…………*muffled sounds of procrastination*

[gforce]

Hello fellow Housepetters!…………that sounded much better in my head-

I return from many a slumber to tell you all why I was gone, which is: an excellent question so if I could get some help tryna answer it that’d be much appreciated.

But gettin back to the point; I originally decided to yoink myself off the forums for a bit to focus on writing a fanfiction o my own since it seemed so interesting to me (and still does) to take the characters we already know n throw em into an experience they likely wouldn’t be seen in otherwise.

Then weeks turned to months at several times the speed of light- thanks COVID for turnin my life’s playback speed up to 1.5, definitely needed that- and through an entire school year I have yet to come up with a passable story (or even characters for that matter; wantin to write my own into the story for a sense of originality). And surprise surprise, I have… *cue overdramatic drumroll…* ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

Thus my total lack of progress has sent me all the way back here, not only to rejoin the folks I know n love- and totally also not cause my innate paranoia has led me to believe everyone thinks I’m dead- but to get some help from the professionals: HOW exactly do I concoct a good story, what (not) to do, how do I even make it interesting to read through, etc.

…………………helpies please?



Yours truly,
The force of gravity

[Welsh Halfwit]

What works for one creator probably won't work for another.

I mean, if you've read mine, you probably think I sketch out the characters, the worlds, the plots the dialogue...

I don't. With the exception of the characters, all I know of the story at the start point IS the start point. All the rest develops as the story does. Lee hild once stated something like 'to ensure it's a surprise for the reader, it needs to be a surprise for the writer too. We learn the plot as the reader does'.

And it's by and large, true.

The best way to learn the sort of way you want to write is to read it and take in the styles of writing and humour.

I read Doctor Who novels, Crime fiction - (Anne Cleeves, Val McDermaid and others) and, straddling the two, the 'Rivers of London' series, a police procedural focusing on a young Police Constable who also happens to belong to a special unit called 'The Folly'. Because he can do low level magic and DCI Nightingale - the only other member of the Folly - is the last of the powerful British Wizards. Yup. Contemporary crime in a world where enemy magic exists, the Fae are hiding in the shadows and all the Rivers have their gods and goddesses .. (It does need to be read in order. There's a mystery to do with a criminal Wizard called 'the faceless man' that winds its way through the series.)

Oh, and the most important rule? Make yourself smile from time to time.

[Harry Johnathan]

I’ve been reading essays about how after the pandemic, everyone flocked to the internet as their one source of entertainment and community, and how the addictive design of many websites (i.e bright, flashy colors, fast-paced videos and instant access to basically any information) can affect our attention spans, causing us to procrastinate and develop ADHD-like symptoms and behaviors in a neverending search for dopamine, and even become depressed when deprived of the Internet. Maybe that’s what happened to you.

[Amazee Dayzee]

In order for me to be able to write anything, I need to have a co-writer to help me and make the dialogue come out as if we are in an RP. Pretty sure that it won't work for you but that is how I managed to write my one (and only) story here.

[Zesortinge]

You could think of a bunch of random scenarios until you land on one you want to write. It is a method that is of no help to me as my problem tends to be actually writing my ideas down as a full story as opposed to coming up with them. If your problem is actually writing things down (like me) maybe try to do some writing prompts. It might not get you to writing full stories, but it should at least get you more comfortable in writing as you do more of them.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Its not just that I can't write but that I can't concentrate long enough to get anything done without someone else there to ground me. Also, I'm such a perfectionist that if I mess one thing up I trash the project and feel bad about it like I'm a failure for the rest of the day.

[NHWestoN]

Kidnapped by pirates. They swore to kill me if I divulged anymore than that. Man, pirates can REALLY swear, too!

[Amazee Dayzee]

Pretty sure that they are a LOT more worse than truck drivers when it comes to swearing.

[NHWestoN]

... really gotta clean out the garage.

[Amazee Dayzee]

I think at this point honestly that he might be too deeply buried to ever come back out again. Its a shame but it can happen.

[NHWestoN]

Inspiration is a fleeting thing ... maybe after Halloween.

[Arcanegate]

Procrastination is a big problem...

[TyVulpintaur]

I know. I started writing a number of Tails fanfics way back around 2004. Sadly, most were never finished, only one or two. Think I still have those two, but the rest were lost when Sega.com's forums were closed.

[NHWestoN]

Procrastination is a big problem...

... not if you sleep through it. Oh, and welcome, by the way.

[Amazee Dayzee]

That doesn't help me because I end procrastinating so much I put off SLEEPING.

[NHWestoN]

Okay, that sounds like championship-level procrastination ......

[Amazee Dayzee]

Though naturally it really does SUCK since it screws up my sleep schedule. I keep saying i will get a handle on it but of course I never do.

[NHWestoN]

Soooo need to get back to the gym routine.









Yup. I do.

[Amazee Dayzee]

I still have completely messed up my sleep schedule and I don't think I am on track to fix it and get it back to normal anytime soon. LOL

[NHWestoN]

Walk, more walk, trash, garage, bank, mail, meeting, gym - don'wanna do none of it ... too cold, too wet, too bad.

[Amazee Dayzee]

But we do have to go and do it. Else it will never get done if not for us.

[Welsh Halfwit]

But we do have to go and do it. Else it will never get done if not for us.

Yes but NHWestoN's 173 years old(!)

[NHWestoN]

I speed at a different time zone, that is.
Like the mail. By the time I reach it, it's trash. Or historical documentation.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Do you have memories of when the Declaration of Independence was signed? XD

[Welsh Halfwit]

Heeheehee.

We only mock with affection, NHW...

[NHWestoN]

... and so taken gladly there, Welsh.

Not really, Amazz ... I was in a bar at the time when a buncha Tories were buying free drinks to denounce the Big D, so I did my patroitic duty and tried to bankrupt `em by drinkin' as much as I could.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Always wonderful to have someone THAT old to talk to about the past. Nobody else will remember it!