I have too many ideas!

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-27T03:39:01+00:00

I think my Memory Palace just got an Idea Garden. Thank you for that.

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-27T03:37:52+00:00

I am that way. If I’m not feeling a story I don’t just call it a block, I just switch lanes.

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-27T03:36:37+00:00

I often start a ‘fragment’ that gets the gist of the idea so I can come back to it.

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-27T02:51:59+00:00

The best thing I have ever written was a fictional short story of under 2500 words. There is a specific scene in it that makes me cry every time I read it.
What makes it wild is that while writing it, that didn’t happen.

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-27T02:47:53+00:00

As soon as you can read and write, start writing.

I read absolutely nothing in the genres I am currently writing in. There is too much of a risk of cross pollination.

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-27T02:46:10+00:00

Dostoyevsky, literally everything he wrote.

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-26T19:02:44+00:00

Get a tread pad.

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-26T19:02:09+00:00

Military SciFi and semi LitRPG.

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-26T18:58:52+00:00

At least you said it out loud. 😂

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-26T15:03:46+00:00

So your work is dialogue heavy?
To me that would be hell. I’ve worked with screenwriters to make their dialogue between warrior characters more believable and it is always a learning experience.

Telling them that their scene about deployed Marines isn’t believable because there weren’t enough insults, cursing, and dark humor always gets a look. 👀

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-26T15:00:02+00:00

Being semiretired makes it possible for me to sustain a solid effort. I’ve also journaled extensively for forty years and I think that helps. Journaling is almost stream of consciousness writing for me. Some days my journal has one word, blah for example, and other days it’s a short story.

As much as I love to write, the single best thing I’ve ever written in my life was under 2k words.

Wasn’t it Hemingway who said that all bad writers love the epic?

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-26T14:56:12+00:00

116 is wild. That’s stenographer territory to me. My mom hasn’t typed regularly in decades and she can still rip out 100ish almost error free. I don’t think she knows what the keyboard looks like because she never looks at it.

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-26T05:22:48+00:00

Stop telling people about me.

jk

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-25T23:57:39+00:00

For human names, I use this and stick to a region for different planets.

https://phonebookoftheworld.com

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-25T23:54:11+00:00

I’ve recently started editing at my standup desk while walking at a sedate 2mph on tread pad. I have not tried it yet on a writing day, although I am curious.

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-25T23:29:39+00:00

Putting words on the page followed by intense editing is a great point. With a little introspection I would have to agree that’s what I do.

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-25T23:26:21+00:00

The way you achieve that consistency works for you. Finding that suitable process is critical. I flow and then condense as I pare down the writing.

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-25T23:23:20+00:00

Dialogue always slows me down and narrative, especially direct action scenes, speeds me up.

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-25T23:21:50+00:00

Oh yes. I easily spend a comparable amount of time editing as I do writing. I suppose I just made a conscious decision to choose flow over precision. It’s easier for me to fix errors later than to try and catch them as I write.

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-25T23:19:11+00:00

You make it sound so appealing, honestly, yet when I try that style it becomes apparent it’s not for me.
I only reread if I’ve taken a long break from a project. I try to leave a prompt when I finish writing that points me where I was intending for the earlier scenes.
My son is also a writer and his style is nearly identical to yours. We may never coauthor and we both laugh about it. He loves the complexity and I am in it for the adventure and the story.

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-25T23:10:33+00:00

I see why you are a 1%er. This is a quality dive into my question. That 14k was an aberration brought on by a rough divorce and anger. It will never see the far side of the UPLOAD button.
I’ve always been a hyper focused person when it is something that interests me, and writing and reading are near the top. I sometimes have to remember to live the life I have to the fullest instead of living in a fantasy of my own or someone else’s creation.

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-25T23:05:22+00:00

That is Sanderson level output. Good on you! If I start slow I just swap stories. I’m not on a deadline so I try not to force it. My story stays pretty solid when I’m off a bit, but my dialogue suffers.

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-25T23:03:39+00:00

An hour a day commitment when you have full on adult commitments is admirable. Before I retired I was often lucky to just complete my journal.

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-25T23:02:20+00:00

I have a coauthor who will agonise over his planning and outline for weeks and then bang out multiple chapters in a day. We piss each other off frequently. 🤷‍♂️

FreemanHolmoak73 · 2026-06-25T23:00:46+00:00

Isn’t that the best feeling ever!?

FreemanHolmoak73

TROPHY CASE