James Barclay

[Shriker]

Hi James I'm hoping you can help me

Now I do love writing, because I can create my own world where anything I want happens, and it's a thrill

Unfortunatly I seem to have dozens of ideas and get very few further than that. In total I've completed one full 12,000 word story, got about 2-3 completed plans for stories, and about 12 different ideas for stories.

What can i do to get myself motivated into actually writing them?

The one I've finished I tied in with my hobby of Martial Arts, and I took it to a presentation evening where most people thoroughly enjoyed reading it that felt good, although because I used real people to help me focus my thinking, some weren't happy when they died, well one, the rest were good sports
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Who's the bigger fool, the fool or the fool who follows him...

[James]

Hope this doesn't sound trite but ideas are the easy bit. Translating them into stories is the tough bit because it can only be self-motivation that does it.

The life of a writer is necessarily solitary for large portions of time and it is the drafting itself where most would-be authors fall by the wayside. The key is, not to look over the scope of a huge project and see it stretch away over the horizon. When you're on page one, it can be daunting.

Break your projects down into manageable chunks and see the completion of each chunk as a success, a waypoint, progress. Chip away a little every day if you can and you'll gain your own momentum.

And on the days you feel you cannot face the computer screen, sit and stare at it, just for a little bit. Remember, if you don't spend the hours in front of the screeen, the book will never be finished. So even if you write next to nothing, you have made commitment and advanced your cause and that is cause for optimism.

Hope that helps a little...

Cheers

James
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'A human with a hand outstretched in friendship carries the fangs of a taipan in his palm.' A TaiGethen saying.