Not being able to finish a novel

It's a common problem. When I get a new shiny idea, I write it on an index card, toss it into a box, and (most importantly) get back to work on my current WIP. I make myself finish and submit everything I start.

Yeah, I always have more shiny ideas than time to write them down. But I've discovered that the ideas often become a lot less shiny if you let them sit for a month or so.

There's nothing wrong with working on multiple projects at the same time (I do it), as long as you still get things finished.

I have one I didn't finish. I read a book that was very similar to my half written book and became disenchanted.
I'm going to yank bits of what I like out and use it elsewhere.

I currently have 2 projects I've let fall to the wayside (out of 6 projects) - both have been left behind to make way for first NaNoWriMo, and then the sister-project of this month, Script Frenzy. I finished the NaNo in December (124k) but I won't finish my TV show this month, or the month after.

In fact, in May I'll be going back to the first project I let fall behind, which is a sequel to my first ever novel. Then I'll write the third book in that series. Then I'll consider coming back and completely rewriting the first book (I have my reasons - but I want to give myself plenty of time to mull it over). Then I'll come back to the scripts and finish off season one of the 16-episode TV show, if I can.

While writing the scripts I'll be submitting the trilogy. While finishing off the trilogy, I'll be submitting 2 of my other projects that are already finished. If one of those gets picked up, then I'll put the scripts away and work on a sequel to the one that was picked up.

So basically, that will be the rest of this year - for the most part I'll have one 10k novel that has been left behind till times unknown (next year some time probably) and my scripts which will take so long for so few ks, and not relevant to my career until I've sold the trilogy, which will be left behind to make way for more relevant progress.

But I fully intend to come back to everything.

I think the trick is to stop yourself from writing for just a moment to make an index page of all your stories. In this index write down everything the story means to you. Pick your favourite - don't pick the one that you think will be most successful. Pick your favourite, and write it like the wind. It's like the bandaid trick - fast is painless. You have a wound - you can't finish a project. So you need to be quick - get the first draft of your favourite story all written up in under a month (it's easily possible, even if you have a full time job and a family - you just have to have dedication, or so everyone here says so - personally I don't have a job/wife/kids, but I can still write a novel in a month).

In a month's time, you'll have a finished first draft and a headache and a desire for a holiday. No. Don't do it. Go instead to your second favourite story in that list. Any new ideas you had while writing that first one should've been saved into the file under the heading "New ideas" - don't make notes on what you like about those stories, just write down the premise and move on. Okay, so you go to the second favourite. Now you're wound is starting to heal, so this bandaid can come off slower. Write fast, but allow yourself a little more down time. Aim for a month and a half.

Okay, so you're almost there. Third time's the charm. Pick your third favourite story from that initial list - note that your list of new ideas is growing quickly. That's okay, it's natural. Just bypass them for a while. Now, here's the real trick. Don't set yourself a time limit. Just write as you feel like it, and any new ideas you get, feel free to write down what they mean to you and what you like about them. If you can finish this third book, give yourself a holiday. Switch over to editing the 3 completed books, and submitting them, before you go back to work.

A nice trick: If, during this third project, you feel yourself consumed with desire to move on to something else, don't worry - you're just relapsing. Set yourself a time limit and write like the wind on the project you were already working on. Consider this a mild infection in your wound, and the time limit is the soothing cream, a helping hand to get you through.

After the 3 are finished, after you've edited them (hint, try editing all of them in one month - you've already developed a work ethic by sticking to time limits, so you may as well try and get used to the pace you'd probably have to work at if you ever became a full-time writer) - then you can go on holiday for real by submitting the work and not worrying anymore - it's in someone else's hands now.

You'll see in time whether you've been cured or not.

(Note: the method I mention - tailor it to your situation. Your mileage may vary.)

Whew. Long post. I'm tired now. But at least I stayed on topic for once!

I have that problem too. And I'll tell you what I do.

I make a note. Lots of notes sometimes. On the idea that has come.

Then-

I SET IT ASIDE

i force myself to finish what I am working on before starting something new. that way the anticipation biulds, and builds, until I am able to start work on the new idea, and then the idea just pours out.

I've had stories I never finished. Sometimes it's because I lose interest in a story, other times it's because I realize the story isn't working and I don't have the pieces yet to make it work.

It sounds like you enjoy the shiny new feeling of a new book, which is fine. I get new ideas all the time, too, and it's hard not to go write them, especially when a project you're currently working on is hitting the boggy middle or getting harder to write. I have one now I'm dying to drop everything and go write, but it'll be next year before I can. It's hard sometimes.

I suggest a few things you might try.

1. You might not yet be at the stage were you're ready to finish an entire novel. You may still be working on skills, and when you do get to that next stage, you'll finish a story with little problem. Everyone works at their own pace, so maybe this is just your process right now. If it is, don't stress an have fun.

2. Decide right now that you will pick one story and tell it to the end. Any time a new story idea pops into your head, take a minute to write it down, but don't start that story. Get the ideas on paper and out of your system.

3. Set a goal (or lots of goals). Once chapter a week. 500 words a day. Whatever works for your writing style. Pick a point where you want a first draft done, figure out a reasonable quota for getting there by that date, and go for it. I advise not being too ambitious here, as missing a goal a few times will only make it that much easier to stop. Make it something you can do fairly easily so you see progress.

4. If your dream is to one day sell and publish a novel, make a little note on your monitor to remind you. "You can't sell a novel until you finish it." Give yourself that little nudge so you don't forget what you're working toward. Eventually you'll have to be able to write on deadline, so you might as well start developing those skills now.

5. Maybe you can't finish because you don't know how it ends. Try doing a rough synopsis and tell the story from start to finish. It doesn't have to be perfect and parts can be vague, but figure out where it needs to go and what you have to do to write your characters there.

Good luck!

Some people say that writing an outline makes them fall out of love with the story. I say that I look forward to writing it a little bit less when I know where it's going, but it becomes easier once I've convinced myself to put butt in chair.

If you can outline, it might help. Just gotta convince yourself to work on the story, and whether you feel the same love for it or not, you just gotta do it.

Well, okay, technically speaking you don't have to do anything you don't want to do, but you were asking for advice, and in addition to what I said earlier I think Danthia's suggestion of outline or synopsis is great - whether you know where the story is going or not.

Yeah, I have that problem too. Mostly, I think it's a matter of self-discipline. Yeah, it's hard to finish, but you have to MAKE yourself finish it. Simple as that.

If you're up for a challenge, get over to the "Finish the Damn Book" thread in the AW Roundtable.

I only find the beginning difficult to start, because it is daunting to look at how much lies ahead, but once I get a dozen or so chapters into the book it practically finishes itself.

I also have a hard time finishing things if there is no deadline to meet. Sure, I set goals and deadlines for myself, but I often lack the self-discipline to stick to them.

My solution: getting other people to crack the whip at me. For finishing the rough draft and most important scenes in my book, I set up a critique circle with other writers, which forced me to produce something for them on time. For actually finishing the damn manuscript, even though my inner editor keeps yelling that it's all crap and I should delete this or that, I have set up firm dates with three beta readers. And they keep sending me little reminders like "So, how far along are you?", "Can't wait till fall", which gives me the little gasp of panic necessary.
Like it or not, I have to finish the bloody thing by fall...

It might sound a little harsh or pretentious but try this:

You're not allowed to call yourself a writer until you've written one book right to the end. It doesn't matter if it's a crappy first draft or the version you're happy for the world to see. You're not a writer until you do that.

Danthia said:

2. Decide right now that you will pick one story and tell it to the end. Any time a new story idea pops into your head, take a minute to write it down, but don't start that story. Get the ideas on paper and out of your system.

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This is what has worked for me.

Chasing the Horizon said:

Yeah, I always have more shiny ideas than time to write them down. But I've discovered that the ideas often become a lot less shiny if you let them sit for a month or so.

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This.

I have a file on my computer for all those shiny ideas. I just went through the file (and boy, it's long) a few days ago, and some of the ideas are total crap. There are a few gems in there, though.

That said, I do also have trouble finishing projects, but my problem is that I get hung up on making it perfect as I go along. I'm trying to train myself to just get it on paper and save the editing for later.

Best of luck.

Smish

I finish about half of what I start, which usually amounts to three or four finished books a year.

Because finishing anything is the most difficult part, whether it be writing, a painting, music, whatever. We all start off with wonderful ideas, but as a piece progresses, choices need to be made, possibilities narrow, and you realize that the execution, inevitably, falls woefully short of the concept.

Concepts are easy. It's the implementation that's hard. Some people give up in frustration; some simply "lose interest." But both of those come from the same place -- the fact that it's so difficult to create a complete work and make it good.

You just need to decide if you want to be a writer, which is hard work, or a writing dilettante, which is much more fun, actually.

You finish or you fail. It's really just this simple. Convince yourself of this, and finishing becomes the goal. Until and unless you finsih, you haven't done anything at all. Starting doesn't count.

You've gotten a lot of advice in this thread. None of it is wrong. There is no one way to reach the end nor is their one reason you might be failing to reach the end, but what it often boils down to is, what few people will tell you is: At a certain point, writing becomes work. If you want to make a living at this, if you want to be published and thought a professional and to consistently produce, then, even during the points when placing words on the page becomes drudgery, you have to keep writing. You don't quit a job just because it has suddenly become routine. You keep going in day after day, page after page, until you've reached the next project that excites you or the next level of your career. Because, part of what it means to be a professional is do to the less-than-fun stuff, too. To write even when you don't want to, to keep after a project even after the shine has worn off.

Jot down your ideas if you must (that's what your notepads are for), but finish what you started. Yeah, it's work and it's not always fun and game. If you get bored and find yourself starting on other projects without finishing what you started, then you're creating a habit of... well... never finishing anything.

A novelist is not a novelist unless he or she finishes the work, types "The End" and then rewrites and polishes the "work." I've seen so many writers start a million projects but never actually sit down long enough to finish them. What a shame.

Here's what I wrote on my blog a while ago. Pay special attention to #2.

seun said:

It might sound a little harsh or pretentious but try this:

You're not allowed to call yourself a writer until you've written one book right to the end. It doesn't matter if it's a crappy first draft or the version you're happy for the world to see. You're not a writer until you do that.

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this.

And what about freelancers who make a living writing newsletters or magazine articles? What about greeting card writers? What about people who are interested in other types of writing other than novels? When are they allowed to call themselves writers?

Birol said:

And what about freelancers who make a living writing newsletters or magazine articles? What about greeting card writers? What about people who are interested in other types of writing other than novels? When are they allowed to call themselves writers?

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When I say they are. (...is joke, okay?)

#1. Hey, how's that story coming. It sounded exciting when you described it. I'd really like to read it.
#2. It's not finished. I got a great idea for another story so I had to get that one down while it was fresh in my mind.
#1. If it's better than the first one, I really want to read it. Can I?
#2. Naw. Part way through I had this other idea that just hijacked my mind and wouldn't leave me alone. There is no way I could finish the other stories until I gave in to this new one. Words have been just flying onto the page.
#1. Wow. That's great. When can I read that one?
#2. I don't know. I had this dream last night, and I got up immediately and jotted down the basics of a totally new and awesome story.
#1. Never mind.