I don't see anything wrong with starting stories and never finishing them. I do it all the time. Sometimes I begin a story knowing I'll never finish it. I consider it practice. I'm just warming up until I get to (or get back to) the story I really want to write, and will finish. If you've never finished anything, and really want to, maybe this is a chronic problem; but not finishing these stories isn't necessarily a problem. When I first started writing, I started a lot of stories and realized something wasn't right about them and cast them aside. I realized later that I had to do this in order to discover the stories I really was passionate about. Those stories will propel you to the end, kind of taking on a life of their own. I think of these stories and characters as more "real" than the lifeless ones I dumped. They already exist; I just have to get them down. The characters just need me to record what happened. Maybe these three stories you started don't have this existential quality... or maybe they do, and you're going to discover it. What I do is listen to my characters. It sounds crazy, I know, but they really have a lot to say.
I suppose you could use the word "corrupt" if the king had been formerly a good king (or the previous king had been good), ruling with the good of his kingdom foremost in mind, although it's not really important. Your answer has raised a more important question, namely: What does it mean that "someone has gotten into his mind and is pulling the strings of the Kingdom?" Is this some sort of mind control? Is magic or some sort of other- or super-worldly power involved? Or is it that he's been convinced or brainwashed by someone who really wants all this power for himself? I am curious, given your initial post, what you really feel passionate about as far as writing? Are you writing in a fantasy world? Historical? Contemporary? My initial impression, when you mentioned serial killers and romance, was contemporary, where as a Kingdom would either be historical or take place a long time ago, or would be a fantasy scenario. But it's possible to have a romance in any time period, as well as a serial killer story, so I'm not sure why a contemporary time period came to my mind. Don't be tempted into writing something just because you perceive that it is unusual and hasn't been done before. Anything you write hasn't been done before, because your characters will be unique. Write about what really interests you, and what you know or you want to want to seriously research. I think there's a possibility you're at a standstill because you aren't writing about what you know most and is nearest and dearest to your heart. I could be wrong. But it's something to consider. I know I've had a bunch of ideas that I think are intriguing, and if someone wrote a book with one of those particular premises, I'd be very interested to read it, but in the end, they weren't stories that I really had a passion for, or sufficient knowledge about and the desire and resources necessary to do the research that would be required to write the story well.
I like writing in a fantasy world, where I can completely re-invent the rules of physics. Also, what would Contemporary mean?
Than you. I'm suspicious of any app, program, book or class that purports to teach writing. But, still, you can be taught to write, as long as you already have the desire and just a flicker of talent for it. If you have the desire and the flicker, what you need is the particulars, a few hints and tips, and writing is a craft just like pottery. I learn a little all the time, every day, things I didn't know. Since writing the previous post I have finished two short stories. Now, they might be sh*t. In fact, I'm sure they're sh*t. But the fact that I'm writing sh*t, means I'm writing, and that's progress. Most likely, when I have written a hundred sh***y short stories I can write ONE single good short story. Someone said that the first thousand paintings a painter paints are bad and should be burned. I'm sure, that with time, I will delete these short stories. But until then, I keep writing. Three months ago I couldn't write a short story to save my life. Now I can write a story. Good or bad. And I am the happiest man alive for it, because I have hope. And I'll keep writing. And one day, maybe in twenty years, can I write something good enough to be published. And I'm willing to wait that long. It's worth the wait. In the meanwhile, I'll pretend the stories are good, are great even, because that helps. The feeling of having written a great short story, true or not, is great fuel for more writing. A positive circle. I think my plots are good enough. Plot is not that important really, like you say, it's the characters, the setting and the mood. A big storyline, a dramatic tale with emotions and tragedies is the tool for a bad writer. A truly great writer can write a perfect story where nothing happens. I am not there yet. My stories have big plots with build-ups and big events and twists and surprises and "poignant" endings. All just masking the bad writing. All just to hide the cardboard-characters. But, sometime I will be able to write a deep and great story where all that happens is someone standing in a door, looking back and forward and knowing s/he is too afraid to keep going and feeling trapped in a moment, in the past. Whatever. Thanks anyway. I'll keep writing. It's all I have.
Hi everyone, I imagine several of you can identify with my problem but I'm looking for helpful pointers. My biggest problem as a writer is a lack of self-confidence. I've been encouraged by others to write, but no amount of affirmation from professors/family/friends can dissipate my self-consciousness about my writing. I have a difficult time starting to write because this is what I've always dreamed of doing, so if I fail--well, I'm not quite ready to deal with that. But the other thing is that I'm so hypercritical of my own work. I have heard billions of times that you're not expected to write a Pulitzer Prize Winner on the first go. Writing requires a lot of time, energy and revision. But I'm not sure how to revise. I just look at something I've written and think, "This sucks." Does anyone have any advice for just the psychological aspect of writing? Or any useful exercises to keep you writing on a regular basis so that you really start to get a knack for it?
Most writers feel this way. You really just have to allow yourself to write something that sucks. There's no way to get better unless you practice. Revising is tough, but you shouldn't do it until you've finished the whole piece (whether it's essay, short story or novel), let it sit for a while, and maybe received some critique from a few other people. (Some people want to do an initial edit before seeking any critique, but in any event, you should let it sit for at least a short while.)
As far as revising goes, perhaps only the most cursory job is what you need to do. Go through and look for major errors in continuity or character, and fix the little things like spelling, grammar, and punctuation, but don't spend a whole lot of time re-writing everything. Instead, move on to the next thing. You'll get a little better at writing each time you do it, and sometimes it's not worth salvaging what you've written. My biggest suggestion for this is don't write 'that' idea - you know, the one you've had in your head for years and finally want to write it - until you feel you can do it justice. If you're completely in love with an idea you can kill it easily by trying to write it before you are capable of doing so.
I think every writer feels like this at some point. I dealt with it by deciding to learn how to write fiction. I researched the books and started with structure. Those first couple of books I summarised as I went along, basically trying to actually learn it. Since then, I read maybe 5 or 6 more, and even now, as I am writing my book, I still refer to those books. But my ability to mimic excellent writing has tripled. At some point it'll become second nature. Until then, fake it 'till you make it.
You are experiencing something every writer endures, and I can assure you right now, I feel exactly the way you do. I'm going to echo what everyone else already has - just do it. I force myself every day to at least write part of a chapter - whether it's one paragraph or the entire thing. I often end up deleting huge chunks of it, but at least it's down on paper (or should I say, a word doc.) You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Here's the philosophy I'm trying to adopt: Write every single day, even if it's a poem, a paragraph, or 500 pages. Keep going until you're comfortable with the notion of writing. Accept that yes, you may suck, but you will only get better with time, diligence, and practice (this is universal.) Accept that yes, when you turn in your first manuscript, it may be ripped to shreds and get rejected from every publisher out there. Water off your back. JK Rowling got rejected by dozens of agencies before an independent one scouted her. You may not be her, but the hope will fuel you to continue doing what you love. Always remember to love it, though, and don't get caught up with dreams of fat paychecks and fame and movie rights. You do this for you. Pick up your pieces with every round of harsh feedback and start again. Attend writing conventions and network like hell. Don't sell yourself short, don't stop when it gets hard, and don't give up. Ever.
Think of it like sport athletes, some kid shows up with talent but it takes time and hard training and devotion (and some luck), to make him a superstar and that kid wont play the best game of his life when he starts but when he is in top form, and has lots of games played under his belt.
next to skill and some amount of talent, the most vital requisite for all who want to be writers is 'self-discipline'... without that you'll get nowhere... so work on having the strength to ignore all those doubts and just sit down and write!
I can empathize with this. Reading and emulating great writers did me little good. I just couldn't for the life of me figure out what they were doing different. Then I started lurking around writing sights and before long I started recognizing a lot of the mistakes I was making. So I would recommend reading a great many of the threads here and writing more. Pretty soon you will start seeing the mistakes you're making and how to correct them. Which is a pretty neat thing, if I do say so myself.
I've more than once used the analogy of a person learning to play the piano. Would you expect anyone, no matter how much inborn talent they had, to play the piano well the first time the sat down to it? Do you think that anyone would say, "Oh, wow, that's so great that we're going to record it, press it, and sell it immediately!" No. They're going to produce a fumbling mess of sound. People think that they should be able to write well the first time that they sit down, because they speak in the same language that they're writing in. But speaking and writing are fundamentally different methods of using that language. Write stuff. Don't just assume that it won't be Pulitzer Prize worthy; assume that it will be dreadful. Awful. Horrible. The written equivalent of that mess of jangled piano notes. You're not going to know if you do or don't have talent at writing until you've written a few hundred thousand words, probably a couple of million words. So the stuff that you sit down and write today will not give you the answer to the scary question of whether you can be a writer. That answer is far, far away, so don't let the fear of encountering it keep you from starting. As for how to keep yourself writing, that depends on you. You could blog. You could keep a journal. You could find a penpal and write looooong detailed letters to them. What appeals to you?
So I saw the theme for the new writing contest, and I started chewing on it. As always the case, a story congealed in my imagination. I was like, "This is great stuff!" I knew roughly how would I would start. (...and I was stoked.) I knew how the middle was going to work out. (Hooray!) I would figure out the climax at some point, I knew the diamond was there, I just waited to chip away the coal. So I wrote about 2k of the story, and BANG, the ending wasn't working. It didn't punch hard enough. No matter how many ways I tried to make it work, I couldn't get the magic in the ending. It's like I'm at the end of 'It's a Wonderful Life' and all I can think of is Clarence giving George his life back, with an extra hundred bucks and a beer coozie. It's unfulfilling. I'm just frustrated, I like the story, I like the premise, but I can't squeeze enough juice out of the ending. I don't know, maybe I just shelve it and try again next week. ~ J. J.
I'm sorry the ending of your story isn't working for you. But, I would like to thank you for this line in your post, you gave me a much needed laugh on a crappy day. I'm sure for a long time to come I will get this image in my head when I hear any mention of 'It's a Wonderful Life' and it will definitely put a smile on my face.
J.J., I know how you feel. Just before I started on my current project, I was wrestling with a partly completed novel. Actually, I had already completed a first draft and was in the process of editing it when I realized I hadn't really done the characters justice, and that the story really should have been handled differently. I had gone back and gutted about half of it and had embarked on writing it a completely different way. Then I started editing as I wrote (which I never do), and I soon found I was going back and hashing over the same things again and again. Then I started avoiding it. Finally, I admitted to myself that while the idea was a good one, I had just lost forward momentum and enthusiasm in it to boot, and I decided to shelve the project indefinitely. Of course, it's different in a contest situation, because you have a limited time and either you are in or you are out. If time will allow, just take a break for a while - walk around the block, then go back and try it again once you have an idea of what the ending should look like. Best of luck.
You've got time to write a new story, JJ_Maxx. Maybe working on that one will trigger a more satisfying ending to your first one (Maybe pixiephobic Nick shoots Clarence dead and then forces George to rob Potter's bank -- a sort of you CAN keep a good guy down ending). Just kidding. I've really enjoyed your other stories. You have ending within you, Grasshoppa.
I understand how you feel. Write your way until you are happy with what you achieve. Writing everyday is one thing, but working out exactly how your characters work and live their lives are from birth untill the beginning if your story then throughout your story will help you make your character believable is another. All the great writers developed their stories and characters. They never just sat down and started writing from page one. And most writers who have done this, never get published because they have no evidence to prove how they developed their stories. They also miss the plot points, climaxes and incidents within each chapter at where they are supposed to occur. You must show the heros journey. The app I speak of does not teach you how to write, it helps the writer develop their character biographies. This is a productive tool. All great writers have written character biographies about their characters lives. Harry Potter is a great example of great character. A bad writer will just put pen to paper and hope for the best. only some very rare exceptions can succeed in this way but these days it doesn't really happen. Publishers have format and guidelines which a writer must adhere to in order for their stories to appeal to the markets in which they aim to cater for. If you do not adhere to these guidelines your story no matter how good you think it is will rexieve a rejection letter and likely be thrown in the trash. It's not about fancy words or complex centences its about your "story" and about the deep soulful connection and dramatics with the "characters" (Protagonist, Antagonist, Stakes/Love Interst, Ally, Confidante, Deflector) these six character types are the most basic form and all great stories must include them in some way or another dependant on the plot styleyou choose and there are only eight of those. You must also know about the characters heroic journey from being an innocent to orphan to wanderer to warrior and finally to martyr. These are the basic elements for the heroic journey of your character. i.e we must have a sympathetic opening of the protagonist so that the reader can feel or relate to the story. Or the ending must include an element where the hero/protagonist is willing to die internally or externally for his/her cause. Wishing you the best in your career.
These writers block threads always give me a chuckle - oh the irony of someone writing a 1500 word post on how they cant bring themselves to type one word, Sweet! I find the best thing to do with writers block is to just write. now i know that sounds really stupid but by the action of writing you get your brain working,thinking about what it is going to say next, and before you know it the fingers are flying round the keyboard and your writing! at this point it still may not be the piece you wanted to work on but you'll find as your little nonsense story fleshes out idea's and directions to go with your main story will start to pop into your head. and if all else fails when you have writers you can do as i once did and write about it, you never know, it may get published like this piece of mine was (National UK Mag) I want to write a poem but don't know what to write I'm stuck and I'm tormented been sitting here all night I can't think of a title and cannot find the words it used to be so easy and isn't that absurd for as i sit an ponder just what i want to say my mind it does a wander and twists another way but still i try to write a poem anyway even though i haven't got one dam thing to say Not posted for feedback as i was paid for this long ago (and yes i retain distribution rights) hope you enjoy my little ditty and it helps whoever reads it get over the dreaded B
Eh, I know how you feel. When I proposed the theme, I already had the outlines of the story in my mind. And I thought it was very good... until I started writing it. I ended up changing almost everything about it, in the end. On another note, I'm sure you'll pull the ending off somehow and that it's gonna be good. The ones you've written so far have!
contests are like trolley cars... another will be along in just a few minutes... so don't let yourself feel that's the only contest worth entering... or that your story has to be for a contest at all... put it aside, write another one and then when you get back to this one, i'll bet an ending will make itself known... love and inspiring hugs, maia
Any advice I could give you on this issue I'd need to take myself! Lol. I actually have a folder on my computer that is for - Half Finished stories - there's more in them than my Finished Stories folder. But I do have a technique for an ending stall out. Usually, I'm over thinking it, so I brainstorm on a sheet of paper and come up the most absurd endings possible. Something that will give me a laugh. Then I backpeddle - okay, I thought of the most bizarre endings now can I come up with the most logical.
Thanks everyone for the advice! I let the story cool down for a few days, and then I was excited to read it again, and now I am more determined than ever to finish it. I will give the ending my best shot and then edit it when I am done. ~ J. J.
