NYC Midnight : Creative Writing & Screenwriting Homepage
Forum Home Forum Home > GENERAL DISCUSSION > Creative Writing Corner
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - Self-Analysis
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Self-Analysis

 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <1234>
Author
Message
jakz404 View Drop Down
NYC Midnight Newbie
NYC Midnight Newbie
Avatar

Joined: 23 Nov 2022
Location: Melbourne, AU
Status: Offline
Points: 33
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jakz404 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Nov 2022 at 2:22am
Originally posted by Mrsnetpro Mrsnetpro wrote:

My biggest obstacle is procrastination and needing to have most of the storyline worked out in my head. I'm also my own worst critic and will edit my work obsessively. I was able to get over both for MF250, mostly because my expectations of doing well are so low that when I finished it and it was exactly 250 words I read it a few times and submitted it. 

Titles and synopsis are usually not a problem for me.

I know what you mean about with procrastination. My ADHD-guilt tendency worked, in that knowing there was a hard deadline gave me the adrenaline pump to get it going.

Own worst critic was kinda the inspiration for this topic as well!

Congrats on fighting both of these and getting your submission in!

I suck at titles, but can appreciate good ones having read through the forums, so will have to work on that.
Back to Top
jakz404 View Drop Down
NYC Midnight Newbie
NYC Midnight Newbie
Avatar

Joined: 23 Nov 2022
Location: Melbourne, AU
Status: Offline
Points: 33
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jakz404 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Nov 2022 at 2:28am
Originally posted by Candyfloss &Vinegar Candyfloss &Vinegar wrote:

...Half the time I have nothing more than a vague concept or a character when I start. Then, once the words dry up I go back and start pulling a story out of the chaos . Then I pad out that story to give it life.

...The prompts also narrow the target as I have a tendency to get distracted and write a tangent...

Titles was something I got from my round 1 flash feedback. Hadnt even considered them as part of the narrative until then.

Beta readers and a writing community are also things I am learning are invaluable. Especially when I'm outside my comfort zone.

Thanks for your comments!

Whenever I've written OC before, I was some vague scene that I had stuck in myhead for a week and needed to just "get it out" but it existed in isolation and was never sure how or where to get to go someowhere.

Similarly, I was hoping that doing a challenge like this would help me limit focus and keep something punchy.

And oh boy am I learning about the importance of titles!
Back to Top
jakz404 View Drop Down
NYC Midnight Newbie
NYC Midnight Newbie
Avatar

Joined: 23 Nov 2022
Location: Melbourne, AU
Status: Offline
Points: 33
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jakz404 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Nov 2022 at 2:36am
Originally posted by Deschain Deschain wrote:

  • Next time around I'm going to check my prompt first thing in the morning, after a good night of sleep.
  • I really wanted to push myself to do was to write a complete story, not the first 250 words of a longer story. but I'm new to micro fiction, so I have no idea if that matters to other people, but for me that was something I strived for.
  • I also wanted to write a story that didn't feel rushed. I didn't want to write a 400 word story that I crammed into 250 words by  over-editing. Even if everything is grammatically correct, at some point writing just becomes too claustrophobic when I over-edit.
  • The biggest challenge for me was that the story just went in this direction that was really uncomfortable for me (in terms of disturbing subject matter), and with the time constraints there wasn't enough time to scrap it and start over. I feel like I grew from that experience, and hopefully it will help me in the future. I just have to let the story go where it wants to go instead of always trying to bend it to my will.

I think the 24hr limit is an interesting one, for some people they may be up writing & editing the whole time, but the fact its only 250 means there is more option to rest, review, come back later and redraft. Something that I need to do next time, as I submitted relatively quickly, and then life got in the way and I wasn't able to come back and redraft.

I tried to come up with a bunch of concepts given the prompts and chose the one that felt like it might be the most unique. But in the writing, the execution still did not come out how I wanted it to, but as I said above, missed significant redrafting time.

Great introspection, and I wish you all the best for round 2!
Back to Top
TheGhostofMissJessel View Drop Down
NYC Midnight Groupie
NYC Midnight Groupie
Avatar

Joined: 10 Jan 2022
Status: Offline
Points: 112
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TheGhostofMissJessel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Nov 2022 at 6:42am

A big one for me — don’t forget we only get 24 hours not 48. LOLLOL

My preference for any contest is to let a story cure for a little bit—even if that’s only an hour or two. I can almost always find something to improve when I come back with fresh eyes.

I unwisely spent my time pouting and procrastinating because I didn’t like the prompts and realized last minute that the deadline was tonight not tomorrow so ended up tossing something together with no beta reads or any real time to review/edit. 
Back to Top
wisemel View Drop Down
NYC Midnight Black Belt
NYC Midnight Black Belt
Avatar

Joined: 21 Jan 2021
Location: Nova Scotia
Status: Offline
Points: 2442
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote wisemel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Nov 2022 at 8:45pm
Great discussion! I have a bit of a mental checklist I try to work through to address areas that can really improve a piece. It includes:
-filtering language (noticed, seemed, felt, saw, wondered, thought, etc.) increases narrative distance, and in addition to making the writing so much better, editing out those words can add to the word count (I really try to watch out for this)
-every word counts in micro (well, always, but especially in micro) so I pick things apart and look for alternative ways to say something in fewer words
-play with punctuation, which can help with word count and also make for interesting variation
-dialogue tags are rarely necessary, and using them is a missed opportunity when we can attribute through action or description
-I try and go back and add a descriptive word here and there for setting, as I tend to skip this stuff and have learned that it really helps elevate a story so it doesn't feel like things are happening in a vacuum 
-dialogue has to move the story forward, and if it doesn't add anything it should be cut (I can definitely over-do it on dialogue)
-start as close as possible to the action
-varied sentence length
-read aloud for rhythm and repetition issues
Back to Top
SumFemina View Drop Down
NYC Midnight Black Belt
NYC Midnight Black Belt
Avatar

Joined: 14 Apr 2021
Location: New York
Status: Offline
Points: 2690
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SumFemina Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Nov 2022 at 8:37am
Originally posted by jennifer.quail jennifer.quail wrote:

Don't be boring, but my R1 is so boring I have limited confidence in getting to R2. I think I went painfully literal (and uninspired; this is the fourth time, iirc, I've gotten A/A) and there's nothing interesting, and everyone else who posted in my group was much more engaging and fit in way more story. 

I think one challenge you faced was you thought the "action" had to be a central theme of the story. So your entire story focused on someone climbing a wall. But if you had known the action just has to happen sometime in the story you would have had more freedom to write a different type of story.
Back to Top
theinquisitor View Drop Down
NYC Midnight Black Belt
NYC Midnight Black Belt
Avatar

Joined: 10 May 2020
Location: Scotland
Status: Offline
Points: 5036
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote theinquisitor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Nov 2022 at 8:38am
My self-analysis for the next round is 'don't get f**king covid again'.
Back to Top
Carelizafor View Drop Down
NYC Midnight Newbie
NYC Midnight Newbie
Avatar

Joined: 05 May 2022
Location: Newfoundland
Status: Offline
Points: 72
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Carelizafor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Nov 2022 at 3:57pm
Originally posted by theinquisitor theinquisitor wrote:

My self-analysis for the next round is 'don't get f**king covid again'.

SAME! the brain fog was awful. 
Back to Top
Annk View Drop Down
NYC Midnight Newbie
NYC Midnight Newbie


Joined: 20 Nov 2022
Status: Offline
Points: 61
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Annk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jan 2023 at 9:27am
Hi all, bumping this thread because it's full of gold, which I need going into round two. I'm a newbie, both to micro and to competition. 

The one thing that I've been kicking myself for is having too pat an ending. We'll see what the judges come back with. I was down to the wire, time-wise, and so my last sentence told, rather than showed, and I think didn't give the reader enough credit. 

Thank you all for the tips. I will use them, for sure.
Back to Top
NERdling View Drop Down
NYC Midnight Black Belt
NYC Midnight Black Belt
Avatar

Joined: 10 Dec 2014
Location: Chicago
Status: Offline
Points: 2350
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote NERdling Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Jan 2023 at 10:18pm
Originally posted by theinquisitor theinquisitor wrote:

My self-analysis for the next round is 'don't get f**king covid again'.

If only I took this note for R2
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <1234>

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Forum Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 12.05
Copyright ©2001-2022 Web Wiz Ltd.

This page was generated in 0.172 seconds.