Start, stop, start, stop, delete, start, stop. I need help!

Are you using an outline? If so, just treat each chapter as a short story (if you're more comfortable writing shorter lengths).

Jamie has a great suggestion. Go with what you are comfortable with. I find that i do my best writing in short spurts, no more than 1000 words and set it aside for a day then go back. There are times when I'll hit that mark two times a day after letting it rest for a length of time and then continuing on with the drive. Hang in there and don't be so judgmental just yet. You don't have enough substance to judge a novel after 1000 words.

Don't allow yourself to read what you've already written, just keep forging ahead. Info dumps and telling are fine in the first draft. You'll fix it all in the second draft, or however many it takes. First thing is to just get the story down. Some think of their first drafts as more of an outline. If you keep deleting it all you won't have anything to work with.

I may not exactly be the best person to answer this - I've never actually finished a novel. But my most recent attempt has been the most successful for one reason: I'm not editing. As much as it kills me to do so when I go back to check a detail and see something I want to change, I leave it alone and vow to come back to it later. Same thing goes for anything I've just written. Unless it's a simple spelling error, once it hits paper (or word document), it's there until the rough draft is done.

The way I see it, rough drafts are meant to be exactly that: rough. If it's that bad, chances are you won't miss it when you come back to it the second time round.

Here's what I do to keep myself from deleting during NaNo (since word count is crucial then, ya know): whatever I think is crap gets bolded. It stays, but it's bold and easy to find later to re-consider for deletion.

You could try that, or if the bold bothers you, highlight the parts you're tempted to delete and change the font to a different, lighter color. Maybe a nice pink or robin's-egg blue. At least that will give you time to reconsider your decision to scrap it (there might be gold in them thar words), and you get the added benefit of moving forward in the story.

Or, instead of removing the delete key, just put a piece of tape over it, on which you've written "Never gonna finish" (in very small print, I suppose).

I type messages to myself in the ms in another font color and caps

ie. *BIG INFO DUMP* Then I know I'll spot it later. Push through the doubt, Meow. You're a good writer. I know you can do it.

Keep going. Get it down on paper, er screen. Sometimes when I am writing I am convinced it is utter crap and then when I go back to it later (much later), it's better than I recalled. Just sorta crap. Hee hee.

Plow forward. Fix later.

Good luck!!

MeowGirl said:

Lately, I've been having trouble getting into the groove and NOT hitting the Delete key. I'm finding that I'll write 500 or 1000 words, look at it and decide that it's an info dump/tell instead of show/boring passage/generally sucky writing, hit the Delete key, then start over again.

Click to expand...

I was stuck in that same pattern recently, so I asked Uncle Jim to personally give me permission to write crap. He did, complete with certificate, which I've got posted in plain view. It's just a silly psychological trick, but it works. I've added almost 6,000 words to my WIP since then. And the crap level actually diminished.

MeowGirl said:

Lately, I've been having trouble getting into the groove and NOT hitting the Delete key. I'm finding that I'll write 500 or 1000 words, look at it and decide that it's an info dump/tell instead of show/boring passage/generally sucky writing, hit the Delete key, then start over again. I feel like someone learning how to drive a stick shift.

This is NO way to write a story, especially a novel. This is my third try writing a novel after writing several shorts, so obviously I'm judging my work far too soon when I'm barely 1% into the first draft. Maybe I should take the Delete key off my keyboard until the first draft is done? HELP!

Click to expand...

I've been there before. I think the key is to just realize it's a first draft and no matter what it's going to be kinda crappy. Just forge ahead, and don't worry about editing, about how to pitch it, about what an audience will want/not want - that's all for later. Just write what comes naturally. Keep looking forward, don't turn back, forge ahead - make it fun, enjoy it, love it, get lost in it. Then, when you've finished, go back and tear it apart. It can be frustrating, but ultimately, immensely rewarding.

MeowGirl, it's okay to write crap. Promise. You won't have to chuck the whole thing if the first draft isn't perfect. Just write to The End. I give you permission to be imperfect and write sucky first draft prose that no one but you ever has to read.

MeowGirl said:

Lately, I've been having trouble getting into the groove and NOT hitting the Delete key. I'm finding that I'll write 500 or 1000 words, look at it and decide that it's an info dump/tell instead of show/boring passage/generally sucky writing, hit the Delete key, then start over again. I feel like someone learning how to drive a stick shift.

This is NO way to write a story, especially a novel. This is my third try writing a novel after writing several shorts, so obviously I'm judging my work far too soon when I'm barely 1% into the first draft. Maybe I should take the Delete key off my keyboard until the first draft is done? HELP!

Click to expand...

My Emphasis.


If you're in your First Draft, do what Uncle Jim always does. Give yourself permission -- write it down, if you have to -- to write crap.

You can always edit your work when you get the First Draft finished. But for right now, just so you can get it down in tangible form, give yourself the permission to write crap.


I hope this helps. Best wishes to you with your WIP.

Sean D. Schaffer said:

If you're in your First Draft, do what Uncle Jim always does. Give yourself permission -- write it down, if you have to -- to write crap.

Click to expand...

Uncle Jim has an official certificate of permission for us to write crap.

However, since different images resonate with different people, here's another way to think of it:

You have an Inner Creative Writer who is shy and sensitive, and an Inner Editor/Critiquer who is assertive and judgmental. Among other reasons for the difference, most of your teachers in school gave your Inner Editor/Critiquer plenty of praise, but either ignored or frowned at your Inner Creative Writer.

The first draft belongs to the Inner Creative Writer, but she* needs a safe place in which to work. A single word of criticism may silence her. Unfortunately, the Inner Editor/Critiquer can't resist the temptation to comment. Banish him* for the duration. This is difficult. He's very good at pushing his way back in. You may need a dungeon to lock him up.

After the first draft is complete, give your Inner Creative Writer lots of praise. Then let the Inner Editor/Critquer come back to take charge of revision. It's OK, although painful, for the Inner Creative Writer to stay and watch. She may wince frequently, but she rarely gathers enough indignation to attempt interference.

*Yes, my Inner Creative Writer is female, while my Inner Editor/Critiquer is male. Yours may vary. Yours may not even be human--perhaps they are a butterfly and a tiger, or a fairy and an ogre. Whatever works.

Keep a taser around. Every time you hit delete, taser yourself. You'll get out of the habit quickly.

Also, perhaps you're just having a block? My blocks can last for months at a time. If I'm not in the mood to write, then I don't write. Then, when I do get in the mood, I only have to do minor edits and the story turns out wonderfully.

TsukiRyoko said:

If I'm not in the mood to write, then I don't write. Then, when I do get in the mood, I only have to do minor edits and the story turns out wonderfully.

Click to expand...

Tsuki, you're one of my favorite people on these boards, but the advice to write only when in the mood is something that has me banging my head. If you want to do this for a living, mood can't factor into it; you have to be able to write regardless of what the artistic muse is doing.

Birol said:

Tsuki, you're one of my favorite people on these boards, but the advice to write only when in the mood is something that has me banging my head. If you want to do this for a living, mood can't factor into it; you have to be able to write regardless of what the artistic muse is doing.

Click to expand...

While I agree that writing every day is the best thing to when trying to make a living-and a wonderful practice for any writer to make a habit of- I also believe that writing when you're in the mood works wonders for these blocks. I've suffered Excessive Delete Button Syndrome before and, in my experience, the best thing to do is give your muse a little time to marinate (this goes especially for starting new projects). Once you get the ball rolling you have to get into the habit of writing everyday, but for new projects I don't think that pushing yourself when your artistic drive is low is essential.

Rip the delete key off your keyboard or use one of those public computers that don't have one (makes them useful at last). If it is crap, just save it to a backup folder for later. It means you can safely ignore crap writing if you want without getting bogged down by the delete key.

Edit after it is all written!!

Yep -- to paraphrase the Zen aphorism, "when you write, just write." Save the editing for when you're... well, editing.

You might have to dissuade yourself from simple deletions. I used to work with a Brother standalone WP that was a dream, & it had a key that was essentially "delete previous word." I knew a few others with the same machine & this key would drive 'em nuts, but to me it was a godsend -- I could be flying along, not even looking at the screen, & realise that I already had a better word for what I was trying to say, so bink & it was gone, hardly a hiccup in my workstream.

You could also disable the delete key -- at least, my version of Word allows me to kill almost any commands, which is fortunate because my devil-take-the-hindmost banzai-charge key-hammering is dangerous when the Ctrl or Alt keys are so danged close to hand.

Another possibility would be to get yourself a plain old typewriter & turn the WP off for a month. (You might work on a different project on the typer.) Get used to cranking your words out, & editing later. It's still fair to keep a pen handy to line out gaffes, but otherwise you can force yourself to finish the page before hacking -- no Wite-Out or any other crutch.

TsukiRyoko said:

Once you get the ball rolling you have to get into the habit of writing everyday, but for new projects I don't think that pushing yourself when your artistic drive is low is essential.

Click to expand...

I can agree there is some benefit to planning out new projects before proceeding to write. The problem is that so many individuals take this advice and begin to use the excuse that they are "researching" by surfing the net or reading the forums or doing whatever, to procrastinate on writing anything at all for far too long.

Like so much else, there has to be balance.

Write the first draft. Fix it on the second.

So long as the words move the story along they're enough for first draft. Then when you get into edit mode you can take those sections and rewrite them. It's much easier to rewrite once you've got a full draft.