I Just can't stick!

This is really a matter of self-discipline (something I also struggle with!). The temptation of shiny new ideas is something that all writers struggle with! I was listening to best-selling YA author Leigh Bardugo talk about this very thing recently - she said writing a novel isn't about falling in love with an idea, it's about staying in love with an idea. You just have to pick something, buckle down, and do it. Don't worry about what other people are going to want to read - you'll never be able to write something that everyone loves, and if you fixate on what's marketable or what's hot right now you'll never finish anything.

Two things. First, if you go on thinking the thought in your title, that is counterproductive. Yes, you can stick to writing. You haven't in the past. But behaviors can change. This is under your control.

Second, I'm going to strongly recommend you learn to write short stories. Not only are they easier to complete, but it's easier to get feedback on them than on novels. Just post them in the appropriate Share Your Work subforum once you've gotten fifty posts. Prove to yourself that you can finish something, and make it easier by lowering the word count bar.

If you're thinking, "I don't know how to write short stories," I have a solution to that as well. Holly Lisle gives a free three-week online course in this. It's how I learned to write shorts. The link is here: https://hollyswritingclasses.com/.

This is something I struggled with for years after finishing my first manuscript. Every shiny new idea I latched onto after that produced maybe 10k words before I got bored and abandoned it. Only within the last year or so did I rediscover the discipline to strap on the blinders and buckle down until I got to the end of the story I was determined to write. Victoria Schwab has a really good YouTube video on the subject: https://youtu.be/78-_RbVYWGw

Ridel said:

But then my traitorous brain convinces itself nobody would be interested in that kind of story or it's overdone.

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Then look back at your story and see where you can add something different. Romeo and Juliet fall in love. Overdone. But what if Juliet had a twin sister? What if Juliet was an evil witch who wanted to trick Romeo into doing errands for her? What if it was the 25th century and Romeo arrived through a wormhole? What if it was WWI and Romeo joined the army, but his ship got lost at sea and he became stranded on a lonely island? That may turn into a completely different story. Or, expand your story: what happened to the town after Romeo and Juliet's love ended up in tragedy?

I feel you so much! I have this exact same problem. Here are some things I've found work for me:

1. I connect current story ideas with past story ideas. Often my stories are mundane, but they come alive when I connect them with aspects of past failed stories.
2. Mull it over before writing it down, and let lots of things change in your story. I often start writing prematurely, and then I feel like once it's on paper, it's on concrete and things that don't work can't be changed. So I let new ideas stew in my head for a day or two and I form the story and change it before I begin writing. It's helped a lot, for some reason.

Personally I find it essential to learn the craft from the ground up, rather than beginning at the top and pick up bits and bobs from below. Writing a novel is as much about writing stamina and perseverance as it is actual craft and skill. There is a flawed logic floating among writers that people read novels, not short stories, so why should they bother with anything else?

The simple answer is for the love of the craft. All those skills one pick up from learning the little things are applicable when your move up the ladder. Learn to crawl before you run. That's not to say you shouldn't write a novel, but the easiest way of falling into the "writer's block" trap and quit altogether is when there's not enough groundwork done.

It's also a wonderful feeling to have finished a short story, regardless if it's a 1000 or 10,000 words. Remember what Stephen King said: "The first million words are just practice", so you might as well practise on something you can finish.

Oh. Kathleen T said everything I was going to say. Even down to Holly Lisle. Great minds, Kathleen

I'll add that it can help to rephrase that title and say 'It's hard for me to stick to things'. It includes both the idea that you *are capable* of sticking with things, but acknowledges the challenge. For all kinds of problems we can change what we say to ourselves and suddenly have a different path ahead of us.

Julia Joy said:

This is really a matter of self-discipline (something I also struggle with!). The temptation of shiny new ideas is something that all writers struggle with! I was listening to best-selling YA author Leigh Bardugo talk about this very thing recently - she said writing a novel isn't about falling in love with an idea, it's about staying in love with an idea. You just have to pick something, buckle down, and do it. Don't worry about what other people are going to want to read - you'll never be able to write something that everyone loves, and if you fixate on what's marketable or what's hot right now you'll never finish anything.

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I genuinely want to print this, blow it up into massive font, colour it in neon and stick it above my mirror.

Hi Ridel
I like to visualize the whole story in my head first, start to end. That tells me if it's something I'm passionate about. If I can finish it then I write out the storyline, and start to work on the flow to see how I can bump it up a little.
If the story falters in my head then I know there's something missing in my connection.

Don't know if this will help you but good luck.

I try to write what I love and feel passionate about.

-Caroline