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How do you keep momentum

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pandora1983

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this is just a suggestion...but try your scenes from different angles. Write from a different characters pov..or in a diff pov altogether. Try writing it like a screenplay..or like an interview of the characters after the fact.
maybe that will get te creative juices flowing
 

jaksen

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I am not an expert in this, but I think perhaps you are someone who needs an outline, or a path to follow, in order to get that novel completed.

Even if it's a simple outline, detailing a few scenes, or where your MC is beginning and where you want to take him or her.

Then write the scenes which really capture your imagination. Once you get the momentum, it's often very hard to lose it.
 

Bookmama

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One other suggestion, if you'll pardon my language, but I was at a writing conference and a very successful writer said that her best advice was to sit down and make yourself finish that "shitty first draft." She said that only by calling it that, was she able to really accept that the first draft would be.... well not good. BUT... only by having a first draft could she have a second one.

In terms of if I feel like my story is starting to get flat or boring... I always ask myself, what could happen that would make this situation (the one the MC is in) worse? The idea is to keep the tension mounting.

I also think an outline is a good idea for some folks. Worth a try, right?
 

Layla Nahar

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What if you try redefining the goal for your current work in a different way? I can give you an example from my experience. After many years of wanting to write a story I finally finished a first draft of a screen play. The story was in place, but with notes for revision in some parts of the narrative - example being a note to my self about what should happen in a scene 'The Bronze Fairy says something that makes Nora cry' - so I still had to actually write that part out. I had finished my first draft of the story, but it still wasn't something that I could show anyone. So I wanted to write a revision that I could show to people. When I put it to myself in those terms, I was completely unable to write the revision. I'd sit in front of the computer and feel terrible, scared, etc. So I re-defined my goal in neutral terms, from "I want to make this 3rd party readable" to 'I want to write a draft such that each sentence is complete, grammatically correct and connects logically to the sentence before and after it." With that re-statement, I was able to sit down and make the changes. So simple, yet made such a big difference.
 
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Jonathan.Bentz

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Often times for me, writer's block comes from having too many ideas and trying to get out too much detail. When this happens, I write out the 'beat points', as I call them, in a layout. I have 4 beat points per chapter. 'Beat Points', for me, are the main events surrounding a chapter. I treat each chapter as a sort of 'miniature story' on it's own. Sometimes that can often help me work faster.
This is an example of my 'beat points' idea:
Chapter One.
- Protagonist arranges a meeting with love interest (LI), during which the Protagonist's secret is revealed.
- Protagonist attempts to cover the secret, but causes more questions while doing so.
- LI and Protagonist meet again, and the Protagonist must decide whether to reveal the truth.
- Antagonist attacks the location where the Protagonist is, launching the conflict of the story.

These 'beat points' are actually the basic plot for the first chapter of my action novel, White Dragon Command.

However, for my sci fi novel, I had to construct a more in-depth plot outline for it. I have only 8 of the 16 or 17 chapters outlined, and I'm already a quarter of the way through the fourth chapter. Once I reach chapter ten, I'll be able to know exactly where the novel should go based on the information available, and finish drafting the plot.

Hope this helps you and others.
 

Chicago Expat

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After an extended period of no writing, I found upon my return that all kinda of rust had built up. The rust spread across the whole gamut from vocabulary to story development. What worked to get rid of it (and get me back into writing shape) was to keep a journal. Not so much a dear-diary run down of my day, but more of a page a day stream of conscious exercise. I would let my mind wander upon an excellent first line and then just take off from there. It wasn't supposed to be coherent, necessarily, but one sentence had to build from the last. It helped get my vocabulary fluid again and shed some of the self-consciousness that was inhibiting my return to writing.

Find ways to achieve tiny writing victories: a nice sentence, a fun rant, an insightful character sketch. Your confidence will build from there.

Good luck.
 

milkymoon

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One other suggestion, if you'll pardon my language, but I was at a writing conference and a very successful writer said that her best advice was to sit down and make yourself finish that "shitty first draft." She said that only by calling it that, was she able to really accept that the first draft would be.... well not good. BUT... only by having a first draft could she have a second one.


Thank you for this! It is very good advice! When I started my current venture I kept it in my head that it was a first draft and I just had to get it on paper. Somewhere along the line I got a little bit lost in the whole thing and would re-read bits and think "well that's shit" and lose confidence. Thank you for reminding me that I'm being an idiot!! Of course it's shit. It's a first draft, d'uh!

x
 
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milkymoon

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Hi Jonathon, I like the idea of splitting the chapter into four parts. I only ever write a sentence for what I want to cover. No wonder I get lost in a sea of confusion sometimes! x
 

milkymoon

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Here's a trick I've been using that seems to work fairly well. I have a place by my window that's very comfortable. I can see the street from there so it's a handy spot to people watch. Whenever I'm there the following rules apply:

-my laptop must run of it's battery. This means I have no longer than 1 hour 20 minutes at the table.
-internet is out of bounds. If there's something I want to research I write it on the pad beside me. I will do it later.
-no editing. Just ploughing straight ahead.
-my aim - write as much as possible.

I also keep a bottle of water and some snacks handy so I have no excuse to move! and then I write. If I lose inspiration I people watch. but rarely has that happened.

I find it helpful to have rules and boundaries. Then I know that I only have to devote this section of my day to writing and everything else is a bonus!
 

mar quest

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It seems that you do well when you have a deadline. You probably need someone to hold you accountable for not finishing your work. A writing buddy/partner might help.
 

bglashbrooks

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I've suffered two major bouts of writer's block (once when my mom was diagnosed with cancer--she's fine, now & when I was pregnant because I could not stay awake or stop...experiencing morning sickness...long enough to type or plot) and even after these events the block continued. One just ended recently (baby is almost 4.5 months old).

I had to ask myself each time: Did I enjoy reading what I'd previously written?

At these times in my life I didn't enjoy reading (for whatever reason). And I didn't enjoy writing.

I think your problem stems from unrealistic expectations from yourself. I have also written copy for a living and have worked many, many times under deadlines. It is a different ball game. Most times, it is even completely anonymous. If it flops, no one will know it's your work (maybe).

Writing fiction is not like that. Your name is attached to each fiction piece you write--forever. I think many of us get overwhelmed by that and the fear of people not liking what we write.

I got over my writer's block (even though it's still slow going--I only wrote 300 words today, when I used to be able to shoot at 3000) by reminding myself that I am not writing stories for publication or for everyone else. I am writing these stories because I need to know what happens to the characters. I am writing for ME first. No one else.

And above all...I write to entertain myself.

Are you entertaining yourself when you write?

If not, you may need to do some soul searching to find the root causes of your block.

HTH
 
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