Not Enough Endings

That's such a dangerous pattern for me. I've learned that if I get bored of a story, I have to make myself interested in the story again. Otherwise, I'll lose myself in a spiral of "chapter one" documents.

This is probably my #1 writing problem as well!

rosegold said:

That's such a dangerous pattern for me. I've learned that if I get bored of a story, I have to make myself interested in the story again. Otherwise, I'll lose myself in a spiral of "chapter one" documents.

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I have this problem also. Frustrating. I think it's a symptom of my ideas aren't interesting enough to play out.

For what it's worth:

I'm polishing my ending currently after taking years to write the book. One reason the ending is harder is because there's no more room to go in any creative direction I want to. There's only one way the book can end. Even if there were two or three options, they are still closed, not open ended options.

I didn't know what my ending was going to be as I was writing. I knew what the concept was, the goals, the character's goal. The closer I got the clearer the ending became.

There are a lot of good web pages out there on how to write or structure your endings. I found those very helpful when my critique group said my ending deflated instead of popped. Do take the time to read 'how to write endings' blogs or how to write book chapters on endings. They might give you ideas.

If you are losing interest in the story, that's a problem. You need to rethink that story. But if you are stopping because you have writer's block and it's easier to go do something else, that's a different problem. Read endings in books in the same genre. Read those writers' guides I spoke of in the previous paragraph.

I think I've got about 20-30 "book ideas" that never got past the first chapter or so...whether it's 1K words, 10K words, or what have ya, ideas stall and sputter out all the time on me.

I have one on the back burner that I've been wanting to get back to about a blacksmith, but currently working out the final details of a short story on a tangential plot line about an artist who paints sword scabbards for the high society types...

rosegold said:

That's such a dangerous pattern for me. I've learned that if I get bored of a story, I have to make myself interested in the story again. Otherwise, I'll lose myself in a spiral of "chapter one" documents.

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I myself choose this method in moderation for exactly this reason - I used to have a hundred different ideas and none of them ever seemed to get finished. I keep two or three stories open at a time so if I get blocked on one I can move on to the other. It's a strategy I've learned recently and seems to almost trick my brain into thinking I'm doing new and exciting work when in reality I'm working on a story I've only taken a week off from.

Another similar strategy I use is to brainstorm new story ideas when I'm stuck on the old one - it means my brain has to get to work, I can think about new stories but don't act on them till I've finished the current project(s).

I find it's VERY important to see an idea through to completion. Only then are you able to embrace the full story arc and build the skill-set.

Just my amateur 0.02c!

ConnorTheAuthor said:

I myself choose this method in moderation for exactly this reason - I used to have a hundred different ideas and none of them ever seemed to get finished. I keep two or three stories open at a time so if I get blocked on one I can move on to the other. It's a strategy I've learned recently and seems to almost trick my brain into thinking I'm doing new and exciting work when in reality I'm working on a story I've only taken a week off from.

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I do this, sort of, but I tend to put aside the second story a lot. It's hard to trust myself not to slip.