{ ＩＮＫＬＩＮＧＳ } LOCK! NEW THREAD

[Rolly-chan]

How do you keep from procrastinating?
Like seriously. My confidence sucks in myself but I can't blame it all on that.
How do you keep yourself focused? :c

At the moment I don't really keep from procrastinating because of reasons, but usually, I make "dates" with my writing, set a time each day or every other day if I can't manage every day, and then simply write, no matter how bad it turns out. It's just putting words on a page (or a document). Sometimes it works better if I'm away from the computer. Then, once I have a beginning, I can switch back to the computer and finish it there.
Sometimes I take out my notebook and write one short sentence for every scene I have (or for every chapter, if it's a rather long story with many scenes), below each other, and look at what I have written so far. Sometimes I notice things I haven't noticed before. Sometimes it means I'll have to change the direction and rewrite scenes later. Sometimes I simply notice some small detail that suddenly opens doors to directions I hadn't even considered. Either way, looking back at what I have so far often times helps me with writing the next scene.

When I'm in the planning stages I never have trouble focussing, so I don't know in that case ^^°

[Kodabomb]

I just wrote a song on the piano about Marceline and Simon/Ice King. I got REALLY, REALLY emotional writing it. <3333

Run

Run, my child, don't let me catch you
Shield your eyes from madness you've seen
I don't know long I'll remember you sweetheart
For I fear that protector has been

This strange old eyes don't know you at all
Don't let your soul take insanity too
Strange things happen but I'm too far gone
To know just how far they got through

For sweetest child you have to run
I want you in my heart but it can't be done
He's gone, he's mad, he's not who you seek
The old ice wizard is a fool so weak 
Little girl, though I love you so
Get away from me
We both have to go

Remember me, I can't remember you
In one thousand years you'll be nothing to me
Live your life and pity this cold soul
Lost in a void you must flee

Within my mind it's freezing and dark
But I tried so hard for a hero
If one day you can help me see better
Maybe I'll try to see you

For sweetest child you have to run
I want you in my heart but it can't be done
He's gone, he's mad, he's not who you seek
The old ice wizard is a fool so weak 
Little girl, though I love you so
Get away from me
We both have to go
We both have to go.

[a sky full of stars]

How do you keep from procrastinating?
Like seriously. My confidence sucks in myself but I can't blame it all on that.
How do you keep yourself focused? :c

Eeep having the same problem too.
Though maybe it's because I like silence when I write and I have had scarce a dose of that lately...

[Artesian]

How do you keep from procrastinating?
Like seriously. My confidence sucks in myself but I can't blame it all on that.
How do you keep yourself focused? :c

Large amounts of guilt. Also, rereading the whole book, and getting to the bit that hasn't been written yet, and getting mad at myself for not having written. If you want to know what happens next, then it's easier to write. The other thing is, if you don't want to write the next part of the story, there's a probability that you shouldn't. If you don't want to read it because it's too boring, graphic, sappy, whatever, then neither will your readers.

Mmmm. I also have a firefox addon called Leech Block installed on my computer, which blocks internet access to certain sites when I'm writing. I actually have a whole separate account on my computer that has everything but what I need for writing blocked. It also has a screen-save slideshow of various character and people I respect telling me to write. (Gandalf, Grumpy Cat, Sherlock, Neil Gaiman, etc.)

Despite that, I still procrastinate. But it helps.

[~willo o' wisps~]

Hi, guys. I have a question. How would you guys write ghosts? As in, the main character being a ghost? In my story, the main character is a ghost, but the other characters don't know it yet. The audience does. Do you guys have any tips on how to handle this?

Probably your ghost character can posses an animal and then use a human voice to speak human. And, the human's would be all like, "Ahhhh! It's a possessed ~~add animal here~~!" or something along those lines. I'd say a possessed cat would work better because they're common house pets.

[Lanton]

How do you keep from procrastinating?
Like seriously. My confidence sucks in myself but I can't blame it all on that.
How do you keep yourself focused? :c

http://writeordie.com (You can use it free on the website)
Helps me just get words down without going into editor mode immediately.

How do you guys keep track of your characters? I used to keep them on separate word docs and them all on a spreadsheet, but it's too clumsy now. I've also tried https://charahub.com but it didn't seem to fit. Any suggestions?

[Rolly-chan]

How do you keep from procrastinating?
Like seriously. My confidence sucks in myself but I can't blame it all on that.
How do you keep yourself focused? :c

http://writeordie.com (You can use it free on the website)
Helps me just get words down without going into editor mode immediately.

How do you guys keep track of your characters? I used to keep them on separate word docs and them all on a spreadsheet, but it's too clumsy now. I've also tried https://charahub.com but it didn't seem to fit. Any suggestions?

There's a built-in feature for that in Scrivener, so that's what I'm now using. But it's only recently that I have started with that xD
Before I had it all organised in a binder (actually, I still have additionally to the Scrivener feature). Every main character (usually only 2 - 3, rarely 4) gets a one-page character sheet and the back of the page is for keeping track of them, in which scene they appear, whether or not they die, and so on. The side characters only get half a page and the other half page for keeping track.
I've never written a story with all too many important characters, so I've never had to use one page as an index of sorts, listing the character's names plus role in two or three words and the page number they're on, but I guess that's what I would do if I were to write an epic fantasy novel with bazillions of characters.
Why, yes, I'm a little obsessed with order in my writing. xD

[a sky full of stars]

OMG I love the slideshow idea!!!
*runs off to make*

[Lanton]

There's a built-in feature for that in Scrivener, so that's what I'm now using. But it's only recently that I have started with that xD Before I had it all organised in a binder (actually, I still have additionally to the Scrivener feature). Every main character (usually only 2 - 3, rarely 4) gets a one-page character sheet and the back of the page is for keeping track of them, in which scene they appear, whether or not they die, and so on. The side characters only get half a page and the other half page for keeping track.
I've never written a story with all too many important characters, so I've never had to use one page as an index of sorts, listing the character's names plus role in two or three words and the page number they're on, but I guess that's what I would do if I were to write an epic fantasy novel with bazillions of characters.
Why, yes, I'm a little obsessed with order in my writing. xD

Been looking at that software and I think I'm going to invest.
I've been using Celtex, but while it's great for screenplays, it's not designed for novels.

[Rebel Faery]

How do you guys keep track of your characters? I used to keep them on separate word docs and them all on a spreadsheet, but it's too clumsy now. I've also tried https://charahub.com but it didn't seem to fit. Any suggestions?
[/size]

Uh, when I'm being very detailed, I'll usually write them out in a notebook or on powerpoint/word or something, but when I'm not, I just keep them in my head. For example, my character Emilie, I don't have her written down anywhere, but I have her personality mapped out in my head.

Also, thanks for all the help with the ghost issue It really helps, and I think I know what I'm going to do now.