the ideas will come'.

 

[Ent]

Yay, I did it, I got up early enough that I can write before work! This thread is very well-timed, because literally just a few days ago I finished my summer class and was thinking about how I should start a writing routine again.

Wonderful...!!! Most times just 'getting started' is the biggest hurdle. It's certainly the first. Next we need the discipline to keep it up.

Like a diet though, maybe don't try to 'do it all at once.' That is, perhaps targeting getting up early just 3 days a week is better than thinking an 'all in' every day plan is best. Burnout could result. And a couple days of a little extra rest could help.

Jot a note on the the 'writing days' on a planning calendar. We should hold our feet to the fire... making note of it gives us a little added nudge of 'intent'. and helps keep us focused on 'the goal'. (says Ent as he gets back to doing this himself.)

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

Wonderful...!!! Most times just 'getting started' is the biggest hurdle. It's certainly the first. Next we need the discipline to keep it up.

Like a diet though, maybe don't try to 'do it all at once.' That is, perhaps targeting getting up early just 3 days a week is better than thinking an 'all in' every day plan is best. Burnout could result. And a couple days of a little extra rest could help.

Jot a note on the the 'writing days' on a planning calendar. We should hold our feet to the fire... making note of it gives us a little added nudge of 'intent'. and helps keep us focused on 'the goal'. (says Ent as he gets back to doing this himself.)

Good advice, Ent! I do have rather a bad habit of setting overly ambitious goals for myself, not completing all of it, and then feeling bad even though I got a lot done. Thanks for the encouragement, and good luck getting back into your writing routine as well!

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

Will encourage you nonetheless... for fun or otherwise. And 'the ideas will come'.

Thanks, it’s mostly for my own amusement and attempt at something creative, as poor as it probably is 😬

 

[Ent]

as poor as it probably is

We are always our own worst critic.

 

[Elbereth Vala Varda]

Like a diet though, maybe don't try to 'do it all at once.' That is, perhaps targeting getting up early just 3 days a week is better than thinking an 'all in' every day plan is best. Burnout could result. And a couple days of a little extra rest could help.

Jot a note on the the 'writing days' on a planning calendar. We should hold our feet to the fire... making note of it gives us a little added nudge of 'intent'. and helps keep us focused on 'the goal'. (says Ent as he gets back to doing this himself.)

This advice is GOLD! Thanks, Ent!

 

[Ent]

Ent does have one more bit of experience/advice he's found helpful.

Be sure to have a writing SPACE. A spot where, once we sit down, (difficult though that is for an Ent), we know we're there to write.
- it is a quiet space.
- it is a space protected from distraction.
- it is a comfortable, clear space. (as is the space, so is the mind.)
- it is a space making us feel 'intentional.'
- it is the same space...all the time. (this is tied to 'intentional' above.)

Sometimes there is only one space. Ent, for example, works from home most of the time. So his space is of necessity his work office.
Yet Ent, when he sits to write, clears the area of 'work' stuff. A clean slate. An open area. No physical distractions.
When he's there, and if he's writing, it is 'known' he is not to be disturbed except for emergency. People need to know to respect this.

Sometimes, even setting a particular 'artifact' or personal item on the same desk space, can be a person's 'intentional' way of saying "ok... now this is my writing space, and i'm here to write.'

Intentionality. Can make all the difference. Helps us mentally grasp that we really do consider the writing as important as everything else... and in the moment we sit, the most important thing in the world.

"The World." It loves to keep us from achievement. The battle is greater than we realize.


Final note: always carry a notebook with you. Flashes of insight will come at unsuspecting moments, and if we do not jot them down as they occur, many of them will be lost.

The author whose book Ent is currently editing will actually pull his car off the road when he has a flash, to jot down the thoughts. That's a writer..!

And back to the former advice about setting days of the week to prevent overwhelm and burnout... sometimes, we MUST miss one of our set days. Life happens.

Don't beat ourselves up in such cases... but again, be INTENTIONAL. Don't just miss it. Move that day's writing to another day on the calendar.

It all comes down to how important the writing is to us.
For some, one day a week would be enough. For others, 2. When 'intentionality' is inserted, and maintained, it will either increase or decrease consistent with what type of writer we really are. The key is to keep that intentionality, whatever level for YOU it ultimately turns out to be. Even if only once a month, put it on the calendar.

Ent will shut up now.

 

[Elbereth Vala Varda]

@Ent , I feel like I've read a book full of good tips and advice in just that one post! A more thorough analysis may be coming later, but thank you! You truly have some incredible advice to writers, and I intend to take ALL of it!

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

I just wrote 750 words! Not too bad given that it was only for an hour and I haven't touched my book in a while.

Be sure to have a writing SPACE.

More excellent advice, Ent, and if I may share one of my own simple tricks that I use to sort of help create that writing space, maybe it will help someone else too. During 2020, when I wrote the main brunt of my current draft and I was writing 1500-2000 words a day on average, I got in the habit of drinking Earl Grey tea when I wrote, just because we happened to have lots of it around. Now, I have a strong association with Earl Grey tea and writing my book. So I'm very careful to never drink Earl Grey in any other context, like working or even writing for RPs. It really helps because the smell/taste of that tea just sort of helps get my brain into the Curse of Xanovar mode.

 

[Elbereth Vala Varda]

I just wrote 750 words!

AMAZING work!

 

[Ent]

I have a strong association with Earl Grey tea and writing my book

EXCELLENT. This is precisely the kind of thing helping set the mood of 'intentionality'.
In your case, even the preparation of the tea begins to turn your mind toward your goal.
In mine, (in part), it's clearing the 'work' clutter off my big L desk, and absorbing a clean environment in preparation for new objectives.

We both are using an intentional act to set off an intentionally different environment and objective.

Wonderful..!

 

[Ent]

Minor progress report: I got some time on "The Ents and Trees" today, and believe I've finally niggled the first set of stanzas into 'final' shape.
Started on the 2nd set of stanzas as well. Will get them 'close', then crash out the 3rd set, coming back to the 2nd after the 'next thoughts' take basic shape.

Personally, I find it helpful to 'write and return.... write and return'.... when doing verse (and have the time to do so). Past thoughts tend to 'reform' a little bit, to fit better with present thoughts... tone and manner of expression of the lines may need to change... and invariably future thoughts start to form. (inevitably, they creep in unawares to help me not get too far off the more distant future track.)

Meanwhile, the research for the books has accelerated again, as has setting in some of the background for The Evil that Remains as i come across needed references, quotations, etc.

Feels good to be 'back at it' again, with intention and purpose. Thank you all for participating in this experimental thread,

Don't hesitate to share your own personal methods and tricks.... they may be 'just the spark' someone needs at just the right time to move forward.

 

[Halasían]

Offering encouragement to carry on Ent my friend!

5. The Fourth Age: Book 1 - Elessar: Architect of the Fourth Age - All the doings of Elasser Enthroned, the machinations of Men while he's there, the cleaning up of (some of) the evil that remains, and setting the stage for his demise and what comes after.
6. The Fourth Age: Book 2 - After Elessar: The Age of Man - Book. What happens after Aaragorn's death, FA 120. How does mankind do with their charge of handling M-e in "the age of man" ?? Of course, things start well before Elasser's death... do they go well, or ill? Many things needing to be dealt with by Aragorn and the peoples will be handled, etc.

These two are in themselves a huge undertaking. I myself have a couple different collaborative roleplay fanfics going in the #5 era.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I have a whole file cabinet of 'Works in Progress, both Middle Earthian and others. You sir Ent inspired me to make a list. No set priority order, but I may revisit that. First I'll summarize the Middle Earth projects I currently have going.

• Kin Strife of Gondor - This period in Gondor's history always intrigued me ever since I first read the appendices in 1975. Have written two collaborative roleplays with my wife for this; the first was from the fall of Osgiliath and Eldacar fleeing to the north, and the second was a prequel that started in the later days of King Valacar. A lot of political and racial drama, and we are currently editing the two to smooth out inconsistencies that occurred because of writing the second part first, etc.
• The Division of Arnor - A huge family political drama starting during the last years of the reign of King Elendur. His son Eärendur is strong and dutyful and oversees the building of Fornost Erain in the North Downs. He is however, not a very good father. Amliath, his firstborn son and being the heir of Arnor, is spoiled at the expense of his younger twin brothers who were born two years later. The twins didn't get along too well with each other, but were united whenever it came to their older brother.
• The Fall of Fornost - This is more a detailed military project covering the year TA 1974 in Arthedain and the final overwhelming of Fornost Erain by the armies of Carn Dûm.
• The History of the Dúnedain Rangers - This is more of a fanfic history of mine. The Rangers are known to have come about under the command of Aranarth, the eldest son of King Arvedui after the downfall of Arnor and the subsequent defeat of the Witch King when Gondor came to aid their northern brethren. The line of Elendil was known as Chieftains and led a small and secretive force that watched over the remnants of the lands of Arthedain. My story has the 'Rangers' going further back into the history of Arnor, and were an elite arm of the military that answered directly to the King. I got this idea when participating in a collaborative roleplay with several others on the defunct forum 'Minas Tirith'.

Those are what I have in 'edit' status. I have others in the cooker, including a 4th age addition to the Dúnedain Rangers history, and a story based on veterans of all men years after the War of the Ring.

Some non-Middle Earth projects I have going are for other fandoms I'm into. I have a sequel fanfic of 'Tour of Duty' a Vietnam War TV show that aired 3 seasons from 1987 to 1990. There was planning for a 4th season but it was abruptly cancelled by the network before filming started, so there is a lot of open-ended characters to work with there. Currently working with another writer on RP Repository on a backstory for one of their characters that ties into one of the Tour of Duty characters. Been enjoying it a lot.

I am also in the midst of writing a collaborative roleplay of 'The First Nine', which was a planned prequel to the TV show 'Sons of Anarchy' that ran for 7 seasons between 2008 and 2014. Sons of Anarchy producer Kurt Sutter had planned to make this prequel, but he lost the rights to his creation to FX when they had a falling out so is prevented from making it with anyone else. I may adapt the roleplay into a fanfic at some point.

Thanks again Ent for this nice motivational thread here! I love reading about other people's writing projects!

 

[Ent]

a whole file cabinet of 'Works in Progress

Quite the busy person indeed..! And lots of great topics and areas to handle. My brain boggles..!

Yes, my own #5 and #6 are no small matter... and of course Peregrin: My Road will need to dovetail with #5 fairly extensively, mostly following his "from my point of view" review of the events they shared in LoTR, when he and Merry are handling their roles in the Shire, then moving on to Gondor. What happens on the journey from the Shire to Gondor sees events that will be happening at the same time Elessar (and those becoming increasingly greedy and dissatisfied with his rule) are 'doing things' that set the stage as shadows and prelude ultimatel to #6.

The more the details leap out and surprise me, the more intricate it becomes. A long way to go laying out timelines, trip lengths, event dates, some maps showing routes being taken, etc.

Been jotting notes in my ever-present notebook today as the events keep unfolding.
These will likely be my only focus and work.... having only maybe 10-12 years left to me.

The epic poem "The Evil That Remains" I'll put up separately, will also become a leading piece moving into Elessar: Arciitect.... a new piece will need to be written leading into Peregrin Took: My Road and a 3rd required to lead into After Elessar... ideas for these are already assailing me, but I need to just jot the thoughts and set them aside until their time. (which will also pr0bably come as a surprise.)

Thanks so much for taking time to list your stuff...

Don't forget to share any 'tips and tricks' you use to help keep you at your writing... and we'll work to keep encouraging you on the road.

The road goes ever on and on, and as we sit to write each day
let's not forget our fellow writers, always being sure to say
we cheer each other on our work, encouraging each to succeed
moving thoughts from head to paper then set out for others' read.

 

[Halasían]

Ent does have one more bit of experience/advice he's found helpful.

Be sure to have a writing SPACE. A spot where, once we sit down, (difficult though that is for an Ent), we know we're there to write.
- it is a quiet space.
- it is a space protected from distraction.
- it is a comfortable, clear space. (as is the space, so is the mind.)
- it is a space making us feel 'intentional.'
- it is the same space...all the time. (this is tied to 'intentional' above.)

Sometimes there is only one space. Ent, for example, works from home most of the time. So his space is of necessity his work office.
Yet Ent, when he sits to write, clears the area of 'work' stuff. A clean slate. An open area. No physical distractions.
When he's there, and if he's writing, it is 'known' he is not to be disturbed except for emergency. People need to know to respect this.

Sometimes, even setting a particular 'artifact' or personal item on the same desk space, can be a person's 'intentional' way of saying "ok... now this is my writing space, and i'm here to write.'

Intentionality. Can make all the difference. Helps us mentally grasp that we really do consider the writing as important as everything else... and in the moment we sit, the most important thing in the world.

"The World." It loves to keep us from achievement. The battle is greater than we realize.


Final note: always carry a notebook with you. Flashes of insight will come at unsuspecting moments, and if we do not jot them down as they occur, many of them will be lost.

The author whose book Ent is currently editing will actually pull his car off the road when he has a flash, to jot down the thoughts. That's a writer..!

And back to the former advice about setting days of the week to prevent overwhelm and burnout... sometimes, we MUST miss one of our set days. Life happens.

Don't beat ourselves up in such cases... but again, be INTENTIONAL. Don't just miss it. Move that day's writing to another day on the calendar.

It all comes down to how important the writing is to us.
For some, one day a week would be enough. For others, 2. When 'intentionality' is inserted, and maintained, it will either increase or decrease consistent with what type of writer we really are. The key is to keep that intentionality, whatever level for YOU it ultimately turns out to be. Even if only once a month, put it on the calendar.

Ent will shut up now.

I agree in general with this, but at times I find I draw blanks when I'm in my study. It is all the things you list, yet sometimes I have to unplug my laptop from the monitor and go outside or sit on the couch and lay back. A change one's surroundings when they find motivation lacking sometimes brings a different perspective and renews the inspiration. I usually do this when I need to get over a 'speedbump' where I'm stuck on a plot development direction or trying to get wording right.. Usually after I get over that speedbump, I go back to my study and carry on.

And yes on the notebook. I use my 'Notes' app on my phone extensively when I'm out and about and something comes to me, be it a scene or story, or even if someone I see inspires a new character! A sidenote on capturing thoughts before they're gone. When I was working, I'd have stuff needing done, yet I would have an email open where I could write out parts as they came to me. I'd then email it to my personal account to review later.

What is Elasser? Do you mean Elessar?

Yeah, I had a chuckle at that. I get it. I use MS Word and after a lot of these sort of typos/misspellings, I made an extensive 'Tolkien' custom dictionary to use. Helped a bunch!

 

[Fingon_Findekáno]

I agree with much of what you just said, @Halasían, about needing a change of scenery to sometimes get over a bout of writer’s block, and using the Notes app to write things down. I do the same things. It’s hard for me to sit and get a lot of writing done at once, as my mind draws blanks after only so much is poured out, so oftentimes I’ll just sit wherever I am and write when the inspiration strikes, which can happen at random times while musing about stuff. I can’t say how frustrating it is, though, when I’ll have an idea, or the perfect wording for something in my mind, and as soon as I prepare to write it down— poof!- it’s gone. And no matter what I do, I can’t bring it back.😫

As for my personal trick in writing, I actually like to act things out in a quiet space (usually in a darker room, so I can imagine my surroundings more) where I can go through the motions of a scene and get into a character’s head physically. There’s something about it that helps me, as I can get a feel for how they might move or behave in a scene, and whether the flow of things and dialogue feels right. Oftentimes, doing this will provide inspiration for whatever it is I’m trying to write, and I understand it, and the character, better.

 

[Ent]

Great tips. Keep 'em coming..!!!
When I get a minute I'll compile them and set up a "writing tips list' we can add to and keep moving forward.