Should you write when you don't feel like it?

[Katie]

i think you should totally keep writing when you have writers block. Sure it's crap, but its something and that's why editing was created. Who knows, sometimes the crap can inspire something awesome that can change the whole book for the better.

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

Truuue that.

[Grouphug]

no I don't its a disaster I fill a notebook and it just goes in the bin, nothing worth using
I just wait til something comes to me even though it can take a while

[[deleted user]]

Jamesdean wrote: "no I don't its a disaster I fill a notebook and it just goes in the bin, nothing worth using
I just wait til something comes to me even though it can take a while"

Yes, that's what happens to me. You have to be in the mood and enjoy writing and not write because you have to.

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

But if you don't feel like writing, then you fall out of the habit of writing. And writing's like a muscle; you have to keep using it in order for it to get stronger, even if you don't necessarily feel compelled to do so. I still think you should try to write every day if you want to be a writer––even if it's just a paragraph or two, or a diary entry, or a blog post ... anything. It's all a matter of learning to get better.

[Abby]

I totally agree! I try write pretty much everyday. It may not be a ton, but I always end up adding SOMETHING. even when I don't feel that inspired rush. actually, i find it harder to write when there's a rush of inspiration, cause then I can't concentrate on the details or getting to the part I want to write, and i end up just sitting there, staring at the screen like a total idiot.

so, I agree with you Brigid. try to write a little bit everyday and you'll soon find it easier to write than when you absolutely feel like it.

[Elisabeth]

I often force myself to write when I don't feel like it. What I write then is usually crap, but after I've drained out the sludge of worthless words (sometimes over a course of days or weeks), I usually start "feeling it" again and then my words have beauty again.

[Maria]

I agree with a lot of things said here but I disagree with others.

Sometimes I just want to write so I take a piece of paper and write even if it's on school or when I'm about to sleep.

But other times I want to write but I don't feel like it so I just chill out, go do other things and sometimes I write.

I don't like to write because I have to, or because I need to. That way it will be a mess, except when I have work to do ( school) but even then I just do it when I want to, when I have inspiration. Obviously I have to have inspiration until the delivery of the work xD


Saying that I believe it depends of you

[Sydney]

I never write if I don't feel like it. Like now, I should be writing but my brain is too frazzled, so I'm not.

[Cheyenne]

If there's a day I don't write, it's a very grumpy one. I'm tempted to say writing is like riding a bike...because in some ways it is...but in a lot of ways it isn't. If you don't write frequently you'll get rusty. And if you get rusty and look back on some half developed, dreadful thing you wrote earlier that morning, you'll be so appalled that you'll stop writing for even longer.

It's hard to put restrictions on a writer. We're naturally impulsive, random people. But if you want to improve you've got to do it. Pick your favorite time of day. Preferably a time when you can be alone. Mine is early morning, when it's still dark outside. That's when I write. Try to write at least a thousand words a day. Usually it takes me anywhere between a half an hour to two hours. Trust me though, your writing will improve, and so will your mood. As writer's we're taking in everything with our creative mind, and there's so many thoughts jumbling around in our heads that we can easily go insane. Writing every day at a certain time will free up your brain for more urgent things like the impending doom of a spider as your shoe descends toward it... Anyway..

So what I'm saying is, write every day. If you get inspiration outside of your designated writing time, then write. The human mind is a strange thing. The way we learn is by practicing. Why do we know how to walk? Because we stumbled so many times when we were toddlers. Have you noticed, once you hit thirteen or fourteen you don't fall down as much? It's because the neurons in your brain are growing and expanding constantly. After so many falls as children, our brains know how to balance our muscles to stay on our feet. You have to do some really whacky move with your foot catching on a chair leg to crash to the floor. The same thing goes for writing. You won't become a better writer if you don't write. It's the only way to get those writing neurons to expand and grow.

[Aria]

noooo i never write when im sad, depressed, angry, or tired because it shows in your writing :) everyday i write 1,000 words for my novel, but on my off days i usually don't write or only write a tiny bit. I wouldn't write when i dont feel like it because itll go into the story :)

[Colby]

John Green said he doesn't get freaked out worrying if his writing is good or bad because he allows himself to suck. What he was saying is that if you suck at first, it's fine, you can go back and change it until you've molded it into what you want it to be. So I think that no matter what mood you're in, you will write something, and some of it will be good, some not so good, but you have an infinite number of chances to fix it until you get it right.

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

John Green doesn't get freaked out worrying if his writing is good or bad because he's John Green.

[Berwald ~I Have Moved Accounts~]

It is not right to write when you don't feel like it. It's against your own mind. When you write at a bad time, you don't write well. When I write in my free time, I enjoy it and I write a whole ton better than I do at school. A bad time to write.

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

When you write at a bad time, you don't write well.

That's what editing is for.

[Nermeen]

Yeah, but still. If you write when you don't feel like it, its pretty discouraging, you know?

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

You know what else is discouraging? When you don't write for months on end because you "don't feel like it." :P You just have to force yourself to do it, or you don't get anything done. Regardless of whether you feel inspired or not, your rough draft is going to be messy anyway.

[Aria]

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "You know what else is discouraging? When you don't write for months on end because you "don't feel like it." :P You just have to force yourself to do it, or you don't get anything done. Regardless ..."
Listening to music usually helps with writing :3 I dont do it when i dont feel like it because i dont like to go back over it and read that its awful :s then i get a little discouraged in it :3 Plus i can take a day or so off because i write over 1,000 words a day :) but in my opinion i just dont like to write when i dont feel like it because when its time to edit it and its no good i feel like it will never be good plus how can u edit if u dont feel like it? editing is the same as writing it :3

[Nermeen]

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "You know what else is discouraging? When you don't write for months on end because you "don't feel like it." :P You just have to force yourself to do it, or you don't get anything done. Regardless ..."

yeah, now that you mention it, thats very true. :)

[L]

Haha. So true. When I don't write, its like not praying--or eating for me. Hrm. Yeah. I have too, or I feel all grubby--almost a sin!

I used to listen to soundtracks from videogames or movies and close my eyes and then imagine--like a music video, about my stories and such. Its really fun (Spotify's great, and grooveshark) Now, I just get my ol' typewriter, pen and paper, or my computer and type away. I when I'm bored write stream a conscience--then thats my predraft.

But!
You know what excites me? When I READ A HORRIBLE BOOK. And think, "I can write better then this."

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

Aria N. wrote: "Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "You know what else is discouraging? When you don't write for months on end because you "don't feel like it." :P You just have to force yourself to do it, or you ..."

Music helps me sometimes, too. Although it depends on my mood. And the music. ;)

Eh, well I end up thinking my work is awful whether or not I wrote it when I felt particularly inspired. So, I guess it depends.

And, well, I disagree. I think editing is quite different. It requires a lot of work, of course. But there's not that feeling of "oh goodness how am I going to finish this, what's going to happen next," etc. The whole story is there, it's just that you need to clean it up. It's like putting together a puzzle, deciding what needs to stay and what needs to go. I usually need to distance myself from something for a while before I edit––but once I'm ready for it, I don't think it takes as much effort to convince myself to do revisions. The majority of the work is done after you finish that first draft (usually ... there are exceptions). While I wouldn't say the editing is "easier" necessarily, at least you have something to work with other than just a blank page.

[Aria]

TheMidstofThis wrote: "Haha. So true. When I don't write, its like not praying--or eating for me. Hrm. Yeah. I have too, or I feel all grubby--almost a sin!

I used to listen to soundtracks from videogames or movies and ..."

I listen to movie and video game soundtracks also when i write! haha :D

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

TheMidstofThis wrote: "Haha. So true. When I don't write, its like not praying--or eating for me. Hrm. Yeah. I have too, or I feel all grubby--almost a sin!

I used to listen to soundtracks from videogames or movies and ..."

Spotify is my life.

And yeah, I hate that too. I'm always reading things that aren't very good and feeling like, "Gah if this crap can get published, why can't I?" It's simultaneously an inspirational and discouraging feeling.

[Aria]

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "Aria N. wrote: "Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "You know what else is discouraging? When you don't write for months on end because you "don't feel like it." :P You just have to force yourself t..."

Well editing can be the same it is like "How am i going to finish this?" maybe u want to add some things in there to spice it up a bit :3 make it more captivating and so on :3 :DDD but editing is easier xD at least u got the stuff down to work with.

[Aria]

to me really the hard part is coming up with a tale and making it hook readers. To me I;m trying to make my writing more suspenseful at certain parts. Its in first person so does anyone have any advice for me on that?

[Nermeen]

Aria N. wrote: "to me really the hard part is coming up with a tale and making it hook readers. To me I;m trying to make my writing more suspenseful at certain parts. Its in first person so does anyone have any ad..."

I have the same problem! Along with endings... ugh, they're the worst!

also, whats Spotify?

[Aria]

Nermeen wrote: "Aria N. wrote: "to me really the hard part is coming up with a tale and making it hook readers. To me I;m trying to make my writing more suspenseful at certain parts. Its in first person so does an..."
I have alot of twists and emotional moments and such but when i read over it i feel im forgetting something or i could improve but i dont know how! and i dont believe some of my friends are giving me a honest opinion xD

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

Nermeen wrote: "Aria N. wrote: "to me really the hard part is coming up with a tale and making it hook readers. To me I;m trying to make my writing more suspenseful at certain parts. Its in first person so does an..."

Spotify is an application, which you download from their website: http://www.spotify.com. Basically you can look up music and just listen to it for free. So, it's kind of like Pandora except you actually get to choose what you listen to. There are advertisements, but they don't come up too often ... and in my opinion, it's totally worth it.

[Aria]

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "Nermeen wrote: "Aria N. wrote: "to me really the hard part is coming up with a tale and making it hook readers. To me I;m trying to make my writing more suspenseful at certain parts. Its in first p..."

Why not just use youtube to listen to music? :DD i do that I recommend the song called "The Angel" by Alexandre Desplat hes a composer :)

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

I don't like using YouTube to listen to music. I don't know why, it just gets on my nerves. I also prefer Spotify because it scrobbles to Last.fm.

[Aria]

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "I don't like using YouTube to listen to music. I don't know why, it just gets on my nerves. I also prefer Spotify because it scrobbles to Last.fm."

I use youtube to listen to mostly classical, opera, soundtracks, and stuff. And i think i just found out how to make my writing more suspenseful! :0 hopefully it works :D

[L]

Aria N. wrote: "Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "Nermeen wrote: "Aria N. wrote: "to me really the hard part is coming up with a tale and making it hook readers. To me I;m trying to make my writing more suspense..."

Yeah, Spotify is great I make playlist for my characters. Its nice (though recently I've been getting a...sketchy...commercial.) It beats spending 1.29 a pop for a pop song. If any of yall despise commercials, grooveshark.com is nice (though its not perfect).

Oh. Also. Piano Tributes are good too.

[Nermeen]

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "Nermeen wrote: "Aria N. wrote: "to me really the hard part is coming up with a tale and making it hook readers. To me I;m trying to make my writing more suspenseful at certain parts. Its in first p..."

Sounds cool, thanks :)
i'm gonna download that

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

Ooh, I just discovered that Grooveshark also scrobbles to Last.fm. SQUEEE.

[☽❣≾Кἆяἆ ☾இ☽ סℯἆด ฬỉฑcჩℯธｾℯԻ≿❣☾]

i think that you should only write when you feel like it. other wise your not going to do your best work. forcing yourself to write won't help you cause you will probably go back and rewrite it.

[Elliott]

SPOTIFY. <3

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

Kara wrote: "i think that you should only write when you feel like it. other wise your not going to do your best work. forcing yourself to write won't help you cause you will probably go back and rewrite it."

Hate to break it to you, but you have to go back and rewrite pretty much everything once you get into hardcore editing. Nothing is going to be perfect the first time you write it––and it doesn't make a difference whether you were "in the mood" when you wrote it or not. All rough drafts are crap, and that's an idea all writers just need to get used to.

Personally, if I only wrote when I really felt like it, it would be ... not all that often. But on the other hand, I get stuff done. People ask me how I get from the beginning to end of things and, well, it's because I force myself to write as often as I can, even if I don't feel particularly compelled to do so. But trust me, it works!