LiamJackson said:
If I understand correctly, you have moments of inspiration and begin a story. Then, at some point, writing ceases to be "inspired" and becomes drudgery.
That's it
LiamJackson said:
First, back away from writitng, until the bug really hits you again, then take your story out of the desk drawer and look at it with a fresh eye.
(This may work for some, but if I tried it, I'd never get past "...it was a dark and stormy night.")
Done this numerous times, and I've never gotten back to it.
LiamJackson said:
I've hit that damn wall myself, and the only way I can get past it is to "stick with BIC." (Butt in Chair) usually, if I keep writing, I hit another one of those inspired moments and the story comes to life again.
Good to know. It might be when I reach page 40 (something I've never done) it will all flow once more.
LiamJackson said:
The third solution is to work from an outline. Storyboard the tale first, and let it help you through the tough spots.
That's what I'm doing right now (thanks to this thread). In the past I've also been stuck with "well where do I go from here?" This time I know exactly where to go.
alaskamatt17 said:
I used to do that, and there would be days where it just wasn't fun. Then, I learned about outlining. Now I don't need inspiration (though I gladly take it when it comes), I just stick to my plan, and hammer out 2,000 words per day.
Hopefully I'll be able to become so self-disciplined that I can do that. At the moment, the fact I'm "bulling" my way through is an achievment
lindylou45 said:
Perhaps you need to think about whether you really want to write. It's not horrible if you don't want to write, just choose something else to do.
In the past I have done that. I've resigned myself to the fact, I'm just not made for it. After all, I've been starting stories since I was 8. However I always keep starting up once more, because I do enjoy starting stories so much. It seems to be, no matter how much I have failed, I'll keep trying to write stories.
brokenfingers said:
I ran into this also. What I did was to take all my characters, factions, organizations, governments etc. (I'm writing a fantasy) and make a list of all the possible conflicts that were possible between them.
Then I would choose a conflict and write a big scene (or scenes). I would throw everything I could into it too, figuring it'd be better to write it "hot" and get everything I could into it and then edit it later. The writing wound up being fun and got me over the "hump".
Thanks, I'll certainly give that a go.
Mistook said:
Also, there's this knowledge of word-count looming over me. I'm at nearly 40 thousand words. I have to tackle all the remaining B.S. in about that same span, but I've only just set it up! I've only just gotten the story to cook!
Can I handle the second half? Am I worthy? Will I screw it up so badly that they put my photo in the dictionary, under Disappointment?
Has anyone bought the story from you? If not, you don't have a word limit. Write as much as you need to, if you need to, you can cut out a sub-plot or two, or split it up into several books. After all, Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series (famous fantasy series) was originally meant to be a trilogy. It's now up to book ten. It would have been nowhere near as good had Robert Jordan forced himself to limit the story to a trilogy.
This guy wrote an article in July 2002 about how he had a 3 year plan. He was going to write 3 books in 3 years and sell them or he'd quit. That was in 1994. He didn't write 3 books, he wrote 1 monster-sized book. It was probably the size of the original 3 books. In 2002 he still hadn't sold the novel, but he hadn't given up. He was having fun.
I read that article a few days ago (I just recently started reading the e-zine) and I decided to check him out, so I did a google search.
He has a website and guess what, he's sold his first novel and it will be published later this year. Over a decade from when he first started and he's only just published his first novel.
So don't worry about word-count, write your story and only when you've hit the end should you worry about how big it is.
This coming from someone whose yet to finish his first novel
James D. Macdonald said:
Next time, rather than quitting, bull your way thorugh. And when I say bull, I mean bull. As in BS.
By "bull your way through" -- imagine that you're in a bar with your buddies. You're BSing like crazy. Just telling stories. "That reminds me," you say, "remember that chick Fred was going with? The one who used to braid her nostril hair?" And you're off.
Get the characters doing things. Move 'em around. Bring in a new character if you have to in order to liven things up, or let one of the earlier minor characters have a turn. Make stuff up.
You're competing with the TV over the bar, the pool table, and the beer for your friends' attention. (They're your friends because otherwise they wouldn't be here with you.) Give 'em some reason to listen to you, but talk regardless. Silence will for-sure turn their attention back to the TV.
You're going to revise this stuff anyway. Just get words on paper.
Next time is this time, and I'll give it a go. After all, you haven't given me permission to stop
(Funny how having someone you need "permission" from helps people. After all, you're not going to do anything if we don't do what you say. But psychologically it helps to have someone who is an authority figure). Also, if I'm finding myself bored, I'll try to BS, add ridiculous stuff that I find funny and entertaining. After all, if a published author can do it (earlier in the thread you said you add stuff in the ms that's only meant to give your partner a chuckle and not end up in the book), I'm sure I can
Thanks for all the advice and comments (even those who decided to delete their posts. It was still greatly appreciated
). And I'm glad to hear my question has helped other people too.