• Read this: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?288931-Guidelines-for-Participation-in-Outwitting-Writer-s-Block

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I feel like my brain is absolutely going to explode, please advise

flowerburgers

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My problems, in brief:

1. I have the worst damn writer’s block and have not written much of anything since April.

2. In February, I signed with an agent after querying for a novel I’d completed, and I’ve been struggling with revisions for months now. I truly have lost interest in the book and finally found the courage to broach that with my agent, knowing that it meant risking my place at the agency. To my amazement, he was supportive and urged me to start a new project, but I don’t even know what that project might be and I’m psyching myself out a bit. Over the past three days, I have used timers to devote six hours to writing, and I still have zero ideas or material. I feel like everything wants to be a short story, not a book. On that note...

3. I want to publish a short story collection! I want to be a short story writer! Even though they’re such hard sells! I just broached this with my agent for a second time, since the first time I brought it up, he steered me towards writing a new novel instead and we didn’t have much of a conversation about the “stories route.” But deep down, I know I'm not a novelist, I just wrote a novel because people told me I could never sell a short story collection as a debut. And I don't like the novel and am now abandoning it, apparently.

4. I have a novella that's about to be serialized in a high tier online journal, and I'm freaking out because I'm like, why didn't I save that for a book? It could close a book. I could have a full collection of short stories right now if the novella was included, but if it's published online, it can't live in a collection. Would it be insane to write to the editor and ask him to give me the story back?! It's supposed to run August 11th. I love that novella and worked for months on it and want to milk the most out of it for my career. I subbed to the journal before I signed with my agent and was feeling a bit hopeless, just wanted a win.

Would love to hear thoughts on these quandaries, I feel like a moron who can't navigate the business side of writing at all. Nor the writing side at present, since I'm not writing, I'm sitting here with my timer ticking freaking out. Just want to get moving with a project, I think it'd put my mind at ease.
 
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lonestarlibrarian

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re: short stories vs a novel, have you ever read the Selena Mead novel, "Legacy of Danger", by Pat McGerr?

Each of the chapters was originally published as a short story in a magazine. Later, she took those stories, reworked them a bit to link them better, and then reassembled them into "Legacy of Danger."

The result is very enjoyable--- because each chapter has its own mini-climax that makes it a fulfilling read by itself, rather than just being a slog from point A to point B to point C, as some novels can be. But unless you knew that about her writing going into it, 99 out of 100 readers wouldn't really notice or analyze the skeleton of her structure.

Depending on your genre and the expectations of your readers, how can you adapt that approach for a more marketable novel? Can you write 10, 12, 15, 20 short stories, all linked by some sort of commonality or overarching plot thread, so that you have the punchiness of a short story in each chapter, but the reader gets the appearance of a novel to buy, and your agent gets the marketability of a novel to sell?
 

JohannaH

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Wow! You have a lot going on. (And generally that is a very good thing.)

1) Haven't written since April. Hmm . . . that date looks familiar. I think Covid-19 shocked a lot of us out of writing. (I've only written crap for one client since then.) Don't beat yourself up about it - the world has profoundly changed.
This August, I am forcing myself to write something every day. It might be a story idea, a blog post, a record of a dream, or just a journal entry. I'm trying to expand my word count as a general goal, but the main goal is putting something on the screen.
Kick start yourself by making small daily goals. You might be vague like me - or you might break some of the stuff you have down into tiny, achievable tasks.

4) Stop - breathe - it's GREAT that they are running your novella! (Sure, it might not be best, but it's still great.) Look at your contract. The rights probably revert back to you at some point. You can still include it in a collection at a later date. Again, not best, but still good.

All my best to you - this will work out well, eventually. Really.
 

CathleenT

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flowerburgers, all I can advise is to keep writing. There aren't any magic bullets that I'm aware of. Keep writing crap until you don't anymore. Five of my first seven novels aren't worth the effort to finish editing. It happens.

It's not ethical to recall your novella at short notice. You already gave your word.

Maybe you need to write a bunch of short stories. Go ahead and do that. Put them in SYW for a critique. You might add a little boilerplate at the bottom that says that you need a novel-length idea, and that if anyone spots one in your work, please spell it out.

To say now what you want to write for the rest of your life seems premature. Right now you really want to write short stories. Okay, write one a week for the next twelve weeks. You can always self-pub it when you're done. Clear your head. See if you feel better about writing novels when that's finished.

It's better than just bailing on your agent entirely, unless you've also decided that self-pubbing is the way to go.

Although really, it would be better for you if you could face the necessary revisions in the project that you've lost enthusiasm for. Generally, I don't think good things come out of self-indulgence long-term. But giving yourself permission to complete a short-term passion project may give you the stamina needed to finish up your current commitments. Then you could decide your future direction from there, which would be a better mental space for decision-making.
 

Afalstein

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You have an obligation to finish your novel. Sit down and just write words words words. Write about them walking around doing stuff or just sitting around talking. Something relevant will come out eventually. I think the idea offered at the top about stringing together short stories into a novel is a good one. Write out a short story or two if it takes some of the pressure off and helps you refocus on the novel. But you could also have the short stories be tales characters tell within the larger plot of the story, hopefully with some plot importance.

Otherwise, show your material to a friend. They may be able to suggest where to go and what to do next.
 

L.C. Blackwell

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My suspicion is, you signed with an agent and suddenly the realities of actually publishing became terrifying. It's easier to not go through with the business than risk a big, fat failure.

Look at the pattern here. You signed with an agent, and suddenly you feel you don't want to publish a novel. You got an acceptance with a high-tier online journal, and you want your novella back. You're terrified of writing anything that may take you further into that world, including starting another novel.

Before you shoot your entire career in the foot, stop and breathe. Stop worrying about how brilliant your words are. Set a schedule for revising, and begin to work along the lines your agent suggested. Get that book revised and turned in. This is not an issue of inspiration, it's an issue of perspiration. (And, may I suggest, you've lost your love for the book, because now it brings a feeling of hard work and pressure.) You don't have to feel mushy love for it; you just need to put its school clothes on, and send it out the door. Once you finish it, then decide if you want to begin another novel. Or not.

Also, leave the novella where it is. You've got a good place for it, and it's contracted to run. "I've got a better idea/offer" is not a good reason to break a contract. As things stand, it may do your career more good than you imagine to let it run, but yanking it won't.

As for your "work schedule": six hours a day is rather heavy. I would put two hours into revision on the novel your agent has seen. Don't obsess over it, just do what was pointed out to you. Then, reward yourself with two hours on a short story. Then, get outside and get some exercise! Brains don't work well when they're under-oxygenated and stressed. Meanwhile, if you do get ideas for a new novel, or if one of the short stories looks promising to expand, make a mental note or a scribble on a notepad, and keep going.

(And really, I am more sympathetic than I sound, and this is only intended to be a kind sort of kick in the pants.)

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