Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Post History

83%
+8 −0
Q&A Tools to overcome a block from: "My words are bad"

It's said that writers improve through writing. Maybe true, but I've discovered the first draft of any new piece I write is still really, really bad. The characters are flat, the descriptions lac...

6 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by DPT‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by What?‭

#4: Post edited by user avatar Monica Cellio‭ · 2020-01-13T01:46:19Z (over 4 years ago)
#3: Post edited by user avatar DPT‭ · 2020-01-13T01:31:20Z (over 4 years ago)
#2: Post edited by user avatar DPT‭ · 2020-01-13T01:31:04Z (over 4 years ago)
  • It's said that writers improve through writing.
  • Maybe true, but I've discovered the first draft of *any* new piece I write is still really, **really** bad. The characters are flat, the descriptions lacking, the motivations unclear, and so on.
  • I'm curious what tools (or ideas, mantras, tricks--interpret as you like) exist to help a writer simply get through these bad words. I'm particularly curious to learn tools that get a writer not only through these bad words, but also to a nice final draft more efficiently.
  • Here are a few thoughts to get the ball rolling:
  • 1. Accept that the first draft will be bad.
  • 2. A blank page can not be edited. Get something--anything--onto the page. it can be edited.
  • 3. Rest assured that every iteration will likely be better than the one before it--all progress is essentially forward.
  • What are some other dead or
  • It's said that writers improve through writing.
  • Maybe true, but I've discovered the first draft of *any* new piece I write is still really, **really** bad. The characters are flat, the descriptions lacking, the motivations unclear, and so on.
  • I'm curious what tools (or ideas, mantras, tricks--interpret as you like) exist to help a writer simply get through these bad words. I'm particularly curious to learn tools that get a writer not only through these bad words, but also to a nice final draft more efficiently.
  • Here are a few thoughts to get the ball rolling:
  • 1. Accept that the first draft will be bad.
  • 2. A blank page can not be edited. Get something--anything--onto the page. it can be edited.
  • 3. Rest assured that every iteration will likely be better than the one before it--all progress is essentially forward.
  • What are some other ideas and tools along these lines?
#1: Initial revision by user avatar DPT‭ · 2020-01-13T01:30:45Z (over 4 years ago)
It's said that writers improve through writing. 

Maybe true, but I've discovered the first draft of *any* new piece I write is still really, **really** bad. The characters are flat, the descriptions lacking, the motivations unclear, and so on.

I'm curious what tools (or ideas, mantras, tricks--interpret as you like) exist to help a writer simply get through these bad words. I'm particularly curious to learn tools that get a writer not only through these bad words, but also to a nice final draft more efficiently. 

Here are a few thoughts to get the ball rolling:

1. Accept that the first draft will be bad.
2. A blank page can not be edited. Get something--anything--onto the page. it can be edited.
3. Rest assured that every iteration will likely be better than the one before it--all progress is essentially forward.

What are some other dead or