Not writers’ block exactly, but...

AlexSt. · Feb 13, 2017

Hey guys,

I’m working on my novel, Fallen Love, and I’m about 35k words in. I should mention that I started the manuscript as an alternative version to the Ark, the novel I was originally planning to write. I wrote 56k words on it before I decided that it wasn’t going in the direction I wanted—that it wasn’t, in fact, the novel I was supposed to be writing. So: I took the main characters, their romance, and another major character, but set everything in a different world with different sources of conflict. I actually commissioned an editor for the Ark; it was her advice that led me over the edge to pursue this new work.

Anyway, that’s enough detail. Basically, I’m going through a part of the book right now where I have a lot of... bad stuff happening to the characters. It’s pretty intense; and I’m find it difficult to find the resolve to write it all. Do any of yous have similar experiences? Any advice?

Cascada · Feb 13, 2017

Hi there, when you say resolve, do you mean it's difficult to write, in terms of the emotional content? Or do you mean that you feel its going in an unsavory direction? I just wonder, because you say you took the main characters and their romance, and placed them in a different world with different conflicts....but essentially, are these same characters presenting similar issues that they did in Ark?

It's not something I've experienced as yet...it certainly sounds fascinating, and just by your post it sounds intense, which is good right? Is there a way you can identify what your difficulty is, and perhaps understand why you're having it, so that you can then move forwards? What kind of things are happening? At this point, I find myself just wanting to read your story!

I've had moments where I've had difficulty pushing myself through a particular scene. Sometimes it's just because I'm tired, and it's not flowing, or because I don't relate well enough to the character and their motivations, or because the scene itself isn't right.

AlexSt. · Feb 13, 2017

Cascada said:
Hi there, when you say resolve, do you mean it's difficult to write, in terms of the emotional content? Or do you mean that you feel its going in an unsavory direction? I just wonder, because you say you took the main characters and their romance, and placed them in a different world with different conflicts....but essentially, are these same characters presenting similar issues that they did in Ark?

It's not something I've experienced as yet...it certainly sounds fascinating, and just by your post it sounds intense, which is good right? Is there a way you can identify what your difficulty is, and perhaps understand why you're having it, so that you can then move forwards? What kind of things are happening? At this point, I find myself just wanting to read your story!

I've had moments where I've had difficulty pushing myself through a particular scene. Sometimes it's just because I'm tired, and it's not flowing, or because I don't relate well enough to the character and their motivations, or because the scene itself isn't right.

Yeah, it’s definitely the emotional content. To elaborate: I’m writing a group of chapters where the protagonists, Conall and Casey, are arrested for being in love. The book is set in a dystopian future; the Party is authoritarian and known to abuse, well, anyone. The issues definitely aren’t the same as in the Ark. I suppose my difficulty with it is in finding the guts to make it as bad as it needs to be—because good fiction needs a bit of gritty conflict—and because some of it hits a little close to home.

I also suppose that there is some element of writer’s block to it as well, not in the sense that I lack for ideas—but in the sense that I’m hypercritical about what I’m writing, and convinced that it’s not going in the right direction (despite knowing it is the right direction).

Cascada · Feb 13, 2017

AlexSt. said:
Yeah, it’s definitely the emotional content. To elaborate: I’m writing a group of chapters where the protagonists, Conall and Casey, are arrested for being in love. The book is set in a dystopian future; the Party is authoritarian and known to abuse, well, anyone. The issues definitely aren’t the same as in the Ark. I suppose my difficulty with it is in finding the guts to make it as bad as it needs to be—because good fiction needs a bit of gritty conflict—and because some of it hits a little close to home.

I also suppose that there is some element of writer’s block to it as well, not in the sense that I lack for ideas—but in the sense that I’m hypercritical about what I’m writing, and convinced that it’s not going in the right direction (despite knowing it is the right direction).

It sounds like you might be over-thinking it a little, at least in terms of feeling hypercritical. It's good to recognize where there may or may not be weaknesses, but personally speaking, my hypercritical inner-voice only adds to my anxiety about writing, and then I don't write.

I get the impression this is a gritty, intense story....and I imagine these kinds of stories require the writer, to a degree, to delve, unashamedly into their own dark side, to draw out whatever needs to be drawn out, and do whatever needs to be done to the characters to drive the plot forward.

I feel sorry for Conall and Casey just thinking about it. Living in a dystopian future, with the oppressive presence of an authoritarian party, must be hard. It immediately makes me think about 1984 funnily enough, and the secret behaviour that took place, in order for those people to feel alive, and have even a tiny little bit of control in their lives.

If some of it hits a little close to home, I say grasp it by the horns and ride it, and use whatever memories, emotions, experiences that arise from doing so. It certainly sounds like the kind of story I would read!

AlexSt. · Feb 13, 2017

Cascada said:
It sounds like you might be over-thinking it a little, at least in terms of feeling hypercritical. It's good to recognize where there may or may not be weaknesses, but personally speaking, my hypercritical inner-voice only adds to my anxiety about writing, and then I don't write.

I get the impression this is a gritty, intense story....and I imagine these kinds of stories require the writer, to a degree, to delve, unashamedly into their own dark side, to draw out whatever needs to be drawn out, and do whatever needs to be done to the characters to drive the plot forward.

I feel sorry for Conall and Casey just thinking about it. Living in a dystopian future, with the oppressive presence of an authoritarian party, must be hard. It immediately makes me think about 1984 funnily enough, and the secret behaviour that took place, in order for those people to feel alive, and have even a tiny little bit of control in their lives.

If some of it hits a little close to home, I say grasp it by the horns and ride it, and use whatever memories, emotions, experiences that arise from doing so. It certainly sounds like the kind of story I would read!

Yes, there is a bit of 1984, except the dystopia is also populated by supernatural beings. A group of them—called Familiars—are led by a clairvoyant and witch, Kaylin, which narrates part of the story. (Their fates are entwined with the protagonists.) But yeah: gritty and intense is a good way to describe it. There’s a lot of supernaturally themed evil along with the social ones.

Thanks for the advice regarding my personal feelings. I feel the same, only it takes a bit of convincing to go forward!

Cascada · Feb 13, 2017

This really does sound like a great story, and right up my street. Dystopian science fiction, with some supernatural sounds fascinating.

Poppies · Feb 21, 2017

AlexSt. said:
Hey guys,

I wrote 56k words on it before I decided that it wasn’t going in the direction I wanted—that it wasn’t, in fact, the novel I was supposed to be writing. So: I took the main characters, their romance, and another major character, but set everything in a different world with different sources of conflict.

Anyway, that’s enough detail. Basically, I’m going through a part of the book right now where I have a lot of... bad stuff happening to the characters. It’s pretty intense; and I’m find it difficult to find the resolve to write it all. Do any of yous have similar experiences? Any advice?

I suppose my difficulty with it is in finding the guts to make it as bad as it needs to be—because good fiction needs a bit of gritty conflict—and because some of it hits a little close to home.

I've literally done that - taking a romantic lead and a couple of characters to a different plot - like a couple times now. From my personal experience, that's not really a good sign for the story. It was also because I was burdened with anxiety and because of someone's second opinion. I was insecure about my writing, and the storyline and the characters just weren't developed enough, and I got scared of continuing because it felt like it would be a waste of time. It didn't feel like the novel I was supposed to write. I lost the inspiration that I had when I started the story. I just want to say without getting preachy or anything that no one's going to bestow upon you the novel that you are meant to write. I hope that I'm not being presumptuous and you don't take this the wrong way because it feels like we have the same problem. The novel that you're supposed to be writing is the one that you're writing right now, and hopefully that's the one you're passionate about beyond the fear and anxiety. With that in mind, you probably need to work on easing your anxiety first or you might find yourself doing the exact same thing again. I know because I did. I have collected my own self-help resources for anxiety and insecurities, so if you're interested PM me?

Anyway, no, I don't have similar experiences, but a lot of bad things are happening in the world right now? I believe interracial marriages were illegal in South Africa for some time, and that's the first thing that came to mind when you described your story's conflict. You could start there. First and foremost, think about why you want to write those intense scenes in the first place, and how they personally make you feel. Don't worry about the reader because depending on how you write it, the right readers will come. If you just want to write them for intense drama, then reconsider it. Secondly, think about how you want to show those intense scenes to the reader. Are the scenes foreshadowed? Are they abrupt? What will be the characters' state of mind after the events and what have they lost if anything? How do they cope?

I remember I was at a scene of a very destructive car crash once. This car was barreling down the street, slamming into parked cars, there was a line of police after them, people were screaming and shouting. My family and I were standing outside, and we were so shocked we couldn't move, couldn't think. Have your characters experienced these intense scenes before?

chompers · Feb 21, 2017

Alcohol?

I had one book where it was emotionally difficult to write. So I set it aside until I could handle it better. I haven't returned to it yet. Don't be like me.

AlexSt. · Mar 9, 2017

Poppies said:
I've literally done that - taking a romantic lead and a couple of characters to a different plot - like a couple times now. From my personal experience, that's not really a good sign for the story. It was also because I was burdened with anxiety and because of someone's second opinion. I was insecure about my writing, and the storyline and the characters just weren't developed enough, and I got scared of continuing because it felt like it would be a waste of time. It didn't feel like the novel I was supposed to write. I lost the inspiration that I had when I started the story. I just want to say without getting preachy or anything that no one's going to bestow upon you the novel that you are meant to write. I hope that I'm not being presumptuous and you don't take this the wrong way because it feels like we have the same problem. The novel that you're supposed to be writing is the one that you're writing right now, and hopefully that's the one you're passionate about beyond the fear and anxiety. With that in mind, you probably need to work on easing your anxiety first or you might find yourself doing the exact same thing again. I know because I did. I have collected my own self-help resources for anxiety and insecurities, so if you're interested PM me?

Anyway, no, I don't have similar experiences, but a lot of bad things are happening in the world right now? I believe interracial marriages were illegal in South Africa for some time, and that's the first thing that came to mind when you described your story's conflict. You could start there. First and foremost, think about why you want to write those intense scenes in the first place, and how they personally make you feel. Don't worry about the reader because depending on how you write it, the right readers will come. If you just want to write them for intense drama, then reconsider it. Secondly, think about how you want to show those intense scenes to the reader. Are the scenes foreshadowed? Are they abrupt? What will be the characters' state of mind after the events and what have they lost if anything? How do they cope?

I remember I was at a scene of a very destructive car crash once. This car was barreling down the street, slamming into parked cars, there was a line of police after them, people were screaming and shouting. My family and I were standing outside, and we were so shocked we couldn't move, couldn't think. Have your characters experienced these intense scenes before?

Thanks for responding. Just to give you guys an update: I’ve written 48,000 words in Fallen Love now. I’ve completed the first part (and that’s most of the book, since part two will be shorter).

What was wrong with the Ark, I found, wasn’t the romance. It wasn’t the inspiration. In the end, it was something simpler than that: the conflict aside from the romantic one wasn’t really there. And that’s how I discovered that I’m not a romance author—or, more precisely, I can’t write pure romance. For me, character relationships need to be situated in a bigger picture.

Thankfully, I’ve written the most intense part of the novel now. It was difficult, but I think I succeeded. I’m leaving it in the drawer for a week; it’ll let me reflect on it and give me a clear head when I go back to make revisions (and also leave some more time for my other writing, which I’ve dearly neglected!)

@Chompers, alcohol is an interesting suggestion. But it doesn’t work for me, or (I suspect) for most writers. I could speculate about the reasons: perhaps writing requires a sharp consciousness, with the unconscious mind working in between, coming up with new angles, new ideas; ideas that are then implemented by the analytical intelligence of the conscious mind. (Sorry if this sounds like psycho-babble.) Alcohol just seems to me like a block on the conscious part, and doesn’t seem to do wonders for the unconscious either. It is a neurological depressant, after all!

Not writers’ block exactly, but...

Delicious potato pancakes