Getting SO frustrated. Cannot connect to MC or storyline. Passion just poofs.

emstar94 · Aug 14, 2017

I had a couple false starts before I settled on my first proper YA novel, which I finished, edited, and loved writing pretty much the whole way through.

HOWEVER. Since then I have attempted a second book - of the same passion, quality, etc.

But the idea is just not sticking. At first I was so into the idea, now the passion has gone. Not feeling my main character, I don't care about my other characters, I just - don't - care.

I feel at my wit's end because I love writing and I loved this idea in the first place and now it's just ... gone.

5000 words in and I cannot be bothered.

Should I just do another story? How can I get back the same passion? From the beginning I just adored my characters - story, all of it.

Fruitbat · Aug 14, 2017

Maybe you used up all your YA story for now and would do better to try something else this time?

ETA: The YA novel I'm working on, I only seem to get about one page done per day. I'm at nearly 5,000 words too. I'm hoping it's going to catch on in my mind if I just keep at it. FWIW, my strategy (for now at least) is to just keep going with it. Good luck with yours.

MerriTudor · Aug 14, 2017

I have so many things on the back burner I'm surprised the stove hasn't exploded!

If you have any other stories on hold, put this one away and move on. You may not be in the right mood or frame of mind to work on it now...or it may be a fizzle. If you move on and later go back to this one, you'll know for sure. Either you still won't care about it, or you'll suddenly feel that passion.

It could also be a piece that you can cannibalize later - taking whatever bits or concepts that initially ignited your passion and use them to kindle a new fire.

thejenmath · Aug 14, 2017

I'm in this exact position! And I have been for almost two years and I don't know how to get out. If you find any answers to your questions please share them with me.

JJ Litke · Aug 14, 2017

I'd try writing the query. That could help you spot big-picture problems that you might be picking up on subconsciously, or it could help you get excited again if there's nothing really wrong.

Past that, maybe do like Merri suggested and switch to a different project for a while.

dirtsider · Aug 14, 2017

Perhaps write a scene from another character's POV, describing what the MC is doing? Look up a news article on the topic (or a similar one) of what the story's about? Read/watch the news (if the story's set in the current time period) and write a bit of how the MC would react to said news article? Anything to get the juice flowing again.

Also remember that the first draft will always be crap so sometimes it's just good to just keep writing.

Layla Nahar · Aug 14, 2017

This could be either of two things: one, self-sabotage (which is actually a form of self protection), or equally, it could be your Inner Writer which can tell that this idea doesn't have legs.

Nerdilydone · Aug 14, 2017

I want to suggest taking a break, but that might be a bad idea...your own intuition is the real master here.

I suggest creating a mental-physical muse space. You should create or find a physical place that inspires you for your story. For example, I'm writing a story about a girl who is trying to discover magic scientifically, and there are two places in my town that evoke specific story images for it. So what you could do is go to a place you find inspirational and either relate it to your story, or go to that place to discover something else you want to write.

emstar94 · Aug 14, 2017

Wow thanks to everyone that replied so quickly!!

Helpful to know others are feeling this way. Some very helpful tips I'm going to utilise as well.
I tend to write best when I'm obsessed with something - a character, an idea, a concept, but I need to be obsessed... it's finding my way back to writer-ly obsession... as weird as that sounds

Fruitbat · Aug 14, 2017

@Emstar- Another consideration might be what you think of what you've written so far, regardless of how jazzed you are about writing it. Do you like it?

NealM · Aug 15, 2017

Layla Nahar said:
it could be your Inner Writer which can tell that this idea doesn't have legs.

Everybody works differently, but in my experiences it's probably this. I've been passionate about everything I've ever written at one point or another, otherwise I never would have started to write it. But a lot of times that passion fizzles. Sometime once you execute it you realized it wasn't that good of an idea after all, otherwise you wouldn't have lost your passion. You need to be okay with that and move on to something else. Maybe you'll come back to this one, maybe you won't. I suspect the half finished ms graveyard in every working writer's hard drive is quite vast.

That said, I scrapped a project two years ago 18K words in. A few months ago I revisited the original idea but with a whole new protagonist. I started over from scratch. I'm 40K words in and more excited about it than I think I've ever been for anything I've written in my life.

Writelock · Aug 15, 2017

Tack on an ending, no matter how contrived or crappy you might feel it is, and end the story THEN move on. Human beings are creatures of habit and if you drop a story unfinished it just becomes easier to drop another one until you end up with an entire google docs account filled with unfinished stories, articles, etc. Get into the habit of finishing every piece - even if the finish is crap. You will develop the habit of seeing a piece through if nothing else. Later on, you can always mine that story for ideas, scenes, etc.

~N

emstar94 · Aug 16, 2017

NealM said:
Everybody works differently, but in my experiences it's probably this. I've been passionate about everything I've ever written at one point or another, otherwise I never would have started to write it. But a lot of times that passion fizzles. Sometime once you execute it you realized it wasn't that good of an idea after all, otherwise you wouldn't have lost your passion. You need to be okay with that and move on to something else. Maybe you'll come back to this one, maybe you won't. I suspect the half finished ms graveyard in every working writer's hard drive is quite vast.

That said, I scrapped a project two years ago 18K words in. A few months ago I revisited the original idea but with a whole new protagonist. I started over from scratch. I'm 40K words in and more excited about it than I think I've ever been for anything I've written in my life.

This is actually sortof what I've just done! I scrapped the 5000 words, and started totally over with a new MC and she is so much more connectable! If that's a word... hopefully now there'll be some progress
Good luck with your manuscript!!

emstar94 · Aug 16, 2017

Writelock said:
Tack on an ending, no matter how contrived or crappy you might feel it is, and end the story THEN move on. Human beings are creatures of habit and if you drop a story unfinished it just becomes easier to drop another one until you end up with an entire google docs account filled with unfinished stories, articles, etc. Get into the habit of finishing every piece - even if the finish is crap. You will develop the habit of seeing a piece through if nothing else. Later on, you can always mine that story for ideas, scenes, etc.

~N

Thankyou.. have actually just tonight written a vague ending to help me visualise a little more through the vast dark tunnel that is my story currently! Good tip

Singcali · Aug 16, 2017

How is her character arc? Is there something missing that she can grow into? Perhaps thinking about that might help you get obsessive again.

I changed one of the characters in my novel and focusing on that heped me get through the difficulty.

What is she missing and how can she grow. If you know what you want her to be, you can plan the set ups.

Hope this helps. Good luck and I hope you find your obsession with your novel.

Caroline

gmwhitley · Aug 17, 2017

When I get stuck I move on to another project for a while - write a short story, add something to a backburner novel, work on my volunteer gig writing a cappella features. I heard somewhere that Isaac Asimov always had a bunch of projects going and he would write continuously, moving from one book to the next and that was how he was so prolific.

I had the same trouble with the MC of my YA novel draft - I wasn't clear who she was - everything happened around her and to her, but she wasn't real. It took until draft 3 to really nail the problem (I think). Sometimes it just takes time - if you can write everything around the character, the character might emerge mid-draft then you can go back and fix the earlier section?

Getting SO frustrated. Cannot connect to MC or storyline. Passion just poofs.

emstar94

Fruitbat

.

MerriTudor

thejenmath

JJ Litke

People are not wearing enough hats

dirtsider

Not so new, really

Layla Nahar

Seashell Seller

Nerdilydone

emstar94

Fruitbat

.

NealM

Writelock

Tribal Wanderer

emstar94

emstar94

Singcali

gmwhitley