What is Digg?Sponsored by HowLifeWorks
Who Gets To Use Unsold Cruise Cabins at Huge Discounts view!
howlifeworks.com - How to access once-in-a-lifetime trips at significantly less than full price
48 Comments
- LordSkywalker, on 10/12/2007, -1/+30Q: How to concentrate on writing:
A: Stop reading Digg. - geoffpado, on 10/12/2007, -0/+28Well, then you end up with a paper like this:
http://www.eng.usf.edu/~dionson/ezzay/ - yish, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1411. Stop looking for advice. you know what you have to do, just do it.
... and most of all, don't expect DIGG to save you from your procastenation. That's as big a contradiction in term as it gets. - jackburt0n, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11That reward part was useful through college papers. "Just one more page and then you get another beer."
- combatchuck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7The best way to concentrate on what you're writing involves 2 steps.
1. Do nothing until the day of your deadline.
2. On the day of the deadline, scribble out a 12 page term paper due in less than an hour, pass-or-fail, no make-ups.
Ah, to be back in high school. - deut, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8@geoffpado - LMAO - Good find and very funny!
The thing I can't believe is that the student actually got 61% for that. On that basis, I would love to see a student's paper that got a fail mark. - liquidizer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5To 'hoover' is to 'use a vacuum cleaner'. Named after Hoover, a leading brand of vacuum cleaner in the UK and probably other places too.
- commandar!, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@OBKenobi
Woody Allen is one of the most prolific screenwriters of the past half century and he absolutely detests drug use and alcohol dependence. Not to say the other side of the spectrum isn't equally true, (Say, Hunter S. Thompson), but nicotine/drug/alcohol use is hardly a prerequisite to output. - OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+490% of the best story writers, scriptwriters and poets in the world are alcoholics, drug addicts and/or smokers.
Look it up. You will find few that do not at least drink heavily or smoke pot. When you have to write eight-ten hours a day to finish a novel or screenplay, you are going to need SOMETHING besides fricken' wheat grass and granola!
That should be one of the writing tips listed. Just keep in mind that you actually have to write, not just smoke and drink all day! :p - kalisphoenix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Not sure why you're getting dug down -- it's the truth. Every hour or so, I think to myself, "I need a cigarette," and I step away from the keyboard. Every two or three hours, the dog puts her front paws on my arm and stares at me until I take her outside. Taking breaks is essential, especially when you work with details, details, and more details for hours on end. You can get frustrated, make mistakes, or just forget why what you are doing is important. Five minutes of perspective is often all you need to replenish your enthusiasm.
- Veretax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Look, outlook and outlook express are by far the most used email programs, and they have name recognition. Instead of poking fun at him for not fitting your definition of geek try to understand that he is pointing out that email (yes email) can be a distraction to the writing process.
- pornel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Author uses Outlook and assumes everyone does too (that's almost an insult for a geek ;)
"6am is the most productive time of day for writing." - i think it's individual preference. For me 1am is most productive time of "day" :) - TwisteR, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Thats a very hard one.
- Vagari, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I keep finding it funny because Scrivener (http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html) and CopyWrite (http://www.bartastechnologies.com/products/copywrite/) have the full screen feature too and they're hardly mentioned. It seems to be the _it_ feature of writing programs lately. Of course CopyWrite is a whopping $30 (sarcasm) and Scrivener is only free for the current version. But they seem decent otherwise. I'm currently evaluating both of them to figure out which I like more and might spend money on in the long run.
Now I just need to figure out what to write. ;) - Mambo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Did that paper say Mr. Freeman?
- Wolfboy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Mac fanboys will ridicule No. 8: "Go full screen. Switching Word into full screen mode (from the view menu) eliminates all distractions but the piece I’m working on."
(comment entered on an iBook) - stou, on 10/12/2007, -6/+7The only positive thing about smoking... lets you just chill for a minute, and think about the solution to some problem or the correct way of saying something... damn I have to quit.
- kalisphoenix, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2If you want to write fiction, my advice is to do the writing last. There's a lot of brainstorming, character construction, and a lot of other crap to do before you should set pen to paper.
- bogdanglushak, on 12/25/2007, -0/+1Nice tips for a beginner
http://iqratings.blogspot.com - rezophonic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@kalisphoenix:
That's completely opposite what I do. I've tried that approach before, and whenever I do things seem too cookie-cutter by the time I do the writing. I get better results when I just make up as much as I can on the spot. Of course, my fiction leans towards the comedy side of things, and I've learned that, almost always, if you have to think about it then it's not funny.
To be honest, though, I occasionally do some planning, but in general I leave as much as open as possible. One of the things I like to do is develop characters/settings and then let the plot play out on its own, deciding how the characters would act in the given scenario. I get some pretty interesting results from that which I could have never planned.
The key to writing ad hoc as I do is lots and lots of editing. Then when you think you have a good result, wait a month (or however long possible) and go back and edit again. - wildleaf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The 6am thing seemed a little off to me as well. However, he redeems his statement by also saying "It also feels more virtuous than staying up late with work." It is redeeming only if you are at a certain point in life. When I was younger, staying up til 7am (staying up - not waking up) completing a program or term paper wasn't a problem. I liked it better that way. Once you get married, have kids, or a dozen other things - staying up late is just an impedence. So getting up early does feel better because you get your work done early and have the rest of the day without worrying about that thing you have to do later tonight.
- manvsmonster, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Awesome. I live near USF and have known a couple people who've gone there. Interesting...
- Wolfman~K, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Dugg for my wife, a beginning childrens writer.
- DarthTurducken, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah I just watched that this last weekend - didn't notice that.
- hoppdawg, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4great, simple advice.
- Ryn2o01, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I could have used these tips in college...well not really, I'd of got distracted by the girls across the hall. Though my best papers were written the day before they were due any way.
- Kazanoe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Does coffee work as a substitution for tea?
- jordan314, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2so he's distracted by blogging and vacuuming?
- dodoporridge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1When I just glanced at that phrase, I thought it said 'blogging and homeowning.' 'Hoovering' sounds like putting something illicit up your nose, which I imagine would be distracting.
- jjafuller, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The only problem is that WriteRoom is for OS X only, however there is a Windows clone called Dark Room: http://they.misled.us/archives/501
- takatsuki06, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I don't think I can think about how much money I'd get payed though, after all its for work, and I don't know whether one powerpoint can do much cash for me. But that's a good way to think if you're a professional writer.
- pyewackett, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Ah, the joy of English when used by the English. Actually, having just watched it again recently, it was one of the funnier pieces of satire in the movie Gattaca - the FBI-esque agents were nicknamed "Hoovers", as they vacuumed incessantly in search of evidence.
- DarthTurducken, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2@geoffpado
The fact that the teacher kept reading and grading past page 2 suggests to me that that's a hoax. Either that or a tool. Hilarious. - rm999, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4"‘Matthew, if you write another 500 words, you can have a cup of tea and a biscuit.’"
err... - hollanich11, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0That's cool i guess i always wanted to write something but always got stuck after like the fourth page at the most =D
This doesn't help much though - sumadartson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I've been forcing myself to use LaTeX and write in either a latex editor or a normal text editor. Latex does all formatting correctly and does not distract you by needing endless tinkering with the format, or crashing. Set things up right and then leave them alone. In addition, reference handling is almost perfect and math formatting is the best available.
Best of all, using LaTeX significantly increases your geek status. - Gudath, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Hey, I went to USF and I resemble that remark.
With respect to the "term paper", the professor wrote "Page is to big" on Page 3. This says either that the paper is a joke, or that USF has illiterate staff. - Qacer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0http://www.eng.usf.edu/~dionson is my site. I know for a fact that the essay IS NOT a USF paper. I already got tons of email inquiring about the "ezzay." I got the images from Anandtech and hosted it for a friend.
- rockefeller, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0*****' Carlo!!!!!!
as if the school doesn't have a bad enough image - nickwriter, on 03/11/2009, -0/+0I really struggle with my concentration when writing, its amazing how often other things provide a distraction or even become 'must do' (when in reality they rarely even need doing). Some useful tips here and ones I shall certainly take on board
- geronimo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I geek out at the library to concentrate. Then when I need a pep talk I listen to my man Pat Riley:
Each Warrior wants to leave the mark of his will, his signature, on important acts he touches. This is not the voice of ego but of the human spirit, rising up and declaring that it has something to contribute to the solution of the hardest problems, no matter how vexing - mydave, on 08/01/2008, -0/+0how concentrate on writing? just shut down all sites close your door and just write))
http://yara-online.org/main_pages/awards.htm
http://sooslic.com/?id=1 - davdav, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3http://www.43folders.com/2006/06/30/writeroom/
Problem solved. - spazzedout, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1...wow. Common sense stuff. They really tried there, didn't they....
- dodoporridge, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I know someone who works at USF, and he says the standards are low, low, low.
- maradong, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3So true, soooo true ;-)
- suneetmisra, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2tru dat, thank God my exams are over. Wait a minute, no they're not......
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2...or walking and breathing
takes up SOO much of my mind
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is