Long writing hiatus...

[Quossum]

Hello, all!

I'm poking my head in here after a very lengthy hiatus from writing (i.e. "hideous episode of writer's block"), hoping that visiting again will help me get back to my words.

I haven't logged on here in more than a year, and, tellingly, my last post concerned being unable to write due to a kind of fear-of-finishing. That post has been all too true. I'm to a point in a particular novel where I've got to get through the last major incident of the plot, but haven't been able to bring myself to do it. I've written a paragraph here, a page there, over the course of the past year--and this from a person who, during productive periods, fills a longhand notebook in a month or less and can type up a novel and do a preliminary edit during a summer. Pitiful.

Yet, I just haven't been able to get the BIC thing working. I put it off. I tell myself I don't have time (yet I have time to surf the 'net...). I don't know what to write (that last scene really has only one direction to go, and the scenes have been playing in my head...). I've been depressed and how can I be expected to write when I'm depressed?

All excuses, of course. So, I thought I'd come back here, start with the Writer's Block section, and hunt for inspiration.

Or...should I just get off the board and write?

--Q

 

[Fade]

Stay on and write. Hanging on absolute write is what helped me get back in the swing of things and writing.

 

[DancingMaenid]

Personally, when it comes to things like this, I find I can't really start changing things unless I realize and admit to myself what the issue is. It seems like you realize that most of your reasons for not writing are excuses, and perhaps have some idea of what's really contributing to it. Maybe addressing the real problems will lead to ways to circumvent them. For example, if being depressed is seriously affecting your productivity, it may be necessary to do something (or do more) to address the depression. Sometimes you do need to take a breather if you're depressed or under stress, and there's nothing wrong with that. But it shouldn't become an excuse to avoid things.

Besides that, BIC isn't always easy, either. Sometimes you have to push yourself. Maybe it would help to set small goals and work up. Even if you start out by telling yourself you won't check your e-mail until you've written 500 words, that's still a start.

Hanging around the forums can definitely be good inspiration, too! It's hard for me not to want to write after seeing people talk about their projects.

 

[mgnme]

Small goals!

I find that if I'm really stuck on something in a WIP, switching to another project - a small project - will really help.

So, here's a slightly altered version of BIC: you DO have to write, but you DON'T have to write the novel that's causing this block. work on a short story, a poem, an article, a journal entry, a one-act play, freewrite - anything that gets the words flowing. something just for fun. you'll be surprised how much it helps to switch projects.

 

[J.W. Alden]

I can feel for you, I had a very similar situation.

In my case, I was working on what I considered to be just about the greatest idea that I'd ever had for a novel up to that time. Not only was the story a great concept, but the main character represented a time in my life that really shaped me into the person that I am today, so it was really personal for me and I poured a lot into it.

Well, once I got about 2/3 of the way into it, I really started to hit this wall. It had never happened to me before, but I just couldn't progress. I knew where I wanted to go, where my end goal was, but I just couldn't do it. In hindsight, over a year later, now I can look back and realize what the problem was. Namely, I was stretching the story too thin. I wanted to write the Great American Novel, but really that story was meant to be told in a shorter, tighter medium, at most a novella. Instead of adjusting for that, I pushed ahead and was stretching the story unnecessarily, which of course brought the overall quality down and eventually caused me to hit a wall.

The experience scared me off of writing for a while and hurt my confidence as a writer, but I've recently rededicated myself to the craft and the dream of doing this for a living one day. I'm hard at work on a new story, have a game plan for my work and my career, and am full of energy and confidence again. A HUGE part of that has been connecting with people in the writing community due to places like this. It feels real to me again, not just some hobby or fantasy.

But, that unfinished story is still there, and I still feel it. I still have a certain fear of going back to it for some reason. I know that I will one day, maybe soon. And I know it will be a better story this time around.

 

[jeffo20]

First, welcome back, Quossum!

Second, what is the 'BIC thing' of which you speak? When I see Bic, I think of pens. I'm guessing it's some sort of writing strategy, but I'm not familiar with it.

'Fear of finishing' is a strange thing, like fear of success, and I'm not really sure how you get yourself out of it, besides writing. Maybe you need to circle around your novel a bit, play with a short story or two, just to try to get the writing muscles working again. The nice thing is, the story is still in your head, you can see those scenes there, now it's a matter of overcoming your fear and parking yourself in your chair and writing it down.

When I'm having a particularly tough time, I sometimes have three or four or five versions of one scene written all at once, so that I can play around with different possibilities. Putting something down to paper commits you to writing; it doesn't mean that scene is cast in stone. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it does have to get out of your head.

I'm probably not much help, but good luck!

 

[Layla Nahar]

Second, what is the 'BIC thing' of which you speak? When I see Bic, I think of pens. I'm guessing it's some sort of writing strategy, but I'm not familiar with it.

really? you're not being funny?

Bum In Chair

 

[Quossum]

Thank you, all, for the supportive and thoughtful responses. I'm incorporating a bit of all these suggestions, and it feels good just to hear them from fellow writers, as well. "Allowing" myself to work on other projects has been very helpful.

I'll get back to the main story, though. As JTWriting experienced with their work, I think my frustration with this particular novel is a case of stretching the story a bit too far, but I've got to get through it to start fixing it! I've got some ideas...oh, and some new ink to give me a little shove, too. I *love* my fountain pens!

Love your avi, jeffo20.

--Q

 

[jeffo20]

really? you're not being funny?

Bum In Chair

Nope. But now that you've spelled it out, it makes perfect sense, thanks! I was thinking it was some fancy kind of outlining process, etc.

That's a beauty, Quossum!

 

[DomOssiah]

Hello, all!
I'm poking my head in here after a very lengthy hiatus from writing (i.e. "hideous episode of writer's block"), hoping that visiting again will help me get back to my words.

Good idea. Same thing happened to me and I found that helping other writers was a big help. Surprising the number of answers you find for yourself when someone else is asking the questions.

I'm not sure what the problem is that you're having with your novel, but I would say that the longer you left it the worse it got. I would start by writing something. Doesn't matter what: short stories, dodgy poems, erotica, limericks - just lots of stuff to get you back into the habit of writing. And while you're doing that read through your novel again. It might be worth starting from the end and working backwards, seeing if you can get your final plot section written that way (it did work a couple of times for me).

 

[barbilarry]

Quossum, I feel your pain, I really do! I have been hiding out in shame because I am so stuck, blocked, paralyzed! I finished a book, it was terrible even though I poured my blood into it. It started in one genre and ended up in a completely different genre.
Everyone helped me and helped me with patience and time and kind words of encouragement. I was very ashamed of not being able to get what they where all saying (in love...to me)!!!
I've taken a little over a year and studied the craft of writing and the rules of writing. I'm working on a new very serious novel. When I get stuck I move to one of my incomplete WIPs. Just keep writing. Anything and everything! And...let the magic flow!!! )
I'm back now and reading all the help posts in all the different areas of writing! The inspiration is taking root again! God bless AW and everyone here! I love you all and...Quossum, I wish you the best!!! <3