[Nice Marmite]

(Original post by madders94)
I have written over 13,000 words today. One chapter is 7,900 words long and I can honestly say I'm probably the proudest I've ever been of any piece of writing I've done - I really like what I've written

Wow, that's fantastic. What a productive day!

[madders94]

Ever since I had my epic writing day and that chapter I'm really proud of, things are suddenly going really slow and writer's block is kicking in

[mmmpie]

(Original post by madders94)
Ever since I had my epic writing day and that chapter I'm really proud of, things are suddenly going really slow and writer's block is kicking in

I get this. I'll write tens of thousands of words in the space of a few days, and then nothing substantial for months on end.

I tend to spend the gaps working out little details, even if it's just trivial things in my notes rather than the story: exactly what kind of jacket does so-and-so wear, and where did he get it, and why does he like it? That sort of thing. That way, I'm still creatively engaged with the story even if I'm not writing it.

[beastofburden]

I've been struggling to find an idea that I wanted to carry to full term, but luckily I've been doing a Creative Writing Dissertation this year; we have to write the first three chapters of a novel along with our research question and an analysis of our own work. It's forced me into writing 5000 words so far and after I've graduated it's an idea I'll happily finish

One more thing I wanted to ask: I realise that not all published books will succeed very well and some may barely sell at all, but is it generally very hard to get published? I always doubt my own work while i'm writing even though I've never received less than a first for my creative work and my tutors seem to love it.

I'd post some but I'm afraid of plagiarism software picking up on it so I can't yet

[Michaelj]

I'm doing a dark fantasy genre story. I tried to make it more original, so no elfs or orcs etc.. I've done about 6000 words so far, a prologue and chapter 1.

ps: how many words are on a page usually?

[madders94]

(Original post by Michaelj)
I'm doing a dark fantasy genre story. I tried to make it more original, so no elfs or orcs etc.. I've done about 6000 words so far, a prologue and chapter 1.

ps: how many words are on a page usually?

It depends on a lot of things, are you writing by hand and what font type are you writing in? I don't know how many words per page but I write in font Droid Sans or Droid Serif, size 10 and my average chapter length is about 3500 words, which for me is just over three full pages, sometimes four depending on paragraphs and dialogue.

[DebatingGreg]

(Original post by Michaelj)
I'm doing a dark fantasy genre story. I tried to make it more original, so no elfs or orcs etc.. I've done about 6000 words so far, a prologue and chapter 1.

ps: how many words are on a page usually?

Do you mean pages on book or pages on a word processor?

[Michaelj]

Yeah per book. I will post a sample of my first draft soon. (2 chapters)

[Matthew_Lowson]

(Original post by Michaelj)
Yeah per book. I will post a sample of my first draft soon. (2 chapters)

All depends really. Some books will have more words than others. The first one I wrote was 16,000 words, but the second 37,000 words.

[LonelySoul193]

I'd like to join this society

I'm assuming this isn't restricted to novels/short stories and poetry/plays/monologues/anything else is acceptable?

[Matthew_Lowson]

(Original post by LonelySoul193)
I'd like to join this society

I'm assuming this isn't restricted to novels/short stories and poetry/plays/monologues/anything else is acceptable?

Welcome

[madders94]

Yay! For the first time in ages I'm actually writing again well, it feels like ages since I've done any substantial writing on my novel hehe

[Nephilim]

(Original post by madders94)
Yay! For the first time in ages I'm actually writing again well, it feels like ages since I've done any substantial writing on my novel hehe

What's it about?

[Ash Pearson]

For me, I'm interested in becoming a writer because I just feel I wanna make more of a difference in the world, for instance helping kids live healthier lives.

My first book, Volleyball Vesna (still hasn't been published yet, but has been accepted by SA Writers and is currently being looked over by Omnibus Publishers Australia), is about a six-year-old girl who lives in the Adelaide Hills and for the first time, is meeting her American cousin Rachel who plays volleyball.

Rachel teaches Vesna how to play it at her school, and they both have a great time. Two of Vesna’s classmates criticise the sport, but overall it becomes popular with her peers and her teacher decides to make it part of the curriculum.

In my experience from hosting Story Time sessions (I work in educational services), there seems to be many great kid’s picture books available that really captivate their audiences, but I've observed there are not a lot that promote sports and encourage exercise

Children face a tough world, and many are not always aware of positive and healthy choices, for instance riding a bike with a sibling instead of playing computer games autonomously. If my book is a success, I plan to write similar books to educate children and parents about healthy activities in a fun and child-friendly way.

Xxo

[Ash Pearson]

(Original post by Michaelj)
I'm doing a dark fantasy genre story. I tried to make it more original, so no elfs or orcs etc.. I've done about 6000 words so far, a prologue and chapter 1.

Oh wow, good luck! That sounds exciting, I like seeing posts like these cos I find them inspiring!

I hope you do well, and you get your work published xo

[lifethrowslemons]

Hey I write during my free time ... but I feel like I always get stuck at a point where Im not happy with what I have written. It's annoying because I have written for at least 9 years now and yet there is little or no work that I am proud of sharing. Does anyone else experience this?

[greeneyedgirl]

Ooo I never realised this was here

I'm currently over 50k into my novel (I did NaNoWriMo, got to just over 50k but then had to stop cos uni work was just too intense) but over the summer I'm aiming to finish editing what I've already written and probably writing another 20k to finish the book

[Ash Pearson]

(Original post by lifethrowslemons)
Hey I write during my free time ... but I feel like I always get stuck at a point where Im not happy with what I have written. It's annoying because I have written for at least 9 years now and yet there is little or no work that I am proud of sharing. Does anyone else experience this?

Yep I get a bit embarrased! Like I want to share what I've written, but I get scared of the criticism...

I should toughen up haha x

[lifethrowslemons]

(Original post by Ayshah Pearson)
Yep I get a bit embarrased! Like I want to share what I've written, but I get scared of the criticism...

I should toughen up haha x

True, but in my case I don't fear the criticism. I mean I don't know that yet, but I think I could handle it, but it is about being my own critic. I spend longer criticising my work than I do writing it, so much so that I end up giving up on it completely. =(

[Nephilim]

(Original post by lifethrowslemons)
I spend longer criticising my work than I do writing it, so much so that I end up giving up on it completely. =(

Being self-critical is the key to creating a quality story. Just try and be constructive when you criticise your work. Instead of saying "This sucks! Why would he walk right through the front door?!", your thoughts should say "Walking through the front door is too obvious. How about he drives through the front door!". You can see what I'm saying lol . When you criticise your work, you should be molding it into something better at the same time.

Good luck.