Aging and writing

[gunhilltrain]

It's a stone cold classic...

Then they had to go and do a version in Los Angeles. It's a lot easier to seal off an island rather than the endless sprawl of that city. Where does on put up the perimeter walls in this? (It's a rhetorical question and it's only a movie.)

https://as1.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/01/41/66/32/1000_F_141663240_q2FF7Zk2AvCmAWU3OSTRbwdG5obqnjNU.jpg

 

[MyBareTorso]

Then they had to go and do a version in Los Angeles. It's a lot easier to seal off an island rather than the endless sprawl of that city. Where does on put up the perimeter walls in this? (It's a rhetorical question and it's only a movie.)

https://as1.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/01/41/66/32/1000_F_141663240_q2FF7Zk2AvCmAWU3OSTRbwdG5obqnjNU.jpg

Don't mention the sequel...please don't mention the sequel!

 

[gunhilltrain]

Don't mention the sequel...please don't mention the sequel!

There's been a sequel/remake proposal floating around for years. It was still active as of 2022. (I thought Giuliani and Bloomberg fixed all of that, but post-COVID, who knows?) Next up will be Escape From Barbieland. I might see that if it was free on YouTube eventually.

https://www.thewrap.com/escape-from-new-york-remake-status-update-radio-silence/

 

[Seadog777]

At whatever level my writing used to be, I have a much harder time trying to reach that level today.
Finding the right words, always difficult but so much harder today. Keeping track of my cast of characters, and their dialogue is like trying to color inside the lines when you were a kid. Wonder if other seniors may have noticed this.
I suppose under the age of say the mid 70s, you might not notice this.

I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling.

What I personally do, is write in a notebook,
1) who the characters are
2) what their backstories are
3) what the endgame of my story is going to be
4) any major plot points or surprises that I want to use

I keep that notebook beside me, and I read it over, every 15 minutes or so, so that I always keep myself oriented.

I think this is a great idea that everyone should use, especially if authors have more than 1 story they're writing.

I work on a different story, each day.

Monday is one story, Tuesday is a completely different story, etc, etc.

 

[dadadadiox]

In every story folder I create to house my chapters there are two other docs. One is a simple outline of the story with a timeline. The second is a list of characters and basic info on them. I will eventually reach a point where I’m so immersed I won’t need to open these docs. It’s all committed to memory.

What Keith said is true for me. The writing process flexes mental muscles that keep me sharp. The same is true of playing a musical instrument.

I have sadly reached an age where reading puts me to sleep. It doesn’t matter how good a book is. I’m lucky if I get through eight pages before I start nodding off. Writing has the opposite affect. My eyes will get tired, but my mind awake and engaged.

 

[MillieDynamite]

My father has trouble with his short-term memory at this point. He has all but stopped writing. In our latest Zoom meeting with his other writer friends (which they allowed me to join), several of them admitted to relying heavily on their character list far more than in days past. One writer, who I've name-dropped before but won't do so now, said his editor finds repetitions of scenes a few pages after they first appeared. They all agreed that after they passed the 65-year mark, tracking longer stories got harder.

Despite that, Kat Martin and Larry Martin both have stated they've found writing easier now than when they were younger. They have less need to produce volume and fewer distractions, and they no longer worry if the story will make money or receive praise than when they were younger. So that's two out of eight, but only six were over 70 years of age, so really one less than half that were over that mark.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling.

What I personally do, is write in a notebook,
1) who the characters are
2) what their backstories are
3) what the endgame of my story is going to be
4) any major plot points or surprises that I want to use

I keep that notebook beside me, and I read it over, every 15 minutes or so, so that I always keep myself oriented.

I think this is a great idea that everyone should use, especially if authors have more than 1 story they're writing.

I work on a different story, each day.

Monday is one story, Tuesday is a completely different story, etc, etc.

Might as well get back on track here. The four points in the list are very good. In fact, write them on a word processing file and then start the story below that. If you're lucky, you'll have an outline of where you want to go right in front of you.

I can work on maybe two stories at one time. Some people can do more of course.

(By the way, in Escape from L.A. the central part of the city has become an island because of an earthquake. Carpenter and Russell wrote their way out of plot corner with that one.)

 

[OffNSFW]

At whatever level my writing used to be, I have a much harder time trying to reach that level today.
Finding the right words, always difficult but so much harder today. Keeping track of my cast of characters, and their dialogue is like trying to color inside the lines when you were a kid. Wonder if other seniors may have noticed this.
I suppose under the age of say the mid 70s, you might not notice this.

Does what you're working on feel meaningful to you? And do you still keep a higher standard for yourself? I tend to think those are the things that come through in the work, no matter the writer's age or how long they've been at it.

And this is just my opinion, but people's perspective, both on sexuality and on life, only gets more interesting with age.

 

[SimonDoom]

It's maybe a funny way to think of it, but I think smut helps keep one young. I would never have guessed, at the age of 18, that I'd still be as horny and pervy as I am in my late 50s. It doesn't go away. It's great. The years of my so-called sexual "peak" were long ago, but I can still remember those feelings like they were yesterday, and it's not at all hard for me to project my 50-something self into a young character and write about their adventures. The only thing I worry about getting wrong is not being as aware of the cultural changes. I barely know the music that today's college students listen to. But the basic urges--those don't go away.

 

[AG31]

My father has trouble with his short-term memory at this point. He has all but stopped writing. In our latest Zoom meeting with his other writer friends (which they allowed me to join), several of them admitted to relying heavily on their character list far more than in days past. One writer, who I've name-dropped before but won't do so now, said his editor finds repetitions of scenes a few pages after they first appeared. They all agreed that after they passed the 65-year mark, tracking longer stories got harder.

Despite that, Kat Martin and Larry Martin both have stated they've found writing easier now than when they were younger. They have less need to produce volume and fewer distractions, and they no longer worry if the story will make money or receive praise than when they were younger. So that's two out of eight, but only six were over 70 years of age, so really one less than half that were over that mark.

Thanks for this! I sent it to my 88 year old writer husband (not fiction, so not the same demands). He's got lots of short-term memory problems, but still seems to pump out essays and blogs. He's always reviewed his stuff (as he says) 3000 times before publishing. So that helps.

 

[Dearelliot]

I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling.

What I personally do, is write in a notebook,
1) who the characters are
2) what their backstories are
3) what the endgame of my story is going to be
4) any major plot points or surprises that I want to use

I keep that notebook beside me, and I read it over, every 15 minutes or so, so that I always keep myself oriented.

I think this is a great idea that everyone should use, especially if authors have more than 1 story they're writing.

I work on a different story, each day.

Monday is one story, Tuesday is a completely different story, etc, etc.

Was he sitting or was he standing, no I have to...go back and read two pages.
Where were here panties, up or down or over his head? Or, "Didn't I just say that same thing?"

 

[Dearelliot]

Does what you're working on feel meaningful to you? And do you still keep a higher standard for yourself? I tend to think those are the things that come through in the work, no matter the writer's age or how long they've been at it.

And this is just my opinion, but people's perspective, both on sexuality and on life, only gets more interesting with age.

Does what you're working on feel meaningful to you? And do you still keep a higher standard for yourself? I tend to think those are the things that come through in the work, no matter the writer's age or how long they've been at it.

And this is just my opinion, but people's perspective, both on sexuality and on life, only gets more interesting with age.

I think of writing like having a hobby of building things. Maybe like a nice bridge for a few people to walk over and enjoy, something they like. I try very hard to make it nice, and I put a lot of work into it, after all I'm not a wordsmith or a budding Norman Mailer, so writing doesn't come easy and I realize due to the subject matter, my audience is small.

 

[nice90sguy]

It's maybe a funny way to think of it, but I think smut helps keep one young. I would never have guessed, at the age of 18, that I'd still be as horny and pervy as I am in my late 50s. It doesn't go away. It's great. The years of my so-called sexual "peak" were long ago, but I can still remember those feelings like they were yesterday, and it's not at all hard for me to project my 50-something self into a young character and write about their adventures. The only thing I worry about getting wrong is not being as aware of the cultural changes. I barely know the music that today's college students listen to. But the basic urges--those don't go away.

100% to that.

I also think it's a baby-boomer thing (although late-fifties is actually genX).

 

[SimonDoom]

100% to that.

I also think it's a baby-boomer thing (although late-fifties is actually genX).

I'm technically boomer, although I don't feel much like a boomer.