I get a story idea. I world-build, sketch, outline, write character bios. The excitement level is high. Then I start writing. After a while I get bored. Disillusioned. Dissatisfied. What I had in my head doesn't seem to be translating the way I want it on paper. So, I start a new story. Excitement levels are high again...but then I fall victim to the vicious cycle, rinse, and repeat.
So, I guess my question is, does anyone have advice on how to stay committed to one's story?
posted
I had several false novel attempts before I actually was able to get through one (although it was in very sore need of revision). It was the only one I had finished, however. I think my problem was not enough outlining and my stories took a path I couldn't get out of or I became too bored to try and get out of it. It sounds like you've done a lot of prep beforehand, so perhaps that is not your issue.
Now, I'm working on shorter fiction and will probably try to stick with it and get some publications under my belt (something I hadn't sought in the past). How many stories have you completed and in what lengths? Could you write a novelette or novella to ease your way up to the grander scale?
Bottom line is you need to finish what you start and if you are getting bored, there is a good chance the reader will as well.
posted
Sometimes I find the more I plan a story, the deeper the outline, the harder it is to write. I have heard others find that as well. Its as if you have it all down even if just notes, its like the story has been told. I now tend to find the beginning, and the end and go, and see where the characters lead me. It keeps the writing fresh, and my mind into it.
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posted
Maybe you need to ask yourself why you're getting bored. Are you not interested in the characters? Then what can you do to make them more interesting? What quirks and idiocyncracies can you give them and how does that affect how they perceive the world?
If it's not a character issue, maybe your plot is too simple. Ask yourself if there are more layers you can add. Who trusts whom and what complications does mistrust create? How are the characters individual goals interacting and conflicting with each other? Is there a way to make it weave the plotlines together more?
The following is something I learned in OSC's Boot Camp. Very often, the first idea that comes to you is sitting at the front of your cliche shelf. To help avoid this and to make your story more interesting, start asking yourself: What else? What else could happen in this situation? What else could go wrong? What else could this person do?
I also like the companion question, What if? What if this character turned evil? What if the bad guy turned out to be good? What if the bridge the hero is standing on suddenly blew up? Not all of the ideas stick, but it gets your brain working and ensures that you're pushing the story beyond its most basic premise. And in all of this, if you know your characters well enough, you will know how they would respond to the new situation.
posted
Sometimes I find it difficult to sustain anything unless it's at white heat---then difficult to start again if I've stopped for any reason. Sometimes I've struggled to even grasp why I was writing something if I let it go for more than a few days.
Still, the things get done...somehow.
(Oh. I'm talking "rough draft" here. Once a thing is finished, I can spend any amount of time rewriting it, though often I'd rather be writing something new...if I could think of something new to write.)
*****
As for advice, well...probably the best way to avoid losing interest is to reach a point in your writing where you're rarin' to go and the words are just flowing out onto the computer screen---then stop for the day. If you want to write and break off, then it's that much easier to pick it up when you start again.
posted
This is a common issue. The general wisdom is to keep writing it anyway.
I get the same thing when I write shorts. The first draft is cr*p--revising it doesn't make it better when it is only half-finished. Stories only come alive when they are complete entities. it is only when you can see the whole thing that you can make valuable edits and begin polishing the story to a fine shine.
Otherwise it is like building a wall and wondering why it isn't pleasant to live in. Yes you have a lot more work to do, but saying that building the other walls and roof (windows, etc.) is a waste of time because the wall doesn't work well yet is a poor decision.
I have got in the same habit of never finishing stuff--you have to break out or you will remain trapped.
Keep on writing it. Stop at the end. Revise. Edit. Polish. Submit.
posted
You may be suffering from any of a number of different issues: 1) You say what's coming out isn't what was in your head (then whose head is it coming from?) - that implies that your internal editor is already getting in the way (why is he already reading it?) Take it easy on yourself - you will NEVER put down on the paper exactly what was in your head, and even if you do, it's not the same thing that the reader will see in his. 2) You are more interested in world building than in the drudgery of the details. Maybe you can hire out your services to someone who hates the drudgery of planning and world-building. 3) OSC (or someone else) said that the surest way to kill a story idea is to talk about it - eventually you will lose interest because you've used up all the story energy telling others about it. It may be a variation of that; you used up all the energy on the world-building, outlining, etc (like you're talking to yourself about it.) Try to change your aproach - you CAN write the story without completely defining the world. Go back later & adjust your story (AND the rest of the universe, oh god of creation) to fit together.
posted
"Take my advice, I'm not using it..." This is a suggestion because you are having a problem, so this might not work for many people.
Instead of doing all the prepatory work of world building, character bios and such, Just try writing the story that is in your head. It may be worse than crap, but it will get your concept out while you are excited.
It will show you what your character has to do and what he needs to know. Let the ideas flow, if there is something he did not know when you started but he did need to know it back then, or something he did or could do when he started that he should not do, leave yourself a note and then just go with that change where you are as you write.
When you reach THE END, then you do all the prepatory work you usually do, before you start your rewrite. It may be best to rewrite it completely, using the first story as a guide. I learned recently that it is not as hard as it sounds, and it actually helps greatly.
In most notes I generally suggest writing it as a short story that tells what the storyt is about, but in this case, if it is a novel, write it straight out as a novel or as long as the idea has to be. Follow the excitement.
It might help if One might even skip sections of the story, jump around to the most exciting scenes first, then flll in.
One may have to stop and world-build part way through the story to solve some problems, but there is no problem with that. You have started the story already and know more about the characters and world.
My experience is that rough drafts are rarely worth the paper they are written on and tend to have to be done differently due to what you learned along the way. You might as well get the rough draft out of the way as quick as possible. Doing it while you are excited helps.
As I said before, this is suggested only because you have a problem.
posted
I struggle with this constantly. I'm working on three separate stories right now in different stages and I'm still tempted to go off and start some half-formulated idea that I got yesterday while I was supposed to be working at my day job.
So I'm as grateful as the OP for suggestions on how to combat this issue.
I'll add that something that has been helpful to me in the past is go through and outline the bare minimum of scenes you need to finish this story in very broad terms. Sometimes the process of doing this kicks me back into the more exciting, creative mindset and gets me itching to write again. I've even abandoned an outline halfway to write a scene that caught my interest.
posted
I have a little journal just for story ideas. I always have it with me. So when lightning strikes, I write it down. I try to make notes about anything that is interesting about the idea even if it is nebulous. I also try to write down some of my train of thought that led to the idea. Usually, upon reading back over some older story ideas I can pick right up with where I meant to go. (With a few I have failed to make good enough notes and they are lost. But I have gotten better with practice.) I do this so that I don’t lose a great idea just because I don’t have the time to write it just then. I try to only focus on writing one thing at a time. I always fail. I’m usually working on at least two, but it’s still a worthy goal. Anyway, I feel that story ideas are like gems; when you find one you like, keep it.
As to excitement, I do get really excited about the idea when it is fresh and usually that is still there in my notes when I pick it up again. I find that I don’t usually do my better writing when I am all amped up though, even though the brainstorming is great. Personally my mood when I write is very close to what it is when I read: calm, focused, and eager to find out what happens next.
posted
Josephine Kait, I do that also, but I write them on little pieces of paper. I later write out a presentation of the concept and post them as a story idea. At the end of each month, I stow away the concepts, which I keep in a monthly file, and I package up the little notes, I used to use old coffee boxes from the coffee t-bags, but now am sticking them into zipper bags. I should toss them but cannot bring myself to do that just yet.
Woody Allen said once, that when he gets a concept, it is absolutely brilliant. He writes it out, and it loses something. He then makes the screen play and it loses more. he finally films it and it lost so much that it really needs to be re-done, but then he spent too much money to do it over.
posted
Joining to fray to say this is a problem I suffer from as well - I enjoy worldbuilding and outlining, and if I'm honest I enjoy writing too, but it's the writing that approximates real work and I have a tendency to talk myself out of it somehow. Nanowrimo became my model for solving this problem - deadlines and a finish-at-all-costs attitude. It's still painful occasionally, but at least I'm finishing stuff I might have given up on before, and suprisingly, in the editing stage it usually comes good.
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posted
We are our own greatest enemy when it comes to our works. It is easy for the writer to look at his work and say it is garbage and toss it.
My issue has always been that I get discouraged by the fear of rejection. I have a novel that I started some time ago. I have finished the first draft, finished a sequel, and got part way through a third before I realized I needed to finalize the first. The problem is I love my world and story so much that the idea of finalizing the first novel and attempting to publish it scares me. What if no one else loves it as much as me?
I find myself thinking. If I read one more "How to" book on writing. Or write a few more short stories, then maybe I will learn more skills to make this novel publisher worthy. Meanwhile the virtual dust is piled up on the word file.
That is one of the main reasons I joined this workshop. It has really kick started my drive to write because of all the help everyone provides here. From reviewing hooks to discussing the different aspects of story telling.
My point, in a long winded way, is that discouragement comes in many forms. It is normal, though not always easy to overcome.
posted
I just have to say that I have also noticed a marked increase in the quality of my writing since becoming involved here. I just read over a short story that I was really proud of, three years ago. At the time, I showed it off to family and friends, and well… you get the idea. I found it two days ago buried in a folder on my laptop. When I read over it I couldn’t help but cringe; it is so rough. I indulged in a little “what was I thinking!” and then immediately began a rewrite. Do we *ever* get to a place where that doesn’t happen, or at least where it isn’t quite so painful?
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posted
I think the only way to work through this is to focus on the forest, not the trees.
I've noticed in my own writing getting stuck on a specific sentence, both good sentences and really, really bad sentences, and then fail at editing and finishing the story. Oh I can fix most of the bad sentence just fine. I'm okay at grammar, but in order to get a story finished, sometimes I would have to lose one of my holy and beloved sentences.
I am working remembering that words are just a combination of letters, and the story is what's important. ~Sheena
quote:Do we *ever* get to a place where that doesn’t happen, or at least where it isn’t quite so painful?
I don't think so. I think as writers our craft is ever changing. Each new work we write changes how we write the next work. Each new author we read changes how we write. And each fellow Author we help critique their works, will change how we write.
So I think we always just grow as writers. Perhaps we may look back on past works and accept those were the works we were capable of writing at that time. Rather then worry about how good or bad it was.
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But I have gotten better with practice.) I do this so that I don’t lose a great idea just because I don’t have the time to write it just then. I try to only focus on writing one thing at a time. I always fail. I’m usually working on at least two, but it’s still a worthy goal. 
