ok... to write or not to write? to write well, or not?
is it possible to sit and type for hours and not realize you've typed the biggest ever load of garbage?
answer: no
solution: turn off the screen
i don't know why no-one's said this before. if you sit and type with the screen unplugged, you cannot possibly read over everything and curse what you've written. if you can't remember what you just wrote, then write whatever you feel like... (to hell with repeated words). stick spaces in where you're not sure... you may get an extra word out of them.
don't read back the enxt time you go to continue.. read the last sentence and turn the screen off again..
oh, and make sure that you turn autocomplete off.... it is a pain in the arse for random words you create... you can't see the red squiggles so there is no need to have them corrected.
if you are handwriting: write on one side, write on the other side, put paper underneath the rest of what you are writing on... and IGNORE IT... its not next to you so you don't need to look back
WHO CARES...
if your character changes his name 60 million times (i've done this... he had 14 different names and never the same one in the same chapter.... :-S)
if you have the worlds most typos
if the story is a load of bull and makes no sense
if you say the same word over and over because you can't remember typing it
remember... editing comes later.... you can have a field trip in december sorting out all the mistakes (unless you're like me and word crashes saying there are too many errors for it to cope)
i found that personally, i type about twice as fast, if not, three times as fast when i'm not editing... and because my inner editor whon't shut up, i just pull the power cord on the screen and type ^^ got 4619 words in half an hour. ^^
----------
The Official Elementalists' Site (flash)
The Lie
6,679 / 50,000
Oct 29, 2008 - 05 40
I'm way too visual a thinker for turning the screen off to work for me. I go back and correct typos I can't physically see.
999,999 / 50,000
Oct 29, 2008 - 05 53
i start doing that... another good trick is to stick blue tac under the arrow keys and the backspace... soyou can't go back without clicking
----------The Official Elementalists' Site (flash)
The Lie
6,620 / 50,000
Oct 29, 2008 - 06 31
Ah, smart!
----------I could never do it though.
I absolutely hate this keyboard. Unless I'm almost always looking at it, I tedn to tpye like tihs.
So, I'd be editing for months on Word starting in December.
But for those with better keyboard, it sounds like a good idea to me =D
[IMG]http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb60/EclectusGrl/crimsonchains.png[/IMG]
23,083 / 50,000
Oct 29, 2008 - 06 53
I have tried it with the screen off, but you're just in too much danger of accidentally hitting Alt or the Windows button and typing nothing without realising it.
Another way of getting the same result is to type with a very big font or magnification so that it all just flies by.
----------Theaker's Quarterly Fiction #29 * Dark Horizons #54
999,999 / 50,000
Oct 29, 2008 - 13 04
i like that idea.. will try it
----------The Official Elementalists' Site (flash)
The Lie
50,115 / 50,000
Oct 29, 2008 - 16 22
Nice idea. I'll use it when I'm in a rush to get to a certain amount of words, but in general I'd prefer to know what I've written so I can decide where to take it from there. Eh, I don't know. But it's not a bad idea at all when you just want to ramble.
----------"I'm not afraid to die, I'm afraid to be alive without being aware of it"
50,077 / 50,000
Oct 29, 2008 - 17 34
I used to do this with a font that used characters I couldn't read (Irken btw). I could still see it and be pleased by my output without editing myself and once I was done I just changed it to a readable font.
50,004 / 50,000
Oct 29, 2008 - 20 16
That sounds like a great idea. Too bad I cant really do that with a laptop, but the idea is there.
52,012 / 50,000
Oct 29, 2008 - 20 45
I like the idea of using a font that you can't read, but you can still see what you've typed. I think I might try that when my inner editor starts wispering in my ear...
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"No one is able to enjoy such feast than the one who throws a party in his own mind." - Selma Lagerlöf
Happy Writing!
0 / 50,000
Oct 29, 2008 - 20 50
This is fantastic idea! I have a laptop but I could cover it.
Thank you!
0 / 50,000
Oct 29, 2008 - 20 55
Ohh I like this idea even better. I'll have to try both. :D
50,019 / 50,000
Oct 29, 2008 - 22 26
You'd be editing for months anyway, if you were planning on really editing the story/writing quality/plot development/everything else you edit for.
Hate to break it to you, but spelling isn't the only thing you have to edit for.
----------2006: Dance of the Mamed (about 18000 words)
2007: Project I-12 (winner)
2008: If God Is So Great (winner)
50,050 / 50,000
Oct 29, 2008 - 23 49
Or make the font the same color as the background! White words on white paper... It does the trick well. =) Until you go back to reread it, and you're super confused--where'd all my text go? (That's definitely happened to me. Not my finest moment! lol)
999,999 / 50,000
Nov 11, 2008 - 09 06
I tried that... my mum was convinced i wasn't typing anything and had a good laugh before i told her to watch the rising word count
----------The Official Elementalists' Site (flash)
The Lie
50,012 / 50,000
Nov 11, 2008 - 09 24
Fortunately for me, my inner editor has successfully been hibernating. Or mostly, anyway. I'm hand writing my story and I can't help but correct spelling.
But as for the grammer- I've let it go it's horrible ways. I'm going to be cringing endlessly come December. I'm breaking so many grammar mistakes.
----------"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club."
~Jack London
50,038 / 50,000
Nov 11, 2008 - 09 49
That's a good idea, although when I type, by the time I've consciously realised I've made a typo, my hands have automatically started correcting it, regardless of whether I can see it or not. My inner editor is usually completely anal about grammar and artsy wording, but it's been hibernating quite nicely for me this month. The only thing I correct is typing errors.
11,526 / 50,000
Nov 11, 2008 - 10 55
I´ve taken to writing in Webdings when I´m writing on my laptop. Unfortunately, I have subconsciously started to decode the font, so I will need to change to Arabian or something soon if I want to continue doing that. :P
----------http://nanoisms.blogspot.com
NaNo projects:
2008 - Når Kråkene Kaller (novel)
Kaninen (working title. Genre or length or plot remain unknown. It´s something about two boys, a haunted house, a rabbit and aliens, I think.)
For Elise (short story)