For the Seeming Few Who Tire at the End...

Yep, always. Always, always, always.

How I deal with it is like this: I take a few days off, then come back to the WIP. I decide home much more I need to complete it. It isn't a set in stone kind of thing. Maybe I say, "I need 10 K words" but end up with 15K. I just need the estimate.

I divide the word count into smaller goals. If it's really bad, I'll do as little as 500 words a day. If I'm okay, I am for 1000 or 2000.

I think part of it is you don't want to let go of something you've spent so much time with! It's not that you can't say goodbye or think that you'll never see the WIP ever again, it's just you've kind of made friends with your WIP and hate to see it go. Get what I mean?

I have never experienced the rush of almost finishing. Finishing is not my strong suit. I get really excited at the start, then sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised by how things develop, but near the end, frustration sets in. I stare at the same page for long periods, knowing it should be better, but not knowing how to fix it.

And then, when I should be polishing and fixing what I have, another story starts begging for attention and all my creative juices get sidetracked to that story.

What helps me is exercise. It helps with the insomnia, too. When I get outside and just walk, or bike, it's like a breath of fresh air clearing out the cobwebs in my brain. Taking some time away also helps. Nothing is more frustrating than looking at something for hours with nothing to show for it.

Good luck.

I always feel that way at the end. It's a let down, instead of a rush. I don't want to say goodbye to friends I've had for so long. They've been in my head 24-7, and now I'm at the last of it. No more new events. No more new reactions.

To combat this, I tend to just grit my teeth and write, even if it's only a few words a day. And then I think up a sequel, whether or not I'm going to write it, so I always have the option of a reunion.

I always feel that way at the end. It's a let down, instead of a rush. I don't want to say goodbye to friends I've had for so long. They've been in my head 24-7, and now I'm at the last of it. No more new events. No more new reactions.

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It always feels like post-partum depression to me. Like when I popped my kids out and I missed the bump, even though I had a lovely baby to console me. It wasn't the same...

I agree with the others. You don't want to say goodbye to your friends. I solved this by resolving to wirite a series of books with the same characters. I'm working on #3 right now. Lord knows what will happen when I run out of stories for the series.

I get excited at the end, but once it's done I feel sad that it's over. (For that reason I write serials!--and like RJK I, too, am on Part 3.) I'm not quite in your same boat but I know all about the feelings of confusion and inability to focus. I think that's just another way of anticipating the ending--that is, I don't think your way of experiencing events is much different from those writers who get the "writing high" at the end.

Without knowing you though, I can't say what might cause such a reaction. It could be stress from working on the story for so long and just wanting it done, stress from other things in life (you mentioned insomnia?), frustration that it's not playing out QUITE the way you planned, reluctance to end it even though you want to (for the reasons I and the others have already given), anxiety that it won't turn out quite right even if you've got it all figured out, a combination of those, or something else entirely.

So, not knowing any of that and not wanting to presume, I don't have any suggestions or anything, but even though I'm not in QUITE the same situation, yes, I know all those confused mixed feelings very well. And I'm not even at the end yet!

It's a story, not a member of the family. The problem with getting too lovey-dovey with the first draft (too strong an attachment) is it may make the upcoming edits hard to do--hard to part with those wonderful offspring: words, phrases, paragraphs, scenes, and chapters. Finishing a story is not popping a baby. It's an incredible creative accomplishment, nothing more.

But, if y'all want to continue the baby analogy--yeah, you've given birth to a miracle. Now you have to raise it. That means you're going to get elbow deep in dirty diapers, survive on a few hours of interrupted sleep, and have to totally change our schedule and lifestye. And you're going to have to put up with adolescent foibles, the need for discipline, and the clash that comes from growing independence. In other words, that child is indeed beautiful, but it's also represents a buttload of work, not all of it easy or easy to take.

And what do you get out of it? The incredible rush of accomplishment as you watch it grow, mature, and eventually sprout it's wings.

My opinion, which is probably poison to most around here by now, is that the "I've grown to love my characters and I don't want to see them go" attitude is just an excuse. They are not real people. You made them up. Cut the drama and finish the story, then get to editing. For all you know, your story may require that you cut one of those fabulous child-substitutes. What will you do then? Go into a depression? About a made-up character?

If you want to hold onto that kind of attachment, you can look at it this way. You need to shove those characters out of the nest because there is a set of new child-substitutes waiting for their birth in your next story. Get to them.

SheilaSeeGee said:

What helps me is exercise.

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I'll second that. Give your brain and rest and do something physical that gets those endorphins flowing.

NeuroFizz said:

My opinion, which is probably poison to most around here by now, is that the "I've grown to love my characters and I don't want to see them go" attitude is just an excuse. They are not real people. You made them up. Cut the drama and finish the story, then get to editing. For all you know, your story may require that you cut one of those fabulous child-substitutes. What will you do then? Go into a depression? About a made-up character?

If you want to hold onto that kind of attachment, you can look at it this way. You need to shove those characters out of the nest because there is a set of new child-substitutes waiting for their birth in your next story. Get to them.

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Unless one is content with or plans to write series stories that use the same characters. Every writer's goals are different, and some people actually aim to do that with their writing, the same as some kids never leave home.

--Tehuti, disliking generalizations

tehuti88 said:

Unless one is content with or plans to write series stories that use the same characters. Every writer's goals are different, and some people actually aim to do that with their writing, the same as some kids never leave home.

--Tehuti, disliking generalizations

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I agree, but even if a character is going to hang around for more stories, using an emotional attachment to that character as an excuse for not finishing the present story is still counterproductive and a very strange attitude. In fact, if a character is going to be involved in a series, I would think that would be an incredible motivation for finishing up volume one so the author could get started on volume two.

Selkn, I know what you mean. This started happening to me about four novels ago, after I spent the better part of a year revising an ending that just wouldn't work, and eventually killed the project. I become sort of terrified of endings. Then I got over my fear a little, but only by working toward the ending veerrrryy slooowwlyy.

I often had the final ending scenes planned out ahead, in full color-detail, but I didn't know how to get there yet; so I would just keep working toward it. But this had the other effect of diminishing the end rush. Three weeks ago I reached the last 10k of my novel, and now, I still have 6k to go. The ending tastes flat to me. I've been rewriting this novel for years, always with the same basic ending, and I don't want to write it because I've already gotten excited about it; I'm not excited, anymore. Plus, I started thinking about edits, and I have a huge horror moment where I realized I'm going to have to rewrite like the whole book. Thaz a big downer for me, just saying.

My solution: make sure this is more than your average procrastination. Then take a week off. Work on something else. Try change of pace - edit an old project, ready some stuff for submissions, perhaps write something new and exciting.

After a week, come back. Try to get into story mojo by listening to music, reading notes, scanning outline, trying to come up with fun twist for unwritten scenes.

Write some of ending, even if you have to force it - you can't breakthrough unless you force it for a little while. But after forcing and pushing, and you still haven't broken through (this point varies depending on the writer) go back and take another break. Read books on writing. Try some other artsy stuff. Write something else, come back in a week....rinse, lather, repeat.

If after a month, you still haven't written the ending, I would seriously re-evaluate. Either you aren't really pushing, or maybe there's something integerally wrong with your story. But it sounds to me like you've just gotten tired of your novel from struggling on it for so long; if that's so, the mini-breaks should help some.

Good luck
-Feathers

'The Few'? I was under the impression this was a common malady. I'm not sure why--cold feet, maybe the feeling you'll miss the WIP when it's over--but I've seen many people with it. The secret is just to pull through, I guess. Carry a notepad around or something so you can write (or try to) when you have time. Maybe put your insomnia to some use by writing all night (not sure if that's possible, as I've fortunatly never had insomnia).

Shadow Paetz said:

I always feel that way at the end. It's a let down, instead of a rush. I don't want to say goodbye to friends I've had for so long. They've been in my head 24-7, and now I'm at the last of it. No more new events. No more new reactions.

To combat this, I tend to just grit my teeth and write, even if it's only a few words a day. And then I think up a sequel, whether or not I'm going to write it, so I always have the option of a reunion.

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This is exactly what I go through. The last novel that I finished, I didn't want to end. I even thought about reviving them (all of whom died at the end), just so I could have a chance to say goodbye.

I wish that I could have the opportunity to have that rush of happiness, but, I always find myself saying goodbye to friends that I have grown close to.

That is, until I decide to edit it to death.

Hmmm...upon reflection, I realize that "I don't want to let my characters go!" is no excuse for MY not finishing my stories. My characters live in my head; they're not going anywhere for any reason. This might made me slightly insane. It certainly invalidates that reason.

No, I don't finish my novels because I'm lazy. That, and maybe I have some sort of performance anxiety.

SheilaSeeGee said:

I have never experienced the rush of almost finishing. Finishing is not my strong suit. I get really excited at the start, then sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised by how things develop, but near the end, frustration sets in. I stare at the same page for long periods, knowing it should be better, but not knowing how to fix it.

And then, when I should be polishing and fixing what I have, another story starts begging for attention and all my creative juices get sidetracked to that story.

What helps me is exercise. It helps with the insomnia, too. When I get outside and just walk, or bike, it's like a breath of fresh air clearing out the cobwebs in my brain. Taking some time away also helps. Nothing is more frustrating than looking at something for hours with nothing to show for it.

Good luck.

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This is me. I hate "me too" posts, but I'm making this one anyway.

You are a worthless loser.

Just like the rest of us.

I feel like you feel every time I am about to finish something. It's normal. Soldier on.

Not Really...

I know what you mean, but I have a remedy for that. Before I write a story I always toss it around in my min, but I make sure I hav an ending, a solid one. The rest of the story may change, but whatever I write is to get to that ending, so by the time I get there, I'm excited. It's like you're about to cross the finish line and yeah, you get attached to characters, but I always usually have a sequel in mind.

I ususaly have that lull in the middle of my story. The end is the best part. It's when everything happens and you tie everything in. I usually get right through the ending. I don't rush, but it's not hard.