Stuck in a rut

Jambo said:
I disagree with all these 'don't give up your job' squares. if you pay off your loan and have no debt then I say go for it. You are clearly not enjoying your job and it is holding you back from doing waht you want to do, whatever that may be. Good luck chief, follow your dreams and don't be another one stuck in a job you don't like.
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Evidently haven't tried getting any sort of job recently, let alone one that you really enjoy. What about living costs? Sit on the dole? In better circumstances I might agree with you, but not at the moment and not for anyone that hasn't got something to sit on, like NickK did.
 
I'd clear the loan first, and as has been said make sure you have somewhere to go before you jump.

Money isn't everything, so while it might mean a pay cut, life will be a lot better if you can find a job you enjoy.
 
To live in the real world you need a JOB so anyone saying ditch the job and just start writing fulltime are very out of touch with the real world.

I recently got let go last tuesday due to over staffing which makes me laugh a little considering I was one of the highest performers. While I liked the work i didnt like the job as I was constantly picking up the slack from everyone else. I got lucky found a opening elsewhere, had the testing and interview and was offered the job which i've taken within 49 hours of losing my previous one.
Im now on better pay, better working hours, better holidays and better benefits so it worked out well for me.

Needless to say in those 2 days i was panicking wondering how the hell im going to get on over xmas etc.

My advice comes in 2 parts

1) Find another job that offers better pay or times but dont leave your current job until you've secured another
2) Seriously start to spend time on your writing and once youve got something your happy with then get it sent out to publishers/agents asap and keep pressing at it

Edit: Most importantly... good luck matey :)
 
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Books that I have:

The Elements of Style by William Shrunk & E.B. Web, published by Longman Publishers.
E.B. Web for example is the author of Charlotte's Web.. it's been going since 1959 and is still as relevant today. It's a small book too that doesn't rely on fluff but delivers concise information.

Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card, published by Writer's Digest Books.
This is a good book that introduces you to concepts about developing characters and how to drive that process.

Self Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne & Dave King, published by Collins.
It's more of a "how to write a story" but not via a template. It takes the position of the publisher and regales their experiences about work they've received and shows what's wrong with it. So you can then look at your work and apply those thoughts and lessons.

Collins Improve your writing skills by Graham King, published by Collins
This is a great book for just getting your grammar back up to scratch. It has extensions for CVs etc but it's also applicable for any writing including authors.
Nothing like the over use of adjectives by first time writers rather than communicating clearly with nouns and verbs for example.
 
Adsta said:
The one thing I do a lot when writing is get side tracked and end up writing about things that really are not relavent
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Writing isn't a case of sit down, scribble and then post those scribbles off to the publisher.

There's a fine double edged sword in writing: write, revise, revise, revise, ... versus knowing when to stop in the acceptance that it will never be perfect.

Now I'm going to sound harsh :D If you think you're going to loose yourself on the first pass, then what happens by the sixth revision or the eighth publisher revision? Can you maintain the vision of the story and accept that it's good enough even though it's not perfect?

Here's an exercise. Write with a deadline, say next tuesday. Get everything done by next tuesday including any revisions. If you can't do that then I'm afraid you're not going to get a book out nor is a publisher going to wait till you've polished it.
Now give it to a friend with a marker pen.
Once he's come back with some scrawl over your masterpiece, set yourself a deadline of four days. Again..

That will give you a big enough poke to answer your question about writing.

Now... I'm getting distracted :p
 
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I think what I am going to do on my approach on this is to go have a look at some of the books you have suggested. Read them then as suggested, set a deadline to produce a short story and go from there.

Although I feel my writing is quite good I do feel like I could describe or portray the character better. There is always room for improvement :)

Now I just need to find a friend that will actually be sensible and actually read it :p
 
HybridX said:
My advice comes in 2 parts

1) Find another job that offers better pay or times but dont leave your current job until you've secured another
2) Seriously start to spend time on your writing and once youve got something your happy with then get it sent out to publishers/agents asap and keep pressing at it

Edit: Most importantly... good luck matey :)
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I'd echo that exactly.

Only once you have enough royalties from your work (note they will slowly decline over time unless you have written a masterpiece like Tolkien or a book that fires the imagination like Rowling).
Note it should be noted that Rowling wrote and taught before giving up her job todo the required course for teaching in the UK.. so rags to riches yes, but also one that she knew what she was doing.
 
I have a friend that writes some of the deepest poetry I have ever read. I'm no connoisseur, but it just has a spark to it. I maintain that he should write stories or at least have a go at being a writer. He says that he doesn't have the imagination to write fiction, and he never has. It's quite frustrating for me, and some of his relatives because he is also very articulate, and obviously has a way with words. I would like to help him, but I'm no writer and don't really have any experience of this world. I think any advice would be useful not just for me, but the OP too. (and it is his thread. :))

Would be awesome if we had a famous writer associated with OC!!
 
Caged and controlled by the world that we live in
pushed and shoved,
bullied 'til we give in
Held to jobs we hate by self enforced greed
material wants over time
Became needs
Beaten down by the words of those thought of as higher
who think nothing of hurting
to feed their desire
and in pain we hide behind masks made of laughter
to be Lords of our fates
is all that we're after

That was written by a friend of mine. Personally i think its fantastic.
Just thought i'd post seeing as we're on the subject and as an example of stuff you could push towards publishers/online writing forums in an effort to get noticed i guess.
 
I was stuck in the same situation a year ago...

I saved as much money as I could for a year and paid off any debts. I am now completing a one year A level course at a local College and have applied for a whole host of different Uni's all around the country. Once I've finished College I'm looking at working abroad for a few months, just so I enjoy the summer doing something different, before Uni.

I'm now working part-time in a local supermarket to fund going out etc. It's hard not having as much money but having a job I hated for 4 years and realising it was going nowhere meant that I was really unhappy. I can now say that I'm really excited about the future! Go for it, follow your dreams!

When I told family and friends that I was leaving my job they thought I was crazy and weren't very supportive, but now they've seen how much happier I am and are glad I did it

Go for it!
 
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