What's On Your Mind About Your Writing?

Once again, nothing really writing related is there yet. I'm wondering if I should but I'm still not feeling that up to it yet. I'm still way too busy.

So I wrote an ending to this novel today just to have an ending for it. It royally sucks.

I hate this novel. It will have to sit in the drawer until I don't hate it any more. I'm pencilling that in for 2042.

Right now I'm wondering how I'll ever make it through this novel. 25,000 words in, the next 5 chapters roughly outlined, and no clue where I'm going after that. Well, a very vague clue.

I spent the day designing my book cover to try to get re-motivated. The good news? The cover is awesome.

I seem to be spending more time THINKING about writing than ACTUALLY doing it.

I don't think I've worked on the same project on consecutive days in over a month. I'm inching my way through about four stories and a novel right now.

Tell yourself something enough times and you start to believe it—what you believe will eventually come about. So be kind and encourage the inner you—you are a writer, it's in there, coax it out with gentle words, bribes of chocolate if necessary.

I'm tired and going to bed—I played too hard today; my characters are too much fun.

I hate one of my character's names and yet, I can't seem to come up with anything better. It's starting to drive me a little crazy now. He's so real in my mind too - I know so much about him so why can't I give him a name that personifies the person that I see and know??

I am distracted beyond belief about this - I know it will come eventually but it's the waiting to find that name that is so very difficult.

I painted myself into a corner with one of my characters in my WIP (Detective 12). I have a hacker-type and a boss-type (committing fraud) and have somehow gotten them both mixed into the same character. I need to add a new character or company. TAKE A BREATH, he says to himself. It looks about time for some more rethinking and another reboot. I spent about 1-2 weeks rebooting my story ("novel", he says half-heartedly) into two novels in one, two points of view. Nothing to request => it is what it is.

I'm trying to think how I can take one of my ideas that's similar to a very popular series and make it my own.

I'm thinking 'hang on a minute there WriterDude, 25k words from target, and most of them acceptable, I'd better start thinking about drawing this thing to a close' 10 to 15k could easily be absorbed by plugging a few gaps and fleshing out some details.

Also wondering how I stuck to the outline and ended up with a slow burn romance interweaved with my technosocioeconomic commentary. Its a funny old world.

Also also thinking that Mark Radcliffe's Music Club on Radio 2 this evening is most excellent, but that's not really anything to do with the book.

Just had an unsolicited email from a big publisher, asking if I'm working on any YA and to please send it to them if I am.

I haven't been. I have an outline and some chapters, but I don't know if YA is really my calling in life. On the other hand, it would be criminal to waste the opportunity to get it in front of a publisher like this one.

Emails from adult mainstream/lit fiction publishers invited anytime

On a deadline. Work full time. Am tired, tired, tired.

mmm chocolate

i hate that ending and it has to go. happy ending ftw

My story's getting mighty dark. yikes. This is the first time I've written something so . . . nerve-wracking.

Did I spell that write ?

Well, I really want to work on fixing my impatience(finishing stuff, writing, etc., etc.) and things relating to that . I think if I can do that I'll be a bit more productive. Problem is, I don't really know how. Hmm.

Hm....Still thinking about how to fix my impatience. Hahah.

Embarking on a rewrite...never done one before...nervous...

I really wish I could be a pantser. I hate needing to plan. Hate it hate it hate it. I am okay with writing (most of the time), and I'm okay with revising (most of the time), but planning? Please, no.

Unfortunately, I have now written several false starts for a new WIP, and I'm pretty sure I'm going nowhere without a plan.

So now I must sit down and plan. Ugh.

katci13 said:

Embarking on a rewrite...never done one before...nervous...

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Good luck!!

Today I found out that you can’t quote song lyrics in your novel without first securing permission from the copyright holder. Now I’m going to have to delete from my MS a short quote of a song. To be safe, I’m going to delete a few other references to song titles too. Don’t wanna get sued. Ugh.

Finally back to the rewrite on one of my short stories. I keep putting it off because it's going to take a lot of work. I know, I know. This thing is going to need some serious redrafting to get into decent shape. My own fault for trying to write a story I wasn't ready for.

rwm4768 said:

I'm trying to think how I can take one of my ideas that's similar to a very popular series and make it my own.

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I'm in he exact same position. My characters go to a boarding house (not school) with classes (not magic) but my beta readers are still all comparing it to Harry Potter. Which is fair enough, but it's a pain trying to plot and coming up with something I think is great and then going, "oh no wait, there was a mention of that in the fifth book, crap".

Erin Latimer said:

I'm in he exact same position. My characters go to a boarding house (not school) with classes (not magic) but my beta readers are still all comparing it to Harry Potter. Which is fair enough, but it's a pain trying to plot and coming up with something I think is great and then going, "oh no wait, there was a mention of that in the fifth book, crap".

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Yep, I've got one of the those too. Mine is not a magical school, but there is magic, different than traditional magic and it's all underground. I keep writing around HP. I went ahead and mentioned it so it isn't the elephant in the room.

What's on my mind is that I think I'm finally settling into a writing rhythm, 28K words into my book.

So I'm totally a spurter. Wow, that sounds gross, but it's true. My maximum "sitting in one place and writing nonstop with WiFi turned off" is one hour, and I HAVE to get it done in the morning before work, with coffee by my side. Bonus points if I can write outside or by a (preferably open) window.

In addition to this, I'll do a few 10- to 15-minute editing spurts (Wi-fi off, again) throughout the day.

I've been wasting so much time telling myself, "Oh, you can write whenever, for hours, blah, blah, blah!" because it's so meandering and useless. I always end up getting distracted. But if I know the writing or editing task is confined to set, shorter periods, my productivity increases and the writing quality improves.