Writers block due to no confidence in my writing style

LadyA said:

I tend to lean towards 3rd person omnipotent (or is it omniscient - i never paid attention in R.E!) and after learning that a YA 3rd person omni MS will NEVER be published from numerous people, i can't bring myself to write another 50,000 word book only for my attempt at limited to turn into omni, and my book be wasted.

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I don't think it would be hard to edit a book written in 3rd person omni to be 3rd person limited.

First, I would get a book on POV - the one I read is The Power Of Point Of View available on Amazon. Second, post snippets of your work on the SYW forum and see if anyone can help you to edit it to 3rd person limited.

Sit down and write it. The only way you can get through block (if it actually exists - there's a lot of people around here who'll tell you it doesn't) is by forcing yourself to put words down on paper. That's all there is to it.

Bear in mind that your book might be the one that sells even though it's in the 'wrong' POV, but it will never sell if you don't write it first.

LadyA said:

and after learning that a YA 3rd person omni MS will NEVER be published from numerous people

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Whoever told you that is full of poop. It's not true.

LadyA said:

Hello all
i can't write a thing! (oh really? how did this post get on to the page?)
Having seen all the fabulous, 3rd person limited sections of books people post, or books i read, i have totally lost confidence in my writing. I tend to lean towards 3rd person omnipotent (or is it omniscient - i never paid attention in R.E!) and after learning that a YA 3rd person omni MS will NEVER be published from numerous people, i can't bring myself to write another 50,000 word book only for my attempt at limited to turn into omni, and my book be wasted. every time i sit in front of my computer with the WiP up on my screen, i keep thinking that it'll be a waste of time - although i love writing i could never write a book knowing that it'll just stay as a word document and never have any hope of being anything else.

Another thing is that I'm stuck on the section where the MC has just told the LI that she's pregnant, and I'm stuck on his reaction - he's supposed to be confused, angry, and (as its too late for an abortion and he wouldn't want her to have one anyway as he's a catholic) totally terrified about what they're going to do.

What shall i do?

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I'd reccomend two things. ah - nope three things

1) Make your immediate goal the completion of your first draft.

2) set aside all concerns about your writing and think only of your story. (the quality of your writing is the concern for your revision. The completeness of your story is the concern for your rough draft)

3) When you get stuck for what happens next, make lists.
Do you take a lunch break, or have time between classes? keep an appointment with yourself at least once a week, and write at least 1 question about your story and come up with at least 5 different answers for that question. Write 5 answers, not 5 good answers. If you give too much thought to the quality of the answer you may stall. the first answer will be the most obvious. Two answers are likely to be stupid (remember, the goal is *5 answers* not 5 *good* answers. Let the dreck flow.) Of the other two you'll end up with some good material. Make this a practice and your subconscious will get more and more used to sending you fitting solutions to your stuck places in your stories.

keep at it!

LN

Never say never with the publishing industry.

It's probably got a slim chance in omniscient, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

If you DO want to change it, it would be fairly easy. It might take two or three days of concentrated effort. You can put that in, right?

Layla Nahar said:

I'd reccomend two things. ah - nope three things

1) Make your immediate goal the completion of your first draft.

2) set aside all concerns about your writing and think only of your story. (the quality of your writing is the concern for your revision. The completeness of your story is the concern for your rough draft)

3) When you get stuck for what happens next, make lists.
Do you take a lunch break, or have time between classes? keep an appointment with yourself at least once a week, and write at least 1 question about your story and come up with at least 5 different answers for that question. Write 5 answers, not 5 good answers. If you give too much thought to the quality of the answer you may stall. the first answer will be the most obvious. Two answers are likely to be stupid (remember, the goal is *5 answers* not 5 *good* answers. Let the dreck flow.) Of the other two you'll end up with some good material. Make this a practice and your subconscious will get more and more used to sending you fitting solutions to your stuck places in your stories.

keep at it!

LN

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This is all good advice, and you should take it to heart. A large part of writing is consistency, and having a set time every week or (preferably) every day that never changes is one sure-fire way to put your mind into creative mode. The first couple of times it will be hard, but you'll soon get used to it and you'll find that you're bursting with ideas when you're writing time rolls around.

I don't know if you've ever taken part in NaNoWriMo, but one of the key things that the people who do it talk about time and again is turning off your 'inner editor' for the first draft. The first draft is not the place to worry about creating perfect prose (though some people can and do write publishable first draft). The first time through the story, just focus on telling it to yourself and getting to the end. I've heard a lot of people call the first draft the discovery part of the novel. I like that.

What I'm trying to say and taking a while about is simple. Just write, and write and write some more until you feel like you can write THE END. Onlythen should you worry about whether it is or isn't publishable, and what you can do you make it perfect.

An, of course, this is all just my opinion, and YMMV.

LadyA said:

Hello all

I am hoping someone will be able to help me - i can't write a thing!
Having seen all the fabulous, 3rd person limited sections of books people post, or books i read, i have totally lost confidence in my writing. I tend to lean towards 3rd person omnipotent (or is it omniscient - i never paid attention in R.E!) and after learning that a YA 3rd person omni MS will NEVER be published from numerous people, i can't bring myself to write another 50,000 word book only for my attempt at limited to turn into omni, and my book be wasted. every time i sit in front of my computer with the WiP up on my screen, i keep thinking that it'll be a waste of time - although i love writing i could never write a book knowing that it'll just stay as a word document and never have any hope of being anything else.

Another thing is that I'm stuck on the section where the MC has just told the LI that she's pregnant, and I'm stuck on his reaction - he's supposed to be confused, angry, and (as its too late for an abortion and he wouldn't want her to have one anyway as he's a catholic) totally terrified about what they're going to do.

What shall i do?

Click to expand...

If, while you're writing, there's a little voice in the back of your mind telling you that this is a waste of time, then you won't be able to fully engage with your story. I work as a writer and lemme say, work has been pretty sketchy for the past few years. Sketchy as in non-existent. However, I had to keep producing material. I have NEVER had writer's block before but I sure did then. Couldn't write anything that felt at all satisfactory. Because all I did was second-guess it. And not really the heart of the story, or the characters, but the market. Why should I bother? Nobody's going to read it anyway.

Do you have to think about the market? Sure. And sometimes, it's the most important thing. But for you right now, it's not. Just think about your story. reinvest in it. As for what your character should do and how he should react, talk it out. Talk about who your character is, and you will eventually arrive at a way to go. Not necessarily THE way, but a way that will make you happy enough that you can move on with the story. NOTHING is set in stone, so let yourself just write. If you're waffling about the POV and the market and how worthless all of this is because you're never going to sell it, then you're going about it the wrong way. Get all that crud out of your head and focus on the writing!

Finish the story. If you change your mind on the POV, try writing a few new chapters from that POV first before going back and editing the ones you've already written. I don't know how many times I've talked to people who didn't finish a story because they were too busy editing (me included). Get a first draft out, and then make some decisions about POV and other editing/plot concerns.

Chances are, you'll want to write the scene in a few different ways. Maybe a line of dialogue seems stifled or you don't like a particular turn of phrase. That's ok. But make sure you're not forgetting that the goal is to finish the story. Whatever method gets you there faster, go for it.

Just write it, and don't worry about it. You'd probably suck the first time around, but you are going to break the block and you can improve on your first copy Try playacting. Get an empty chair and pretend to be one of your characters and get into the mood... that's how you're going to get a feel of how one should act and make it easier for you.