Unfinished book syndrome

Hmmm.... not really. Would it help to regard this part as the payment for the fun you had pulling it together?

I was hoping to hear some good suggestions too. I have a similar problem. The book is completely written, even typeset. The information is still worthwhile, but the research is horribly out of date, and I need to fix that. Just can't seem to make myself do it. Also can't let it go--it was a huge amount of work. I've got it on Inkshares, and I can't even make myself figure out how to use that space (which might be a fear of networking).

At any rate, misery loves company?

If I were to take my own advice, it would be to:

1a. Forgive myself and breathe.
1. Make a step-by-step plan in no more than 15 minutes.
2. Spend 1 to 3 hours each day executing the plan in chunks of 45 minutes with a 15-minute break-for-a-reward period.
3. Repeat until the task is done.

Marilyn

Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

One possible solution is to impose a complete moratorium on writing for, say, three days. Then hunker down and do it.

Another is to repeat to yourself: I can do it. I can do it. I can! I can! (Half in humor and half seriously.)

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Have you sold the books? I write very stream of consciousness and write out a few chapters to be sure a book is there, but I wait until I have a book contract to really make the move of finishing it. Right now I have some of every chapter of my next book written but only 2 polished chapters ready to go with the proposal (we're submitting after Labor Day). Editors very often want to have a hand in the direction of the book so I don't write more than I have already. I have my research ready, my questionnaires ready and a lot of stream of consciousness scribble, but not an entire book by any means.

I do find that the book proposal seems far more daunting to me than the actual book so I like to get that out of the way first.

I also like the suggestion of taking a break for a couple of days. That always helps me.

Best wishes Veinglory.

YMMV, but for me, when I was stuck on finding sources for specific parts, it helped to get the university librarian involved. I seem to recall you teaching at a university? Even if not, they may be helpful to anyone.

What surprised me was not just the help I received earning my Ph.D., but also later as an Adjunct Professor.

And, the years from student to professor brought about something new to the school: a subject-specific librarian. As Adjunct, I was editing an article for academic publication and could not find an original citation. I finally asked the linguistics librarian (my field), and within a couple of hours he had several options for me. He was so excited to have helped. He said it made his day. Wow, I was so honored for his help that saved me hours! So now instead of feeling like a heel for bothering them, since I thought I should already remember (or whatever I am thinking), I now pick up the phone or send an email when necessary. Don't know if this would help, but just throwing it out there in case.

Also, might I suggest trying a different outline plan than what you are used to? I am doing that as well with good results so far. I am writing my first novel, but still trying to finish my academic textbook that is currently in scrivener on my Mac (and I use Storyist on my iPad Mini). Anyway, I just found an amazing tool to organize and check outline for my novel, that has helped me unmuddle being stuck in the middle.

Well, I like it so much that I plan to do this to check out structure of my nonfiction text too, just to confirm that I am only including parts that teachers will need (it's a text for a subset of teachers), and also to see that I am doing it in a concise but complete manner.

I described how I am using it in a thread on Basic Writing recently.

A link to the free template is here, in case it helps you or someone too.
http://www.fantasyscroll.com/master-outlining-and-tracking-tool-for-novels/

I hate spreadsheets usually, but this one is color coded and so simple to use. And while for most of it I followed the intended order, I also went in a different order sometimes by listing sections (well scenes in the novel) and going backward to see where they fit, or where they should be moved.

Anyway, these are some tools I am finding helpful to get moving forward, where I was stuck.

ETA: and for nonfiction, I plan to finish plugging in all info into this template based on what I have outlined and written in Scrivener, and then be able to use this outline as part of my proposal for the chapters not yet written (of course I know much more is involved in such a proposal, but this outline should help show the big picture and also planned details nicely). Of course, the page comparing to 3 Act Structure is not relevant for nonficiton, and I will label chapters with sections inside chapters (so use that terminology instead of scenes for them to see). But it is just an idea that sounds promising.

veinglory said:

I currently have two non-fiction books that I have made good progress on.

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Under contract or not? If they're under contract, you can finish them or pay the publisher back according to the contract. If they're not under contract, why are you writing them? For non-fiction, you sell a proposal and write the book after you have a contract. Otherwise the writing is a waste of time.

Jeff

How is your distraction situation? I don't mean popping on the internet type thing on occasion but the big time suckers. I have grandkids at my house so I knew if I didn't take myself out of the environment I'd never get done.

My stall was footnotes. Since my book was originally partly a news column where there is no room for such things, once I decided to expand and put it in book form I had to back track. Luckily I had copies of a lot of sources, but sitting down and doing it. Gads! Not to mention trying to concentrate. So I had writing outings. It made it work plus escape I guess you could say, so it made it more dealable. Sometimes a park, or by the lake, even if it was only an hour or two a couple times a week. My last push I actually rented a one person cabin in the woods for the weekend.

Try switching up where you are working so it makes it a combined personal escape as well. Pack a favorite lunch you don't often have, a milkshake if you don't often indulge. Get your brain in a positive mode so when you need to work on it your brain will also be thinking special me time.

Siri Kirpal said:

One possible solution is to impose a complete moratorium on writing for, say, three days. Then hunker down and do it.

Siri Kirpal

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..I agree with this.

If you are stuck, you have to "briefly" walk away from it and let your mind recover. And as far as "sections becoming outdated" or in need of being rewritten does, you MUST fix it. Your work represents YOU and also represents the distance you will go to make sure the information is completely accurate.

When I do oil paintings, there are always sections that I need to revisit and do over. Sometimes it's because my technique has improved on following paintings and this new, improved technique can rescue a previously struggling painting. Other times it's because it just damn well doesn't look or feel right in the way it was painted. Whatever the case, you MUST go back and fix what you don't like. Otherwise you will be haunted by it for the rest of your life.

WeaselFire said:

Under contract or not? If they're under contract, you can finish them or pay the publisher back according to the contract. If they're not under contract, why are you writing them? For non-fiction, you sell a proposal and write the book after you have a contract. Otherwise the writing is a waste of time.
Jeff

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...I disagree with this.

Writing is an art form even if it is nonfiction and not under contract. Sometimes it is necessary to complete an entire work just to know that the premise is, indeed, solid. Another reason is because it is a good, healthy writing experience to complete a work - even if it's nonfiction. If everything but the first three chapters gets tossed out by an editor at a later date, you have still fulfilled your artful duty a writer.

We should be the "original" editor when we are writing our books. If a professional editor comes along later and wants to revise things, negotiate contracts and such, then great. ...Go ahead and make those changes.

At the core of any writing endeavor resides a paradigm: We are under NO obligation form any outside sources to limit what we write, choose our subject matter or restrict the volume we write until we gain approval from someone else. ...We write for ourselves!

-Birdman

veinglory said:

I am writing one with the plan of get an agent for it. So I am trying to finish the three sample chapters.

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I assume you have an outline, so just keep filling in the outline. Plan on a section a day, or whatever fits your time and abilities. Since you published with Wiley (My favorite publisher, I still get royalties and haven't had anything with them for close to a decade now), you know what you're going to face when the book gets accepted. If you can't write 500 words a day to get the sample done, you're really going to have trouble when the deal comes through.[/QUOTE]

Steps that might help (depends on you):

• Write one book until it's finished.
• Set a daily quota and, if you haven't met it yet, your butt stays in the chair.
• Set a regular writing schedule. MWF from 7-9 pm, whatever fits for you. Stick to it.
• Little rewards. A slice of cake after 500 words, with ice cream if you do more than 750.
• It's non-fiction, think in small chunks. A section of your outline at a time maybe, or one topic.
• Put a dollar in a jar every day until it's done. When it's done, go out to dinner.
• Give up and move on. Yep, sometimes you have to do this to get motivated. Tell yourself you can go back later, even if you never do.

In reality, there are no secret incantations, hidden potions or spells found in Nordic runes. There's just you.

Jeff

In case they're useful, here are some things that help when I get stuck:
- Sometimes hand-holding helps. Is there someone you could meet with or call on a regular basis to get yourself moving? I often find that trying to explain aloud to a kind and interested person what I want to say helps me organize my thoughts.
- Sometimes being stuck is a sign that I'm headed in the wrong direction. I may need to reorganize or shift my focus.
- With nonfiction, it's useful to ask myself, "Am I overwhelmed or underwhelmed?" Overwhelmed means I need to STOP READING!!! Underwhelmed means I need to read more.
- Sometimes it's just a momentum issue. Skipping ahead to an easier part can help me get moving. In dire circumstances, telling myself, "I only have to write for 15 minutes" can let me claw my way through a rough spot.

When I was in graduate school to become a therapist one of my supervising professors had us do exercises so we could do them with clients. He was a firm believer in "you can't teach what you've never done." He would tell us to put pen to paper and not stop writing for 10 minutes. Your hand could not come off the paper. Complete stream of consciousness . If you didn't know what to say write "no idea what to say" or blah blah blah but you had to keep your hand moving.

In a few weeks we graduated to 15 and finally 20 minutes. It was so successful that people in the class were breaking down or figuring out they held anger or hurt from long ago. I didn't have a lot of drama to mine as I had kept a journal for years and would often sit down to write without a clue about what.

I've done it when writing my books and suffering from writer's block, either on the computer or longhand. Just make myself write. I find longhand works best as I tend to go back and edit when I'm typing which is not what you're meant to do. Sometimes I'll give myself a topic. Right now I'm writing a chapter on personality disorders. Although I have years of experience with them, I somehow couldn't jump start myself on the topic. So I sat down with pen and paper and decided to write out everything I knew about narcissists. Funny that things that others told me came to me before my 20 minutes was up. Had I wracked my brain to try to remember them, I probably wouldn't have.

Stream-of-consciousness writing is very helpful for me. While I typically don't give myself a topic, I can do it that way and it can be a success.

I love that idea Susan.