I have had the dream of finishing a novel since my early years of composing stories about my miscellaneous pets, dolls, and family life. My biggest hurdle is staying connected long enough to establish a good underlying character arc which is both interesting and intriguing. My interests tend toward the road of science fiction and fantasy with a little thriller thrown in for good measure. My day job as a doctor keeps me busy, but I am trying to actively make room for my neglected passion.
What kind of characters do you struggle with and for what kind of stories? What do you think is the main hurdle?
Welcome @destinyrunner! I'm Iain, one of the mods here. If you haven't had a chance to yet, be sure to check out New Member Quick Start and Forum Rules, and don't be shy about contacting me or one of the other active mods (jannert and big soft moose at the moment) if you have any questions or problems. A doctor? Excellent, you can look forward to being deluged with questions about medical plausibility . Just remember, we do story advice only here, so if anyone comes to you with a personal medical question, it's nothing that you need or are allowed to answer (I'm sure your professional standards concur). SF is my favorite genre to read, and we've got a number of SF and Fantasy writers here, so I'm sure you'll find plenty of kindred spirits. Have fun, look around, and don't be afraid to jump into wherever the members are talking.
Welcome! What kind of doctor are you? Medical like a family doctor, an ob/gyn? Or are you a doctor of philosophy, chemistry? Whichever kind, I am sure there will be questions...How does one show a stab wound in the ......? as an example. As far as staying connected long enough to establish a good underlying character who is interesting, you may want to focus on the short story first and then expand it later into a longer work. I think having a short story gives you a lot of opportunities to play around with your character(s) and what s/he becomes...greedy, shy, happy, etc and then when you're happy with the character you have, expand him or her into a bigger story.
I understand the work-life-writing balance issue. Writing usually gets kicked off the end. At least it did for some years for me. Good that you're giving it an honest go again though. If you're a doctor of some field, I look forward to seeing your recommendations and criticisms inthatfield for other writers on here. There's nothing like source material and years of experience to give proper answers to questions. The more you answer and help, the more willing everyone will be towards helping you with your work. See you around.
