@Shadowflame
Haha, thanks. Yeah, somehow I managed to finish one thing. Next step is for me to finish a novel. XD
Seconding that tip about the eyeshades! I write at night. I turn off the lights, turn on the music, and it's just myself and the words. Sometimes I find it helps me to open a Word doc, flip the page landscape, set it to two columns so it looks like a book, and then have fun formatting it into chapter headings, quotes, and parts, etc. as I write.
I forgot about timing myself. I need to do that for November.
@E.F.B.
It's a long, slow process, and change is so slow you feel like you're standing still. The only thing to do is just keep writing. Don't worry if it's good. Just aim for finishing a draft. Also when rereading, don't think about EVERYTHING that's wrong. It's a first draft. A lot WILL be wrong, because all first drafts are terrible. That's expected and normal. Instead of worrying about what you don't like, instead look for what I call "writer candy," which is things that you DO like. Also, look for the things that do sort of go where you wanted to go, but which might need rewriting or reworking. That's NOT failing. That's a source of inspiration for your second draft.
Also, while writing, do not think about editing your story. Well, you can think ABOUT editing your story, but not about EDITING your story. As Stephen King said, write the first draft with the door closed. Write the second with the door open. When you're first writing, suspend ALL judgement. When you've just written, it's still so fresh that your mind is just TOO biased to be able to look at it clearly. After some weeks (or months) of letting it rest, you'll be able to come back with a clearer mind to see the big picture. Yeah, it's hard to resist criticizing and editing. The thing there is, don't tell your inner editor you WON'T edit at all. He doesn't like that. Just tell him that you're not editing NOW, but you'll let him edit LATER. After a while, it becomes a habit. That actually works surprisingly well.
One thing which helps me (which, granted, I'm not good at following up on) is going for quantity over quality, and above that, consistency over quantity. Try scheduling a set amount of time each day where you'll just turn off the wifi (if possible) and commit to writing, nothing held back.
If it helps, warm up with a free-writing exercise and then continue to the day's writing.
Also, try out different amounts of time and see how it works for you. Maybe two fifteen minute blocks with 5 minutes of distraction time in between is optimal for you rather than 20 minutes.
That said, self-doubt will always rear its head, because that's just how it works. I figure it's a good thing if we use it to help ourselves realize that nothing we do will ever be perfect, and to keep ourselves on our toes trying to improve always. We just can't let it harm us, throttle our inspiration, or prevent us from putting words on the page. Self-doubt is a virus. It has a funny way of preventing us from doing the things that will cure it, thus generating MORE self-doubt.
If it does that, feed it to Elizabeth. (Oh wait, you're Elizabeth too! I meant the kraken. XD)
Okay, after spouting all this "great" advice, I'm going to go take it... XD
*sends Get Well vibes*
. And also I struggle to get what's in my head on paper. The scenes flash through my head like a movie and I have a hard time capturing exactly what it is I see. And I've given up on pretty prose. Anytime I attempt it, it comes out purpler than Barney.
