Does anyone else out there have great story ideas, but halfway through they seem to sputter out into a dead end, or is it just me? I mean, it seems as if I've written myself into a corner. I try and set the story aside, but it just keeps nagging at me. Finally I end up scrapping the whole thing for my lack of patience. Does anyone have any suggestions, thoughts or ideas?
Sputter out in mid-story
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Well, I'm the opposite, I know what I want to write I just can't continue with it. I'm at a road block mentally, I just can't make myself continue. I've been at this point for almost a week now. Just sitting, in space.
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plan the end, it keeps motivation going and makes sure there *is* a satisfying resolution to write towards
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I find that I reach a block when I work out a better way to write the story and it's not going the way I want it. I'm sure there's some other connected ideas floating around, like what happens to me.
I start over. The same thing happens, and I repeat the cycle until I have a first draft.
I start over. The same thing happens, and I repeat the cycle until I have a first draft.
Exactly!
Yes, exactly what I'm talking about. Another thing is my story starts getting longer and longer. The middle is the hardest part, keeping the story moving. I've been having this problem a lot lately.
Yes, exactly what I'm talking about. Another thing is my story starts getting longer and longer. The middle is the hardest part, keeping the story moving. I've been having this problem a lot lately.
I've had this happen. I usally find if I go back and read what's done, not as a writer, but as a reader (meaning I'm there to take in the story, not edit) it helps pull me back in and I realize why I thought this was such a great idea to begin with.
So grab a coffee and sit and just READ. It's better than staring at a blank screen at any rate.
YD *who's staring at a blank screen, thinking she REALLY needs to take her own advice*
So grab a coffee and sit and just READ. It's better than staring at a blank screen at any rate.
YD *who's staring at a blank screen, thinking she REALLY needs to take her own advice*
Tough to explain, but the ending of a short story is actually written in the first three pages. My guess is that you aren't beginning the story in the right place, in the right way. Just a guess, but I'd say you're also starting teh story too early.
Quit thinking about the idea. Ideas are a dime a million. Ideas are not short stories, and when you try to write a short story based only on an idea, odds are high that it will sputter to a stop.
An idea is only a bare, minimum starting point. You still have to begin a short story in a manner that has the ending written into it, even if you don't have a clue how the story will end.
In its simplest form, a beginning should ask a question or pose a problem, or both. Each sentence thereafter should be a direct move toward a solution to the problem, or an answer to the question.
A book you might try reading is this one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0898799058/?tag=absolutewritedm-20
I have the opposite problem. The ending is such a draw pulling me along that the whole of my writing is an impatient race devoid of details or sufficient character development. I need to follow Mr. Bransford's advice from yesterday and actually enjoy the path itself. Perhaps in your case, since you also mention a lack of patience, if there is some way to breathe enjoyment into the troublesome passage, with a subplot or some other twist, you can ratchet your way to progress...
I like the idea of starting to write without a specific idea and seeing where it brings you. When I start with this sure fire notion that has been burning me up I tend to fizzle out once I have got the idea pretty much set straight up. Think of your "hook" and your "turn" and take your time getting to them. Mostly that is what I think saves me a lot of times from fizzling out, just taking my time and let the story advance on its own. People can tell the difference between a racing writer and one that paces themself. I think of Michael Chabon when I think of a short story write who paces himself very well and is usually very poignant at the same time.
That sounds right, James. Of course, I haven't seen the poster's work, so I can't say for certain. But the "running out of things to say" thing happens to me frequently when I'm telling the wrong story, or telling the right story done wrong. It's my subconscious saying "Ain't workin, chump."
To the original poster, I'd also say this: Are things going exactly as the MC is thinking they would? If so, things are going wrong for the story. Has [no one stepped in/nothing happened] to surprise the reader? Things may be going wrong.
A lot of times when I write a short (or, really, anything) and it dies, it's not so much because I've written myself into a corner as it is that I'm not telling an interesting story, or (as above) not telling the interesting part of a story. Part of "interesting" is unexpectedness.
Just some thoughts. Hope they help.
You might try starting the story with the ending. Once it's concrete, the path to get there might suggest itself more easily. And then, when you've gotten the guts of the story on the page, you can go back and reorganize it as needed.
At times, I have the exact problems you describe. Wrong story, or right story told wrong. And sometimes right story, wrong POV character. And sometimes it's just a matter of "I have no clue what's wrong, and I can't find a way to fix whatever it is."
But when the same thing happens story after story after story, I think it's time to start looking at basic technique, particularly how you begin a story.
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You could always try the "A man walks in with a gun" solution.
Throw it in, see how your character reacts. This might help you jump start your story again.
Of course, substitute any wacky, zany thing for the man with a gun. A woman with a loaded potato, for instance. Or perhaps a bunch of ninjas. You can always go back and make it more relevant later.
Throw it in, see how your character reacts. This might help you jump start your story again.
Of course, substitute any wacky, zany thing for the man with a gun. A woman with a loaded potato, for instance. Or perhaps a bunch of ninjas. You can always go back and make it more relevant later.
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Sometimes I start what I think will be a story and it fizzles out. The idea sounded good in the beginning, but there is not enough meat on the bones of some ideas. Nevertheless, writing it to its early completion gets it out of my system.
And there are some times when such a story sits on my computer until a new idea arrives that interweaves with the incomplete story.
I had such a story, set at a family party, fizzle out one time. A twenty year old Down Syndrome man brings his karaoke machine to a family party and his vivacious aunt starts to flirt with him on the love songs. But it had no zing and it sat for ages. Then I got into a conversation with a middle-aged friend about her upcoming second marriage and had the idea to recast the family party into a wedding with 'family politics'. Suddenly, the woman flirting with her nephew is the new bride - its her third wedding - and the fizzle turned into fizz.
OTOH there are fizzled out stories waiting for help which might never come.
And there are some times when such a story sits on my computer until a new idea arrives that interweaves with the incomplete story.
I had such a story, set at a family party, fizzle out one time. A twenty year old Down Syndrome man brings his karaoke machine to a family party and his vivacious aunt starts to flirt with him on the love songs. But it had no zing and it sat for ages. Then I got into a conversation with a middle-aged friend about her upcoming second marriage and had the idea to recast the family party into a wedding with 'family politics'. Suddenly, the woman flirting with her nephew is the new bride - its her third wedding - and the fizzle turned into fizz.
OTOH there are fizzled out stories waiting for help which might never come.
A great statement, which I endorse.
Tony1, if ideas were a dime a dozen, I'd have been rich a long time ago.
Get the flash. Jump into it, pin the squirmy li'l sucker down in words, then send it out & get paid.
Oh, so simple that it is, would that it were so easy! I spoke to an author who's sold almost 2,000 pieces (& resold some of them thirty or forty times). He said his files have ten times that in unfinished pieces. "Every month or so, I find myself thinking about some half-baked idea from 1967 or 1985 or whatever, & suddenly I just know exactly how it works out. I pull it up, finish it, & more often than not have a good idea as to who'll buy it instantly."
He wrote an article many years ago where he recommended writing down difficult ideas as fully as possible, kicking them thoroughly in hopes they'd behave, & filing them as soon as you determine it's unlikely. That way, you clear out your head & move along to faster rewards rather than waste time & effort on something that might take years to gel.
There's something to be said for trying to take every story idea to the mat two-out-of-three, but often it just won't work out. Treat it like a "cold case": map out all the data, write down every snippet you can think of, then write something else. Good ideas are surprisingly difficult to lose.
Yes!
Yes, this sounds good. I can file it away, keep on writing until it comes to me. I do have plenty of ideas to keep me writing. I guess this is like a compromise I'll have to make, or I won't get anything done.
Yes, this sounds good. I can file it away, keep on writing until it comes to me. I do have plenty of ideas to keep me writing. I guess this is like a compromise I'll have to make, or I won't get anything done.
I think the main issue is coming from the fact that these great story ideas you have might actually be great plot ideas. A plot is just one step in creating a great story, and often time when you have only a plot, you'll have a hard time filling out the middle of the story, or connecting the beginning to the end effectively. Don't forget that you should also have well developed characters, a relavent setting, and a theme that ties everything together.
My suggestion would be to try starting with theme ideas instead of plot ideas. Find a subject you want to address or discuss in your work, or an emotion you want to convey, and then try to think of a plot that would effectively present the theme, and follow that up with appropriate characters and setting. This might help you develop a story that feels more complete and will be easier to finish writing.
My suggestion would be to try starting with theme ideas instead of plot ideas. Find a subject you want to address or discuss in your work, or an emotion you want to convey, and then try to think of a plot that would effectively present the theme, and follow that up with appropriate characters and setting. This might help you develop a story that feels more complete and will be easier to finish writing.
It sounds like you've come up with a good premise for a story - a good set-up - or the first part of the plot.
When I'm stuck I re-type my one page synopsis for the whole work as fast as I can. If I like what I see, it pushes me forward. You could try this, it'll only take ten minutes...
When I'm stuck I re-type my one page synopsis for the whole work as fast as I can. If I like what I see, it pushes me forward. You could try this, it'll only take ten minutes...
Sitting back -- learning!
These are all great suggestions. That's what I love about this forum, If I have a problem, all I got to do is ask... I'm sitting back and examining the way I write, or should I say start my story's. I'm definitely a believer in practice, Thanks .
These are all great suggestions. That's what I love about this forum, If I have a problem, all I got to do is ask... I'm sitting back and examining the way I write, or should I say start my story's. I'm definitely a believer in practice, Thanks .
I was stuck at the same place in my WIP for 6 months, i wrote 2 other short-stories, but i could never stop thinking about the character I had left. Then it all just hit me one day about a month ago, i've been writing almost non-stop since then, the story just took off. Don't worry it will come back to you.
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!I thought I was the only one! *falls over in dead faint with the blissfull knowledge that someone out there has a computer full of unfinished stories too* Alright, I'm ok now...it just seemed like I was the only one! Maybe there should be a genre like that. Unfinished stories. Let the reader figure out the end! It would save me a lot of time and much frustration!
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