Some Good Advice

Thought I'd start this off by reposting something someone told me on Deviant art, as well as a quote I'm rather fond of, relating to artist's perceptions of thier own work.

Firstly, this is a good bit of practical "Wtf do I write now?" advice. Mostly posting it here, so I can have a quick-ref later. (Digging through old devart journals/comments may eventually be bothersome I guess?)

Althelan said:

Before writing anything, take a piece of paper, a pencil/pen, and a timer. Set the timer for a set amount of time. 30 seconds, a minute, 2 minutes, so on. 

Write down anything and everything that comes to mind. Don't stop, don't think about it, just write. When the timer goes off, stop.

Doing this yields various results.1) Your mind will be clearer. There won't be clutter and other thoughts getting in the way of your writing.2) You can draw ideas from all you have written. I personally don't, as it tends to confuse me further.3) You've spent some time writing. 

Look up prompts. The internet, friends and family, and other places can be great starting off points. Take a prompt and write something on it. Don't worry about whether it's good or workable or anything. Again, write what comes to mind. Editing comes later.
Do NOT be afraid to ask for criticism on your work. It will help. That being said, know the line between constructive criticism and insults. 

Pace yourself. If you can't write, then do something else until inspiration strikes again. Forcing yourself to write won't end well. 

Build an outline, then worry about detail. Worrying about how this scene will go down, but not what comes before or after it is not a good idea.

Know what inspires you. Don't be afraid to write about something.

So, there's that. Pretty good stuff. I especially like the timer one. (I think I may have spawned an idea for an incarnation of a novel I've been meaning to organize in my head.) ....(Yeah, its okay if you didnt understand that, I barely did. >_> )

Secondly, I'm posting this as a reminder to myself - Write because you love it, not because you want to hear other people tell you how good it is. Write for yourself. Write even if you don't like what you've written. Write it, even if you think its bad.

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.” -Ira Glass

I really hope I stick to the one-a-day. It'll be like NaNoWriMo. FOREVER. How about a simple goal: I will do Once-A-Day writing (the challenge) for 1 whole month, starting tomorrow.

Sounds like a good idea. I hope I stick to my guns. Go me!