Does your work ever just feel so contrived?

LaurenSamantha said:

I can't start until I plan and I can't plan because of this contrived feeling.

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Do you actually need to plan, or is it just something you've been told you need to do? You might be a more organic writer - you might be over-planning.

That can be stultifying.

No, because I start without a plan. That doesn't mean I finish without a plan, so if you need to plan, you can still plan. Maybe just start somewhere without a plan and see where it leads. Put your character in a situation and see what happens.

Someone else is probably going to tell you it's fine if it's contrived, of course it's contrived, all fiction is contrived by definition. Ok if that works for them, and it might work for you. But it sounds like it bugs you, and I'm telling you it doesn't have to be contrived, if we're not being overly literal.

You might do better if you allow yourself more freedom in the writing process. I generally go into my books with an idea of where things are going, but if I think of something better while writing, I go with it.

LaurenSamantha said:

This is the thing about writing that I really struggle with and always have. I'm currently chapter planning and when I'm adding things in I can't help but feel like everything feels so contrived. I know that is kind of the point that we deliberately create these characters and situations but some of it just feels so difficult for some reason. Its not even like I'm new to this. I've completed four manuscripts and countless short stories. It's like this paralyzing part of writing for me that prevents me from starting a new novel. Once i'm writing its not too bad but I can't start until I plan and I can't plan because of this contrived feeling.

Does anyone understand this or feel the same way?

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Hi LaurenSamantha. I think others are right that you might be a writer who'd do better without planning and just seeing where things go. I can't write with plans or outlines and have no idea where things are going. For me, the characters take over in a sense and what happens is born of what they would or wouldn't do. I never even know if my characters will live or die until the end. I think when you let the story go wherever it goes, it doesn't feel contrived. If you're really struggling with the contrived thing, maybe just give a shot at writing without plans. Good luck!

CJ

I struggle with trying to find the right choices between contrived and predictable. I don't plan, so maybe it doesn't relate. In the end, we have to make all these choices. I guess, according to our sensibilities. We don't want to bore, but we don't want to make eyes roll either. It ain't easy.

I disagree that unplanned writing is necessarily less contrived. Thoroughly thinking through the plot helps me come up with ways to make it flow naturally. Obviously, whatever works for one writer is the way for that person to go. But you could try working out the problems in detail, and then laying a trail throughout the story that makes developments feel inevitable, not tacked on.

Marlys said:

I disagree that unplanned writing is necessarily less contrived.

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Oh I don't think anyone was suggesting that organic writing is less contrived than planned writing - only that during the early stages, some writers can feel quite happy about planning down to the nth degree, where other writers will find that level of planning can have a constraining effect.

Horses and courses and all that.

LaurenSamantha said:

This is the thing about writing that I really struggle with and always have. I'm currently chapter planning and when I'm adding things in I can't help but feel like everything feels so contrived. I know that is kind of the point that we deliberately create these characters and situations but some of it just feels so difficult for some reason. Its not even like I'm new to this. I've completed four manuscripts and countless short stories. It's like this paralyzing part of writing for me that prevents me from starting a new novel. Once i'm writing its not too bad but I can't start until I plan and I can't plan because of this contrived feeling.

Does anyone understand this or feel the same way?

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I know others have already said that but have you tried not planning? I find it easier to write when I don't know where the story will take me; not saying go completely blind into the story but I've found my mind is always a scene/chapter ahead of what I've written which helps me tackle the story one segment at a time.

But I also do get this 'it's too convoluted' sense. I just finished a major revision/restructure of my current MS and took out several subplots which made the narrative much 'leaner', so to speak and the story - easier to follow. I needed the input of a couple of betas to spot the issues, though; they loved some of the subplots which I thought were too complicated so it goes both ways.

I think the best way to keep your story on track is to know your characters. Understand who they are and how they'll act in a given scenario - this will allow the narrative to stem from the characters and their unique traits/flaws, rather than you having to come up with a detailed plan for action. Of course, this works primarily for character-driven works but I think it's still a good way to tackle your story.

LaurenSamantha said:

I can't start until I plan and I can't plan because of this contrived feeling.

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Then plan some more Say, you have a scene planned for Tiny Tim to go out in the rain, then at some point he has to look down a drain and see a clown. If you write it just like that - Tiny Tim wakes up, goes out the door (for no particular reason) despite all that nasty rain, then peeks into the nearest drain (also, for no particular reason), where there is a clown inside (just sitting there, watching out), then that scene would more than likely feel contrived. But there is such a scene in Stephen King's "It", which doesn't feel contrived at all. Because the character has a good reason to go out in the rain (so that action is very believable), then he has a very believable situation which leads to him to look into the drain (the action flows in a very natural way), then when the clown appears (no, he's not just sitting there, watching out... he appears in a very captivating way), the narrative keeps skillfully drawing the reader further into this rather unbelievable story. Same situation, but written in a way that doesn't feel contrived at all. All those additional details (why Tiny Tim had to be out, why did he had to look into the drain, the way the clown appeared) make the scene feel non-contrived.

Maze Runner said:

I struggle with trying to find the right choices between contrived and predictable.

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Are you saying that unplanned writing is predictable, because you're always thinking, "What would happen next?" It doesn't have to be. That's what you're thinking, but the answer doesn't have to be the truth. If you want to make things more unpredictable, you can think, "What would most likely happen next? Okay. That's not what happens."

I think I would write them out and then sit on them for while. What I thought were important chapters in my WIP turned out not to be after sitting on them.Unless your on a deadline,I would see where time brings you.

morngnstar said:

Are you saying that unplanned writing is predictable, because you're always thinking, "What would happen next?" It doesn't have to be. That's what you're thinking, but the answer doesn't have to be the truth. If you want to make things more unpredictable, you can think, "What would most likely happen next? Okay. That's not what happens."

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No, I was just saying that whether you outline or not, decisions have to be made. I mostly think of different options when I get to a fork in the road, and then ask myself, okay, which do I find most interesting? Then, is it believable, is it entertaining, and do I think that it may lead to fertile ground, to place where I'm not going to box myself in, a place that will allow me a multitude of options down the road. I'd say this is something that we all face, regardless of how much or how little planning we do. Again, I think we're trying to entertain, by one definition or another, and for me, a large part of that is to take 'em somewhere they're not expecting--but I never want to lose believability.

Maze Runner said:

No, I was just saying that whether you outline or not, decisions have to be made. I mostly think of different options when I get to a fork in the road, and then ask myself, okay, which do I find most interesting? Then, is it believable, is it entertaining, and do I think that it may lead to fertile ground, to place where I'm not going to box myself in, a place that will allow me a multitude of options down the road. I'd say this is something that we all face, regardless of how much or how little planning we do. Again, I think we're trying to entertain, by one definition or another, and for me, a large part of that is to take 'em somewhere they're not expecting--but I never want to lose believability.

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Well, I think about whether a choice will box me in or lead to fertile ground, but some people genuinely claim not to. If you get boxed in, you can bust out. If you don't reach fertile ground, you can keep going. Some people think that makes for an interesting story. It's not my style. I prefer a story that fits together like a Swiss watch. Every piece is essential and custom-designed for its purpose. But others have a different style.

Yeah, I guess if you outline, those decisions are all made up front. Is that what you mean?

Actually, that's not what you're saying, is it?

Maze Runner said:

Yeah, I guess if you outline, those decisions are all made up front. Is that what you mean?

Actually, that's not what you're saying, is it?

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Nope, pantsers don't think of them at all, some say. They just think, "What happens next?"

Oh, okay, gotcha.

I remember back in the last millennia, when I was in high school, I was taught that I should always have an outline when I wrote anything. I never took any writing courses in college, but outlining my papers was encouraged there too. After college were decades of writing military orders or business briefs or class lesson plans.

In other words, I was trained to organize to the hilt!

I began to find that I might be other-than-organized when I was living overseas twelve years ago and blogged about my adventures. I tended to write around my photos, and those became my "organizer" - my substitute for an outline. As time progressed, and I found myself writing more (newspapers, travel stories and the like) I began to find I did better when I just wrote in a "stream of consciousness" mode. When I wrote my only book so far, I did some outlining, but it mostly grew by itself, though I had an editor who kicked me in the butt to "work this" when he found the predictable thin places in my writing.

Just try it - just let yourself go and see where the story takes you. It might be fun.

I just keep my brain open for ideas and avoid writing until it's ready to pour out of me. Otherwise, I'd feel like a fraud. I know everybody says to force yourself to write x per day, and I do sometimes. But inspiration striking is a cure for the problem you're talking about, IMO. When writing is easy.

The best short story I've written --- judging by how well it was recieved, I mean --- came out in one sitting. The stuff I struggle with ends up feeling more contrived.

Creep said:

I just keep my brain open for ideas and avoid writing until it's ready to pour out of me. Otherwise, I'd feel like a fraud. I know everybody says to force yourself to write x per day, and I do sometimes. But inspiration striking is a cure for the problem you're talking about, IMO. When writing is easy.

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They don't have to be at odds. You don't have to publish what you write every day. If you find it lacks inspiration and comes out bad, you can always rewrite it on another day. I find writing on a schedule keeps your mind on the story or on writing in general, and leads to more of those flash inspirations.

LaurenSamantha said:

I think what I'll end up doing is using my plan but not worrying when/if it takes a different turn. I'll use it loosely rather than to the letter and if, while i'm writing anything feels too forced I can either take it out or come back to it later and see if it reads differently.

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I find this to be the best method of planning. Sometimes it takes me a dozen tries to get a scene right. It's unlikely that I'll nail it during the planning stages.

I think planning can make your writing seem more contrived to you, simply for the fact that you know what happens. The reader doesn't know. Also, fiction is contrived. Most stories need to be pieced together with some level of deliberateness, whether pre-planned or not. They look quite different from the writer's perspective.

I would just say (similar to what I said in another thread) that I often feel like my writing is contrived, boring, and trite. But I keep at it, and eventually something inspired and fresh comes out.

Sure, I think we all feel like that at times.

But that's a good thing. Far better than being absolutely certain it's the best thing ever. That's a bad sign!