Is there such a thing as stage fright for writers? Because from the feedback I have been getting, I’ll be honest, I haven’t written anything longer than this in two months and for me that’s pathetic. It certainly isn’t writers block. I’ve got more than I could put on paper in that jar of ideas stashed in the filing cabinet in my brain. I’ve written a book, (actually, 2 full books) and about 6 partials I’m working on at random. The two full’s are in a series, a series I’m planning to add a third to at the very least. It’s been read and re-read and read again by my own eyes and many others. Friends colleagues and a few college grads majoring in the literary arts, not just the books but also the queries and synopsis. Despite all this, I’ve not gotten more than one request from a charlatan company that promised me the world if only I signed my soul over in blood and faxed it to him right away. Oops. We live, we learn. (No I sent no such fax) But, if everyone says great, up to par, all that and more… Why am I still getting nowhere with agents? Is it reasonable to find a company that does these reviews and critiquing professionally? And if so, how in tartar sauce does one find a legitimate one? I’ve heard the markets running dry, but I see proof to the contrary daily in book stores. I’m certain I’m hitting agents who take the work… And as self doubting as I am I still believe the books are not crap. That it’s as good as and better than some of the books hitting the shelves today. And trust me, I’ve read up to the thousands of them so I don’t think I am completely ignorant. Also, some of the people who’ve read my books could give two cents for my feelings, they’re deadly honest. Any thoughts?
I'm no published author, so take this FWIW, but I think that breaking into the fiction market has parallels to breaking into almost any other entertainment market. Take music for example. You have to have not only talent and perseverance, but a bit of luck also in a lot of cases. I think the same can be said with fiction. But that shouldn't discourage you. We make our own luck in life. Just keep at it
> The two full’s are in a > series, a series I’m planning to add a third to at the very > least. This may be part of the problem. My understanding is that it's vanishingly rare for a first-time author to sell a series _as_ a series. If the first book of the series doesn't stand entirely on its own as a novel, without needing the rest of the series, that will be a problem. Even if it does, but you're trying to sell it as a series, that may also be a problem. Others who know more will chime in, but I'd suggest doing any revising that may be needed to make the book stand alone, and then consider not even mentioning the "series" fact when sending queries. ChickenFreak
Well I thank you for your help. But I should have noted, I've read that about series so I actually dont mention book two or three at all. If they hook, then I inform them. "Heh, oh by the way, got a couple more for ya's"
As I mentioned in your other thread, publishers' decisions are business (and therefore risk) based. Taking on a series is more of a risk than a standalone novel, so therefore the odds are better that they will take on a standalone novel. There are no further commitments. If it crashes and burns, then that's the end of it. But, if the first book in your series is capable of standing on its own (i.e. it is a complete story in its own right, not ending on a cliffhanger), then it's entirely possible (likely, even) that if it is a success then the publisher would be very keen to publish sequels.
hi I had an epiphany yesterday, I visualised my creative writing block,after advice from a website. Its form took the shape of a brick wall which I chipped away at and stepped free from. I then carried on as normal as you do, thinking it was total rubbish. At 10.30 went to bed with Catcher in the Rye, woke this morning with the terrible need to write. It was horrific and lasted for only a few minutes. I realised that there was nothing on earth that I could possibly write which would be good enough to match that need. I would in fact go mad. Therefore although I do have it, it has been suppressed until I am educated enough to be able to use it adequately. which will as I have mild learning and struggle a lot may be never.........
I've been having the same problem for the past 6 months. I get started on a project, and I keep telling myself that I will get it done. But then I either run out of ideas, or have no clue how to get to the part I want to get to in a script or story I write, so I continue to stare blankly at my computer screen brainstorming. Then I get a better idea, quit what I was writing, and the whole process starts over again. How do I break this habit?
There are many ways of breaking this habit. There are also books that help with this. You don't even have to buy the book necessarily, either. Go to a Barnes and Noble bookstore and look for a book titled "HELP! for WRITERS" Title sounds cheesy but the content is what matters, and the content in this book is great. It helps with every problem you brought up. And it's step by step detail with multiple solutions for your problem just in case. The book is by Roy Peter Clark. I truly benefited from it. Another idea, that is just my opinion, is to co-write. This will help keep you focused and as they always say two heads TRULY ARE better than one. Remember two things while doing this though: 1. Write up a contract so no one can steal each others stuff 2. Pick the right person to write with, no one that will distract you or doesn't have a lot of time. Pick someone determined. Hope I could help.
If you are eager get to a certain point in a story, skip everything else and go straight for it. Write the part you want to write the most, and later write what precedes that point. There doesn't have to be any order in which you write since you'll edit, rewrite, change things later anyway.
What Allan Paas said. I've got a few pieces from free-writing sessions that have made it into my story and a few that have turned into stories themselves. Don't delete anything you write, you never know when the inspiration will hit and those blank spots will turn into chapters. Mike
I actually have a similar problem alot of the time. I like Allan's suggestion of writing the bits you want to first, as quite often by doing that your subconcious reveals the link that's needed in the part you're stuck on. Also, I'm always writing more than one project at a time. SO I have probably 50 ideas for different projects, most of which don't progress past the opening few sentences or a basic outline, but I feel that if they're revealing themselves to me then they must be worth jotting down. Don't lose heart, everything will come together if you work at it!
I always do this!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sometimes you have to stick with a project, write your other idea down but don't think to hard about it go back to your other one. Or you can try and weave the two stories into one. Allan's advice is really good. Good luck!
At some point or another, you just have to force yourself to get on and finish it. Not romantic and fantastical, perhaps, but it's easy to write on days when you feel enthused and passionate, and words flow from your fingers. If you have serious aspirations to write, then you have to take along with that the days when it is hard work, unpleasant, and you have to sweat, bleed and weep out each word. I won't say that you absolutely shouldn't work on multiple projects at once, since I do so quite frequently (though, I'm a short story writer, you might need to be a little more single-minded with longer length works), but you need to know when to knuckle down and work on something which isn't necessarily your first choice at that moment. Maybe try setting yourself targets? Or planning more thoroughly? If you have something to work towards more solid than a nebulous point of "the end", then you might find you have more momentum.
I like to work on the plot when I'm inspired and write an outline rather than the actual story. That way I work with a more or less complete story line to follow when I'm out of creative juices, and then all I need to do is buckle up and write, no matter what I should add.
the most important thing a writer needs to have along with some talent for using words is willpower! if you don't have any/enough, you'd better work on acquiring/increasing it, if you want to succeed in the literary field, or any of the arts... it's one aspect of being creative that tips and how-tos can't help you 'get right'...
What do you write? Novels? Perhaps have a go at something short, just to get into the habit of finishing stuff.
It sound like you write in a similar fashion to myself. I start at the beginning of all of my works and write start to finish, which is extremely annoying at times and here is where the solution comes in. When I get stuck or I look over a chapter and feel sickened: I print the chapter out, load my pipe with my favorite tobacco, light my work ablaze and smoke a good pipe while I watch it burn. The satisfaction in seeing my poor work burning, even though it's still saved on my computer, is calming and most of the times once I go back inside I'll be able to finish the chapter. On the rare occasions that doesn't work, I read the chapter before falling asleep and allow myself to get a good nights rest with only the chapter on my mind. When I wake up the next morning I'm usually hit with amazing inspiration on how to rewrite the chapter. Hope this is helpful. By the way, I love the iris in your avatar.
To me, I think that you should try to stick to one project and finish it. I agree with the last poster, try to have a go of doing a short story.
Jumping from project to project is fine as long as you don't completely forget about the others. Instead of worrying about finishing something before starting the next thing, be more lax with yourself and ALWAYS think about your older stories. You may find that your newer stories are borrowing from older that can help you merge them. 10 unfinished projects can be condensed to 6 without actually losing anything. I hope that makes sense. If you want to finish something do not forget about it.
Thanks for the personal advice, I will definitely give that a go. So basically what you're saying is that I need to knock a few mental barriers down so that the juice can flow Its nice to know that i'm not the only one who writes in this fashion, as I don't know or haven't heard of anyone else who writes this way (apart from you!) Thanks, I was just having a little play in Photoshop. I'm not very good but I can do basic things!
When you get stuck on one project take a break from the actual writing and try and draw up a plan on where you want the story to go next.. or a couple chapters down the line. I mean.. say you've written about a boy who's beloved dog dies.. you've got the whole back story on his life with the dog etc etc.. and you reach the point where the dog dies, but you don't know how to write that actual scene or say what happens immediately after.. think about what you want to happen later on.. does he get a new dog? does he steal someone's dog? does he become depressed and run away? and once you have an idea on that next part go ahead and write that..... or go back to the beginning of what you have written already and edit and rewrite - that can be a good way of fueling your enthusiasm and getting inspired again to keep going. If a completely new story idea occurs to you, go note it down BUT don't start writing the new story, only write down the outline the rough idea that just occurred to you.. then tell yourself you'll write it next and go back to your initial work in progress. Blue Edited my horrible typos
I can relate to this, right now I have 3 unfinished short stories on my computer. I think the answer is writing shorter works, maybe even working with a word limit. If you have an idea about a novel, but can't wait to get to a particular point in the plot, try writing a short story out of that scene. I always say that work is never wasted. Even if I spend time writing something that never gets finished, at least I now know what doesn't work. The elements that did work in the story can be recycled to another project. Just as an experiment, think of some really simple basic premise(for example, my premise was that the main character had attempted suicide), set a word limit(500-1500) and write the whole thing at once and avoid the temptation to make changes afterwards. Later move on to more ambitious projects. Thinking too visually is another part of the problem. I first got into writing when pursuing my dream to make a film script and I always think of the stories as films in my head. One picture really is worth a thousand words and that's why it might take an awful lot of words to tell something that in a movie would take just a few scenes. Now when I'm writing, I try to make use of textual format, writing stuff that wouldn't work in a movie. Not sure if that makes sense to anyone.
