The process of creative writing

[Thrawn4]

So, during my creative writing, I usually have different feelings about it.
The last chapter was kind of... okay I guess. I find no inherent flaws in it, but at the same time it is kind of bland. I guess. I still have to give it to a test audience. I mean I used the same techniques as before, and I figure it might be an interesting read to someone else. I am just not sure it would be interesting for me.
My current chapter feels full of creative energy and was a lot of fun to write. Something I am proud of.

So my question is: How do you feel when you write? Do you feel different about different parts? Is it necessary to be proud of everything you write, rather than being just okay with some parts?

[Cealocanth]

As far as I know, author's thinking that their work is awful is normal. It means that you care about what you're writing, and it means that you think that your work could be even better. When I write, areas I often think are profound and interesting turn out bland and boring because I don't actually write the things I think I am writing. When I think that something is boring and that I'm not getting my point across, I often try harder, meaning that it usually comes out better.

I'm not a professional writer, but I would suggest having someone else read it, as then you get an outside opinion. You've chosen the right part of the forum for people who might be interested in reading your work. Do you have a sample?

[Thanqol]

So, during my creative writing, I usually have different feelings about it.
The last chapter was kind of... okay I guess. I find no inherent flaws in it, but at the same time it is kind of bland. I guess. I still have to give it to a test audience. I mean I used the same techniques as before, and I figure it might be an interesting read to someone else. I am just not sure it would be interesting for me.
My current chapter feels full of creative energy and was a lot of fun to write. Something I am proud of.

So my question is: How do you feel when you write? Do you feel different about different parts? Is it necessary to be proud of everything you write, rather than being just okay with some parts?

Writing is all about weird psychological tricks to overcome the fear, guilt, self-loathing and doubt that come with creating something. Willpower is the most important skill to cultivate when writing, as well as management of your moods and emotions.

The most important thing is to write for yourself; not for fans, not for popularity, not for money (ha ha ha). Writing is an inward journey and if you emerge from it stronger other people liking it is incidental.

[Thrawn4]

You've chosen the right part of the forum for people who might be interested in reading your work. Do you have a sample?
Thanks, that is very kind of you. I would love to, but unfortunately I wrote it in German.

[Red Wizard]

Writing is all about weird psychological tricks to overcome the fear, guilt, self-loathing and doubt that come with creating something. Willpower is the most important skill to cultivate when writing, as well as management of your moods and emotions.

This is absolutely true. Every time I come back to an old chapter I wrote, I feel forced to make little changes to make it "perfect." If I let myself, I'll spend more time editing old chapters than actually writing new ones.

Your worst critic is yourself. Of course, if you decide later that an earlier scene/dialogue doesn't work, feel free to change it, but there comes a time when you should leave it be and allow a reader to decide whether it works or not.

[pickledillusion]

Hi, I am not a writer but I really want to be a creative one. As far as I know, author must be a keen observer and focus on anything that he wants to write in terms of what his topic is all about. It is a sort of relating things out of imagination. Anyway, to fully understand everything, this is what I found out about creative writing (http://www.be-a-better-writer.com/writing-process.html). You may read it to learn more and to become a better writer too.

[truemane]

Hi, I am not a writer but I really want to be a creative one. As far as I know, author must be a keen observer and focus on anything that he wants to write in terms of what his topic is all about. It is a sort of relating things out of imagination. Anyway, to fully understand everything, this is what I found out about creative writing (http://www.be-a-better-writer.com/writing-process.html). You may read it to learn more and to become a better writer too.

At the risk of causing a fight, your post is (maybe) responding to the title of the thread but is (certainly) not responding to the questions the OP asked. This just struck me funny, especially in light of you noting 'keen observer' as a necessary trait of a creative writer.

Anyhoo. I am a professional writer (of sorts) and what I've learned in a life filled with associations with other writers, is that the author is frequently dead wrong about their work, one way or the other. And not just in the 'own worst critic' way. Lots of writers think such and such a piece is amazing, and everyone's all Meh. And then they think something is terrible, and it's the opposite. Which makes sense. Objectivity is pretty much absolutely impossible when you're so close to something. It's like being objective about how cute your own kids are. And, even more frustratingly, the parts of the piece that you think are the bestest awsomest other people will skim past without looking and at, and things you just tossed out because you were bored or tired or stuck, people will oooh and aah over, and completely destroy your faith in a rational universe.

Right after I'm done a piece of writing, I frequently feel like a super-star and like everything I wrote was pure genius. PURE GENIUS I tell you! But a few weeks' worth of cool down and I usually swing all the way around the other way and think it's garbage and I'm crazy. Over time, I've learned to be cynical of both of these reactions. But I still have them. Like clockwork.

This is a big part of the value of skilled, enthusiastic first readers. People who are good at reading something and giving you a clear, articulate idea of what worked for them and what didn't and why can go a long, long way toward forming and refining your own opinion of the piece. First readers too harsh? Destroys your confidence when it's at its lowest ebb. First readers too complimentary? You never learn or grow and the piece stagnates.

Also, it's important to note that first drafts are supposed to suck. That's their job. If you wrote a first draft, and it doesn't suck, you probably did it wrong. So not being proud of something right after you're done isn't just normal, it's encouraged. What you want is a feeling of pride somewhere around the third draft. Once you know what it is you're doing and have some notion as to how to get there.

Every professional will tell you that writing is re-writing. A first draft is like digging an uncut gemstone up out of the earth. You have it in your hand, now you start polishing, polishing, polishing until the good stuff shines through.

[Lethologica]

At the risk of causing a fight, your post is (maybe) responding to the title of the thread but is (certainly) not responding to the questions the OP asked. This just struck me funny, especially in light of you noting 'keen observer' as a necessary trait of a creative writer.
pssst it's a spambot

Great advice, though.

[CWater]

I'm finally, after a long time, trying to get back to writing and I'm currently in the phase where everything that comes out of my pen feels absolutely hideous and boring and not at all what I want to say and I want to just bang my head to a wall and throw the notebook to the sea! But I can't, because then I'll never get this story out.

And this is just the feelings I get with the first draft that I write on a real notebook and where I've decided not to even try to create great good tolerable text. (truemane's comparison to digging up a gemstone is a good one) Imagine what it will be like with the future drafts on the computer.:smalltongue:

...Actually, I think I'd rather not. I'll still have do that!

Anyway, point was that no, you don't need to like everything you write, especially not all the time. truemane makes good points about rewriting and asking for other's opinions and 'cooling down'. Sometimes it's good not to look at your text in a while. It can help in (not always, but sometimes) determining if it is good enough or would it require yet another rewrite.

[DecadentMeerkat]

From experience: Don't worry about weak first drafts. The purpose of first drafts is to simply get your story down. You can't revise something until you've got a coherent body of work to deal with.

(This is a problem for me, since I'm a better editor than I'm a writer. I have to resist the temptation to go back and fix things).