Anyone have trouble finishing a novel?

Horserider92 · Sep 18, 2009

well i'm a writer (obviously) and i plan to publish a book in the near future. so i've written one book and well i started writing part two but i feel that i've lost interest.... and like so then i started with another idea and lost interest in that... i finally thought of a fourth idea and am writing (i have like two chapters but i have the book all planned out)... but i'm afraid that ill lose interest because i really like the idea... does anyone else have this issue?

how do you get rid of this issue?

Charlie Horse · Sep 18, 2009

I usually try to use full sentences composed of completely spelled out words.

Seriously, I've lost interest in an idea once, or rather got derailed by a better idea. If you're moved to write about something, you won't stop until you're finished.

scarletpeaches · Sep 18, 2009

This thread's title makes my brain cry.

CaroGirl · Sep 18, 2009

Giving up is easy. Finishing is difficult. A novel length manuscript can take a looong time to complete so you'd better be enough in love with the idea to slog through even when you feel as if you don't even like it any more.

There's no secret. Just don't give up before you're finished. Otherwise you'll have nothing but a dozen unfinished manuscripts and nothing else.

geardrops · Sep 18, 2009

Horserider92 said:
well i'm a writer (obviously) and i plan to publish a book in the near future. so i've written one book and well i started writing part two but i feel that i've lost interest.... and like so then i started with another idea and lost interest in that... i finally thought of a fourth idea and am writing (i have like two chapters but i have the book all planned out)... but i'm afraid that ill lose interest because i really like the idea... does anyone else have this issue?

how do you get rid of this issue?

Keep writing.

Also find your shift key.

Kurtz · Sep 18, 2009

Yo get yo ass in the chair and be like "imma finish this shit".

Horserider92 · Sep 18, 2009

sorry

scarletpeaches said:
This thread's title makes my brain cry.

when i'm writing just a message i don't really use grammar but i always use grammar in my story... i'm actually really good at grammar i just only use it when in school and writing stories...

geardrops · Sep 18, 2009

Horserider92 said:
when i'm writing just a message i don't really use grammar but i always use grammar in my story... i'm actually really good at grammar i just only use it when in school and writing stories...

As this is a forum for writing, most of us are in passionate, if slightly NSFW, love with the English language.

Some of us are sad to see English so mistreated, and thus are less inclined to treat your questions with any gravity, because we cannot see what you've written through how you've written it.

Deleted member 42 · Sep 18, 2009

Horserider92 said:
when i'm writing just a message i don't really use grammar but i always use grammar in my story... i'm actually really good at grammar i just only use it when in school and writing stories...

This time, because I'm feeling charitable, I'm going to fix your thread title, but here's a headsup:

Agents, editors, and fellow writers are all active community members here. If you write as if you're texting you look like a total dweeb, and it reflects very very poorly on you as a writer, and a professional.

In addition, we have a number of members who are visually impaired and leet and texting spelling makes it almost impossible for adaptive technology to function.

Horserider92 · Sep 18, 2009

Sorry. I'm just used to when I'm on the internet (like with blogs, facebook, yahoo, and aim) to not use capitalize and stuff. Sorry I didn't know. I'll use it from now on.

Deleted member 42 · Sep 18, 2009

Horserider92 said:
Sorry. I'm just used to when I'm on the internet (like with blogs, facebook, yahoo, and aim) to not use capitalize and stuff. Sorry I didn't know. I'll use it from now on.

It's a cultural thing, right? Like there's slang you'd use with people your own age, but not with the previous generation.

The technical term for adjusting your diction to fit the situation is called code switching and it's all about audience, and writing for the audience you want to reach.

aadams73 · Sep 18, 2009

Horserider92 said:
Sorry. I'm just used to when I'm on the internet (like with blogs, facebook, yahoo, and aim) to not use capitalize and stuff. Sorry I didn't know. I'll use it from now on.

Just think of it as good practice for your novel writing.

As for your question: You'll find many writers experience something similar. It's easy, when you're working with the same idea for an extended period, to lose some enthusiasm at various points. The important thing is to see it through to the end.

Pick one idea. Write it. Finish it. Polish it. Start submitting it. Then choose another from your bright, shiny, new ideas and write that.

Good luck.

bearilou · Sep 18, 2009

Medievalist said:
The technical term for adjusting your diction to fit the situation is called code switching and it's all about audience, and writing for the audience you want to reach.

Code switching! I never knew that it had a name. Learned something new, I did! :hooray:

Red-Green · Sep 18, 2009

For every novel I've finished, I've got two that just didn't make the cut.

Also, yes, as fellow writers, we have this notion that we deserve the same grammar, syntax, and caps that you reserve for your writing.

kaitie · Sep 18, 2009

I don't tend to have a problem with ending. I have a harder time working out voice, etc., in the beginning and might try ten times before I get it right. And there is always at least one chapter or character that's a pain in the butt. My latest story, every odd chapter except the last was hell to get through. Don't know why. The evens were easy, fun, and I could write them in a week. I'd rip the odds to shreds five times before I declared it "okay enough to move on."

jodiodi · Sep 18, 2009

Welcome.

I definitely feel your pain. I have several WiPs, each one started with enthusiasm which dwindled as that particular well ran dry. The completed works were all written several years ago and done quickly without much effort. The stories and words rolled effortlessly from my brain to my fingertips. However, I've lost all that creativity somewhere.

So, in answer to your question, yes, some people have trouble finishing a novel.

Cella · Sep 18, 2009

Personally, I can't let myself start something else until I've completed the initial project, otherwise, I know I won't finish it.

Salis · Sep 18, 2009

Nope, no one ever has that problem!

ejwriter · Sep 18, 2009

two things to the OP:

1)
yes, yes, yes. i have this problem! in fact, the story i am working on now will be my first completed novel. (and i'm nearly there! the end is in sight!) however, i've started MANY that never reach the end. so keep writing!

2)
as you can clearly see, i do not use caps. so far, no one on AW has ever made a comment about it. i think, on a board full of creative people with their own style, you will find most will forgive you for not using the shift key, so long as your thoughts are clear.

Horserider92 · Sep 18, 2009

Lol ejwriter. I was so used to writing in like AIM form that I wrote it on here (I kind of got yelled at by like 13 people when I asked a question and they all answered this question made me cry - I was like what? sorry and then I realized it was my grammar.....)

motormind · Sep 19, 2009

I got into trouble with my current WIP once I thought about how to rwrite it, before I even finished it. It has been taking me months now to get into the groove of my story once more. It's very frustrating, but it's definitely a lesson learned.

Wordwrestler · Sep 19, 2009

Horserider92 said:
Lol ejwriter. I was so used to writing in like AIM form that I wrote it on here (I kind of got yelled at by like 13 people when I asked a question and they all answered this question made me cry - I was like what? sorry and then I realized it was my grammar.....)

You might try writing your posts as though you're writing, not as though you're talking. I, too, say "like" more than necessary in casual conversation, but you'd never know it from my posts here. I'm not yelling, just trying to help you out so you can learn from and be encouraged by all the great people here, as I certainly have.

As for having trouble finishing, it might help if you pinpoint the problem. Is it really just that you've lost interest, or are you having trouble with the art of writing an ending (many authors do)? Can you not figure out what should happen next? I sometimes suffer from a fear of finishing. I'm plenty motivated but worry that once I'm done I'll find that it just hasn't come together as nicely as I hoped, and that it really was terrible all along.

Or are you losing interest because the story is truly no longer interesting? Is this a point where a reader would put it down, too? How can you tweak it so it gets interesting again?

If it is just losing interest, then you've got to discipline yourself to keep working at it. Eventually, your interest will be sparked again.

Kitty27 · Sep 19, 2009

I once posted this same question on another forum. This is what one of my writer friends told me. Well,he used more,ahem,colorful language. I'll clean it up a bit.

1. Pick one of your stories.

2. Then get your grind on. Write every day. No excuses. Even if you're bored,can only get out one page or chapter,etc. This is called the "butt in seat" method.

3. Don't give into the desire to edit or do research. Forget that massive outline. A great idea comes,jot it down in a notebook and keep it moving. During your writing time,no internet,phone calls or baking cookies. All of these are excuses to stop writing.

I used to be a serial non finisher. This is the best piece of advice I have ever received and it works.

Ardent Kat · Sep 19, 2009

bearilou said:
Code switching! I never knew that it had a name. Learned something new, I did!

"Code switching" is also the term for switching back and forth between two languages, like a Latino speaker inserting Spanish words into an English sentence. As a linguist, I always loved overhearing this and pondering why the speakers choose those certain words to leave in Spanish. (Both speakers are proficient in English and throwing in Spanish by choice for cultural reasons)

Stunted · Sep 19, 2009

Wordwrestler said:
You might try writing your posts as though you're writing, not as though you're talking.

I write pretty colloquially around here and use "like" for effect. Nobody's ever had a problem with it.

Anyone have trouble finishing a novel?

Speaking in metaphors

Living the dream

Good thing I like my day job

Fix up, look sharp.

Good thing I like my day job

Deleted member 42

Deleted member 42

A Work in Progress

DenturePunk writer

KoalaKoalaKoala!

With great power comes

Reflections of Reality

Cella

You Lie!

lurk & learn

So Goth That I Was Born Black

Kill your television

Ich heiße Superphantastisch!