I've been kind of bummed lately about my writing. It comes and goes. I've been trying to discover a chunk of my days that would be ideal for writing without distractions from life. I think that using a typewriter is slowing me down; after all, I have significantly more written on Microsoft Word. I wish I could write for 3-4 hours, and devote at least another hour to reading. I'm going by what Stephen's On Writing says.
Hi Connor. I've meant to post a couple of replies to you before, especially back in the earlier days when you seemed very despondent (and I may well have done; I forget. Either way by the time I've seen the posts it seems like the moment might have passed).
First thing, and I'm sure you've heard this before, is that
every writer gets kind of bummed about their work at some point, even - or perhaps especially - established ones. That never goes away, so basically...get used to it. Remember too that it's a sign that you're doing it
right - you're thinking about what you're doing, you're seeking to improve. Now, you won't always see those improvements. It'll seem like pushing rocks up a hill. But later, you'll come to revise an older piece and think 'Wow! This is good/not half bad! Did I
really write this?' As for the pieces you think are crud, you'll see
why they might not have worked, you'll be able to salvage something and/or make them better.
Second thing: Don't be in too much of a rush. We're all impatient to get to the end, we all hit a point where we just want the damned thing done and out of the way...but here's the thing: the faster you try to go, the longer it'll take for it to actually
be done. Don't stop yourself from working if you're on a roll, but don't give in to the urge to rush it through, especially at or near the end. That's when you need to consciously slow down, take a breath, and really think about whether you're getting everything down that you want to get down or not.
There's also no right or wrong way to actually do the hard graft (apart from to rush, of course). Sometimes I'll write chapters longhand and type them up, sometimes I'll go straight to the keyboard. Either way it's always just another draft (I'll produce two then do a polish before letting someone else cast an eye over it; it's all too easy to get stuck in endless drafting, and all that happens there is that the prose looks buffed and shiny but the message - the story itself, why you wrote it, the heart of it all - is getting rubbed away).
Basically, write the way that seems right, but resign yourself to knowing it will take (a lot of) time. You're still young. There's time yet...but you can actually save time by working a little more slowly. That typewriter of yours may slow your fingers down (it's why they're laid out as they are, after all), but in so doing it actually buys your brain more time to consider whether those great ideas really are that great, and maybe suggest better ones - as well as completely unrelated or unworkable ideas that can become the basis of another project.
Third thing: I've read enough to know you're serious about writing. You lose direction sometimes, consider other/easier options (the ease of those is an illusion, trust me), but that's because you're young. I was no different. With me it was always 'If only...' this and 'Well if I could...' that.
Take some unsolicited advice: stop it. Writers write, and if you want to be a writer you just need to get it done. Don't question, don't think it'll be easier if only you understand all the nuts and bolts and why you want to write in the first place (it's not, and approaching understanding only throws more spanners in the works).
I don't know what your schedule is and what other responsibilities you have. However, all of us have 'other things' going on, and not to put too fine a point on it, you have to be a little selfish and ruthless when it comes to time. When it comes to outside work or school, no one bats an eyelid, but when it comes to the work of a writer, no one takes your need for time seriously...at least until you've 'made it' (and maybe not even then).
The time you need to set aside per day depends on your method of writing. Bearing in mind what I've said before, that can be a trade-off. The key thing is producing stuff that moves things forward, though. The writing doesn't have to shine, but it should have the basis and outline of what you want to say - the closer you can get to what you mean and the better the writing, the quicker the overall task will go, but focus more on getting
all of the idea instead of speeding over points. It'll mean trimming what there is rather than having to add flesh to bones later on. Remember the analogy of the sculptor chipping away what isn't the statue; s/he doesn't go wading in to strip the block to almost nothing, only to wish there was still enough stone left to work with.
In any case, with a decent typing speed and allowing for thinking time you can get a couple of thousand words - a day's typical/minimum output for SK (and me, incidentally; thanks to
On Writing that's what I aim for) - in about two hours. My typing speed when copying is 80-100 wpm. That drops markedly when composing new material (sometimes it goes as low as 15 wpm as an average of words produced divided by minutes spent writing - 2000 words / 120 minutes = 16.6 words per minute).
What is key, however, is making sure you get the time in. It might mean getting up an hour earlier or going to bed later, plus carving out a little time besides - or you might find that an hour is enough; you'd certainly get 1000 words down in that time, and 30,000 words a month isn't too bad. At least you're getting it done.
Bear in mind as well that while you'd prefer 3-4 hours a day, concentration begins to waver after 90 mins-2 hours, so having the extra time isn't necessarily going to improve or dramatically increase your output. Where it would come in useful is in editing. Your writing hour(s) would be for producing the next new work, with the other hour(s) spent revising and editing something else.
You may eventually be able to elbow enough things aside so you can write in a couple of two-hour bursts as well as claim another hour for editing and one more for reading (I read in bed; it's about the only chance I get and I'm at the writing lark full-time, because there's admin to do and tax returns to prepare, etc, on top of everything else), and doing that may seem impossible now...but at some point you have to insist that at least some of your time is your own, then fill it with writing.
You won't be understood and your act of taking time out will be resented, but it has to be done and there is no 'better' or 'easier' time to make it happen. As with most things, though, it gets easier in the end. People - even close family - will never understand, but they will come to accept, however grudgingly (and they won't mind dropping your name to others even if you only have modest successes).
Best of luck with
Alphaboy!