Premature Evacuation

estateconnection · Jul 19, 2006

I've been reading a lot about writer's block, procrastination, and general "icky" feelings about writing on the boards and they've help a lot to motivate me. I have several WIP's started, but none finished. As soon as I'm in the middle of one, a great idea will come about another. Rather than just writing a simple sentence or two about that idea, I end up writing to almost the middle and then the same thing will happen again. I have no staying power!!! Is there Viagra for the brain-well the actual brain?

Summonere · Jul 19, 2006

will, guts, determination, stiff upper lip, press on ... and so on

Sounds as if you’re suffering from the quitties.

Solution: finish the work that you begin. A stack of unfinished novels won’t teach you anything about finishing one as much as, well, finishing one. Even if it’s bad. Even if you hate it. Even if you want to throw it headfirst into the nearest shredder. You'll at least have something you might be able to sell, whereas an unfinished novel will never sell.

writeperch · Jul 19, 2006

If only (re: WriteViagra).

Pick your favorite WIP and make a pact with yourself, seriously promise yourself, that you'll finish it before starting anything else. And then follow through.

See? Piece of cake. Mmmmm, cake....

zornhau · Jul 19, 2006

estateconnection said:
I've been reading a lot about writer's block, procrastination, and general "icky" feelings about writing on the boards and they've help a lot to motivate me. I have several WIP's started, but none finished. As soon as I'm in the middle of one, a great idea will come about another. Rather than just writing a simple sentence or two about that idea, I end up writing to almost the middle and then the same thing will happen again. I have no staying power!!! Is there Viagra for the brain-well the actual brain?

You're running out of plot in the middle. Fix your plot, and you won't be able to stop writing.

MidnightMuse · Jul 19, 2006

The hardest part of writing is the beginning, the middle, and the end. Until you can start, and finish, you won't get a single manuscript completed.

I agree with zornhau - you might be running out of steam somewhere in the middle of your work, which allows your mind to wander into another story idea. Your story should grip you completely, and not let go until you've typed The End. And until you can end a story, well . . .

Perhaps you're afraid if you don't write those ideas down, when you DO type The End on one you're working, the ideas will run and hide? They won't. If you can write one story, start - middle - finish, then you can write another after that, and another after that. Don't worry that the Muse will run away if you don't pet it right now. It knows where the food is, it'll come back.

FloVoyager · Jul 19, 2006

You're running out of plot in the middle. Fix your plot, and you won't be able to stop writing.

Hmmm. Do you know how your WIPs are going to end? Is it a question of not knowing how to write what you want to write, losing interest because you do know, or not knowing how to end a particular story? Just some questions to ask yourself.

NeuroFizz · Jul 19, 2006

estateconnection said:
Is there Viagra for the brain?

Yes. It's called discipline. Unfortunately, it doesn't come in pill form. You have fallen into a very bad habit, it seems. As unpleasant or difficult as it may be, or seem, you have to break that habit. Then again, if you are happy with a hard drive full of half-done stories, press on.

Whatever you do, don't invoke your "muse" as an excuse as I've seen some people do. It's just that--an excuse.

If you think it's invigorating to slide off to that new story idea, you really need to sense the joy of getting to the end of a story. There is no comparison. I dare you to find out if I'm telling the truth. And we'll help any way we can.

estateconnection · Jul 19, 2006

writeperch said:
See? Piece of cake. Mmmmm, cake....

That is exactly how my brain works! I'll writing about something like cake-only an example-and then I'll think about having a piece of cake, then I'll be baking a cake, etc. I have some poetry that I've been wanting to submit. Everything is typed and ready to go, but then I'll start researching markets, then have to find the best paying markets out of the ones I want to submit to, then I have to find out who has the best rights deal, and then it is time for bed or cake, and then...well, you know.

I joke about having ADD, but I really think I do. Thank you for all of your prompts and wisdom. The focus is what I have to harness. Or the two kids crawling around my feet need to be harnessed. Whatever works I suppose.

NeuroFizz · Jul 19, 2006

estateconnection said:
That is exactly how my brain works! I'll writing about something like cake-only an example-and then I'll think about having a piece of cake, then I'll be baking a cake, etc. I have some poetry that I've been wanting to submit. Everything is typed and ready to go, but then I'll start researching markets, then have to find the best paying markets out of the ones I want to submit to, then I have to find out who has the best rights deal, and then it is time for bed or cake, and then...well, you know.

I joke about having ADD, but I really think I do. Thank you for all of your prompts and wisdom. The focus is what I have to harness. Or the two kids crawling around my feet need to be harnessed. Whatever works I suppose.

Sorry, e. but you've offered some ammo. Your brain works the way you want it to. You're letting it slip off. Yes, focus. And whatever you do, don't blame the kids. If they interrupt, fine. But when you get back to the computer, pick up the current story again, just where you left off.

estateconnection · Jul 19, 2006

Thank you Neuro. I should have stated that more clearly. I think my brain is wired the way I've allowed it to become wired. I am working on untangling the connections. The focus is lacking in all areas of my life, but that's a subject for Dr. Freud. I mentioned the kids because I think part of the problem is that I rush to get things out because I know I'm going to be interrupted, especially if I'm building momentum. I wholly blame myself for my lack of focus and concentration.

NeuroFizz · Jul 19, 2006

I may be off base, but I'm just trying to give you a little kick in the pants. And it's all with the kindest of intentions. I occasionally slip into the same state--lack of discipline--and I've learned to give myself that little kick. Sorry if it bugged you.

Elizabeth Slick · Jul 19, 2006

Whoee, your thread title caught my attention!!

Yes, that is something I struggle with , too. In a way it might benifit you to write down new idea on new ideas the way you do.
I do that frequently, especially when I paint. I will start a painting, then start another half way through the first. What you will have is the beginning of several stories, then, through out the next year or two or ten or fifty, you can hone your skills and finish them. It's good that you have more than one idea. That means the ol' creative mind is working.

estateconnection · Jul 19, 2006

NeuroFizz said:
I may be off base, but I'm just trying to give you a little kick in the pants. And it's all with the kindest of intentions. I occasionally slip into the same state--lack of discipline--and I've learned to give myself that little kick. Sorry if it bugged you.

No, not at all! I need that, I really do. I don't have that in my life, which for me, makes things tougher. I appreciate the input and the kick. I value all opinions on this board. Since finding it, I know my writing has improved and it is nice to find so many other people who have a common goal.

stephblake24 · Jul 19, 2006

I suppose at this point you need to decide what your ultimate goal is in terms of getting published?

Jamesaritchie · Jul 19, 2006

estateconnection said:
I've been reading a lot about writer's block, procrastination, and general "icky" feelings about writing on the boards and they've help a lot to motivate me. I have several WIP's started, but none finished. As soon as I'm in the middle of one, a great idea will come about another. Rather than just writing a simple sentence or two about that idea, I end up writing to almost the middle and then the same thing will happen again. I have no staying power!!! Is there Viagra for the brain-well the actual brain?

Great idea, huh? Ideas aren't great. It's the finished novel you turn an idea into that's either lousy or great. Ideas are a dime a million.

The best definition I ever heard of "Great Idea" is this: Great idea: Excuse for not finishing another novel.

Next time you get a "Great Idea," forget about it. Don't write a word of it down. Don't even think about jotting it on the back of an envelope.

Trust me on this. You are never going to run out of ideas, whether you write them down or not. Any fool can come up with ideas. It's turning these ideas into finished, polished novels that make one a successful writer.

You wanna know what the best idea in the world is? It's to finish one novel before you begin the next. It's to ignore all other ideas until the one you already have is on the market.

cuteshoes · Jul 19, 2006

This is the title of my WIP:
I set up a crappy website about a week ago until I can get my query in order.
www.prematureevacuation.com

Ordinary_Guy · Jul 19, 2006

estateconnection said:
I've been reading a lot about writer's block, procrastination, and general "icky" feelings about writing on the boards and they've help a lot to motivate me. I have several WIP's started, but none finished. As soon as I'm in the middle of one, a great idea will come about another. Rather than just writing a simple sentence or two about that idea, I end up writing to almost the middle and then the same thing will happen again. I have no staying power!!! Is there Viagra for the brain-well the actual brain?

I know the feeling. It's not so much that I drift, but rather I know what kind of a challenge I have ahead of me and I go into this avoidance routine to do anything but. In fact, I'm currently avoiding writing a query letter...

When I'm actually in a WIP and I run into a block, I usually find it's because my direction is muddled. If I back out and look at the outline, something will pop out at me. Maybe something in the narrative changed tone and some angle on the direction I'm going doesn't fit. That screws up the "flow" and suddenly I'm wallowing in turbulence.

OR maybe it's deeper than that. Maybe you're telling a story, but your style got off on the wrong foot. Set it down for a day, read something else... then come back and read your own work as if it were somebody else's. This is the hard part: ask yourself: if you picked this up off the shelf, would you want to read it? If not, why not?

Then adjust accordingly.

Jewel101 · Jul 19, 2006

Jamesaritchie said:
Great idea, huh? Ideas aren't great. It's the finished novel you turn an idea into that's either lousy or great. Ideas are a dime a million.

The best definition I ever heard of "Great Idea" is this: Great idea: Excuse for not finishing another novel.

Next time you get a "Great Idea," forget about it. Don't write a word of it down. Don't even think about jotting it on the back of an envelope.

Trust me on this. You are never going to run out of ideas, whether you write them down or not. Any fool can come up with ideas. It's turning these ideas into finished, polished novels that make one a successful writer.

You wanna know what the best idea in the world is? It's to finish one novel before you begin the next. It's to ignore all other ideas until the one you already have is on the market.

I love it!!!!! Anyway, what if that idea doesn't leave you alone? I'm not talking from personal experience, though that is how i started my novel - it kept poking me in the head and when I ignored it, it took a toothpick and poked me again. So I ignored it but it persisted until i started.....where was I? oh yeah! What do you do if it won't stop bothering you when your writing a novel? (I'm sorry, i like to debate)

Jamesaritchie · Jul 19, 2006

Jewel101 said:
I love it!!!!! Anyway, what if that idea doesn't leave you alone? I'm not talking from personal experience, though that is how i started my novel - it kept poking me in the head and when I ignored it, it took a toothpick and poked me again. So I ignored it but it persisted until i started.....where was I? oh yeah! What do you do if it won't stop bothering you when your writing a novel? (I'm sorry, i like to debate)

Then it will still be bothering you when the first novel is on the market. These are precisely the ideas I think writers need, and it's why I don't write ideas down. If I have to write an idea down in order to remember it, I do not want to write a novel based on that idea. I want to write novels based on ideas that will not leave me alone, that I can't stop thinking about.

I simply want to write them after the current novel, which should have been based a similar won't-leave-me-alone idea is finished.

Elizabeth Slick · Jul 19, 2006

Noooo!!!! I disagree with James. If you have a great idea, DO write it down! How many times have you had a dream or a thought or a poem pass through your mind like a cloud, only to be forgotten because you didn't write it down?
So many of my "great ideas" that turned into finished poems and stories were ones that I jotted down in strange places, on matchbooks, receipts, paper towels and scraps of paper. Had I not done this, I am certain they would be lost forever.

Jamesaritchie · Jul 19, 2006

Elizabeth Slick said:
Noooo!!!! I disagree with James. If you have a great idea, DO write it down! How many times have you had a dream or a thought or a poem pass through your mind like a cloud, only to be forgotten because you didn't write it down?
So many of my "great ideas" that turned into finished poems and stories were ones that I jotted down in strange places, on matchbooks, receipts, paper towels and scraps of paper. Had I not done this, I am certain they would be lost forever.

There's sure nothing wrong with disagreeing with me. It usually puts you on firm ground.

But if you forget one of those passing cloud ideas, what makes you think it was worth remembering? And what makes you think you wouldn't remember the ones you wrote down that did turn out to be good?

If I can forget them, I want to forget them. And, really, how many ideas do you get? Is there ever a time when you're short on ideas? If I wrote down every idea that passed through my head, I'd have a thousand notebooks full of ideas.

I don't want cloud ideas. I want tree ideas. I want ideas that take root, that stay put, that keep growing, that get bigger and stronger with every passing day. I want ideas I can't forget.

LeeFlower · Jul 19, 2006

I went through a bit of a slump these last few weeks where I kept 'coming up with great ideas' for short stories and using said ideas as excuses not to work on my WIP. I churned out two short stories, a few drabbles, and another novel idea, drafted a query letter, and started making a list of agents, but I was basically pissing my time away where my real project was concerned.

When I finally buckled down and made myself get through the scene I'd been avoiding, I discovered that I wasn't writing it because I thought it was boring and was fairly certain readers would agree. So I changed it. I spent two evenings working through my outline to find a better way to convey the information from the dull scene, and in the process, I found a much better way to open the story and a much punchier ending. Suddenly I'm back to the place where I can't keep my mind off of my novel, and it's a very good feeling.

You might be reluctant to see your work all the way through because you either don't know or don't like where these abandoned stories are going. If that's the case, treating the problem (the plot) will get rid of the symptoms (procrastination/writer's block) far better than forcing yourself to write will (not that forcing yourself to write is a bad idea, but if you find out what's keeping you from writing and eliminate it, you might not need to force yourself).

TheIT · Jul 19, 2006

Jamesaritchie said:
I don't want cloud ideas. I want tree ideas. I want ideas that take root, that stay put, that keep growing, that get bigger and stronger with every passing day. I want ideas I can't forget.

Recently I switched from one novel attempt to another, then back again. When I went back to the first project I forgot that I had been using a particular notebook to jot down ideas, so I started fresh in a new notebook. When I found the original notebook I was pleased to see that I'd recreated several of the ideas. I figure anything I've come up with twice must have some staying power. On the other hand, reading my notes jogged my memory for plot points that I hadn't remembered in my second attempt.

For me, I use notebooks as a way to think things through. I write down a story question and explore possible answers. Some of the answers I keep, some I don't, but the act of writing them down helps focus my thoughts.

Penguin Queen · Jul 19, 2006

MidnightMuse said:
The hardest part of writing is the beginning, the middle, and the end.... .

I tihnk the hardest part is the middle. It's the long, dark night of the soul. You've run out of that first hormone-induced euphoria of being in love with your plot, characters and writing that carries you through the first three chapters / 20 000 words or so and you're still only half-way up the hill. The end is hard in its own way, but at least there is, erm, an end in sight, light at the end of the tunnel etc. For the middle, you have to struggle through by sheer willpower.
I read an interview with Helen Dunmore, no less, and she said that with every novel, she gets to the sticky bit in the middle where she loses the will to live and it's just hard work and struggling through.
I found that exceedingly encouraging.

I have said this before, but I cannot recommend the pressure of a deadline enough. I find that having said publicly, say, to a reading group or the like, that the first draft of the MS will be done by a certain date wonderfully concentrates my mind. For me, it doesnt make the writing easier, it makes it possible.
Is there someone you can make a pact with? Who might, perhaps, charge you a fine if the MS is late?

stephblake24 said:
I suppose at this point you need to decide what your ultimate goal is in terms of getting published?

I agree with that too. In my mind, you have to want to get finished and get published above everything else, to create the head of steam that will carry (or push, or pull) you through the long dark soul bit.

Penguin Queen · Jul 19, 2006

Oh. And great thread title!

Premature Evacuation

estateconnection

Summonere

writeperch

just write

zornhau

Swordsman

MidnightMuse

Midnight Reading

FloVoyager

Will write for chocolate

NeuroFizz

The grad students did it

estateconnection

NeuroFizz

The grad students did it

estateconnection

NeuroFizz

The grad students did it

Elizabeth Slick

estateconnection

stephblake24

Jamesaritchie

cuteshoes

Ordinary_Guy

Industrial Strength

Jewel101

Jamesaritchie

Elizabeth Slick

Jamesaritchie

LeeFlower

Lurker Extraordinaire

TheIT

Infuriatingly Theoretical

Penguin Queen

Break the rules.

Penguin Queen

Break the rules.