[HN Gopher] Writing Is Hard
___________________________________________________________________
Writing Is Hard
Author : ingve
Score : 37 points
Date : 2022-06-14 15:54 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (blog.torh.net)
(TXT) w3m dump (blog.torh.net)
| hamiltonians wrote:
| The hardest part of writing is writing something people will
| like. Hard to anticipate reader tastes.
| BiteCode_dev wrote:
| Most experienced writers don't stop to tell people how to write.
|
| They are busy writing, not ticking checklists.
|
| Not need to follow canned principles.
|
| Just read and write.
|
| It's not hard.
|
| It's fun.
| [deleted]
| sophacles wrote:
| Most authors at some point write about their process. I've read
| many accomplished, experienced authors' takes. Authors seem to
| agree that there's a struggle at the beginning to figure out a
| process that works for them, and do in fact take the time to
| tell others what worked for them to help ease the discovery
| process for new writers.
|
| Here's some examples of famous, accomplished and prolific
| writers doing what you claim they won't do:
|
| https://www.themarginalian.org/2018/01/18/t-s-eliot-alice-
| qu....
|
| https://www.masterclass.com/classes/neil-gaiman-teaches-the-...
|
| https://www.inc.com/glenn-leibowitz/the-9-best-tips-on-writi...
|
| You can easily find more by googling for "$author_name on
| writing"
| pards wrote:
| Stephen King's "On Writing" [0] is one of the best examples
| of this
|
| [0]: https://amzn.com/dp/1439156816
| DoneWithAllThat wrote:
| A quote attributed to Hemingway I've always loved: "Writing is
| easy. You just sit at your typewriter and bleed." Whether or not
| he actually ever said that it's quite true.
| superb-owl wrote:
| My biggest issue with writing is the fear of shouting into the
| void. What if no one wants to read what I've written? What if no
| one finds it?
|
| I'm trying to get in to the mindset of just writing for myself,
| but it's hard.
| nickstinemates wrote:
| On a journey to stop struggling with this. Less void and more
| "why is what I have to say worth reading?" and I've kind of
| decided it's not up to me to decide that so not to worry about
| it.
|
| You do you.
| testingwaters4 wrote:
| I think there's a balance. When you've been writing for a
| while, sometimes you write just to get an idea out of your
| head. When it becomes a habit, sometimes you write just
| because. Creative process is all about fear indeed. Hope you
| find a community or a writer in your area that can inspire you,
| as it's very hard to start all by yourself! You also do
| sometimes need an "other" to write for, so I mean you end up
| being in a place where you aren't writing for yourself, even if
| that "other" doesn't exist. Puts less burden on yourself.
| gringoDan wrote:
| I struggle with this as well. But the feeling of shouting into
| the void has little to do with your writing ability. It's much
| more a function of a) marketing and b) luck.
|
| If you're writing, it's because you have the inkling of an
| idea. Through the writing process, you clarify that idea and
| then release it to the world. That process -- the act of
| creation -- is enough for me.
| doodles33 wrote:
| My personal pet peeve with writing is exactly the contrary, I
| find the fact that people could read what I wrote very
| distressing. One of the best things that could happen with what
| I write is that no one reads it, because then I don't have to
| appease anyone or handle criticism. I'll admit it's a very
| cowardly stance to have, but it's very liberating in a sense.
| Obviously this means I'll start writing schizophrenic stuff
| eventually and need a reality check, it's okay though: "No
| great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness." -
| Aristotle.
| djokkataja wrote:
| I find myself experiencing a bit of both: I want people to
| read the things I write -- but not really; I want them to
| _know_ the ideas I write and to credit me for them -- but
| only if they 're good ideas! If everyone just forgets all the
| stupid things I ever write and that I ever said or did
| anything stupid, that'd be great.
|
| Similarly, I want to _know_ the criticism so I can
| incorporate it into my thinking -- but I don 't want to be
| criticized. :)
| srazzaque wrote:
| I've personally found that writing for myself is likely to
| increase my understanding of any given topic. That alone is
| enough motivation.
|
| It forces structure to my thoughts, and the consideration of
| minute details that otherwise would be handwaved over.
|
| This is perhaps the "generation effect" in play.
| otikik wrote:
| I struggle with something similar: Fear of rejection. What if
| people read and they don't like it, or even worse, they think
| that it is a waste of time?
|
| A good way to get around the second problem is: think that your
| audience is really bad people. Literally Hitler. Or at least
| that it's possible that they are. If that's the case, all the
| time you can keep them reading what you wrote, they will not
| spend it doing evil deeds. So waste their time. Save the world.
|
| I hope it helps, Main Furer.
| awsrocks wrote:
| Writing can be hard because sometimes we put up barriers to our
| thoughts, to our level of "what's good enough", to what is
| appropriate or PC to talk about, etc.
|
| I think that's why many great writers were alcoholics - it takes
| down the barriers we set up within and gives us the "liquid
| courage" to just say something and not give a s*it.
| infogulch wrote:
| I hope we can be adults enough to acknowledge the historical
| fact of substance use and its (potentially positive!) effect on
| the output of some writers without jumping to the conclusion
| that such an acknowledgement rises to an endorsement or
| recommendation.
|
| Alcohol is known to reduce inhibitions, and I've noticed in my
| own work that the fear of imperfection will inhibit me from
| working at all, so even anecdotally this isn't surprising.
___________________________________________________________________
(page generated 2022-06-15 23:00 UTC)