Again, I don't know what's happened, but the urge to write has fled me and I'm still waiting for it to return. One week later.
I'm just hoping that it's because I've been very stressed and busy with a lot of other things, and the desire to write will come back once things quieten down a little.
February is turning into a very unproductive month for me.
Oh, no! I wish you luck during this month- if you don't start writing now, it may become a habit to stop writing altogether!But only if you go on hard-core writer's block or something.
My 1st draft of the novel I've been working on since, well, ever, is finally completed! (working title of the Message) It's between 130,000 to 150,000 words, which is a nice chunk of change, but I'm hoping to delete a few scenes and clean it up over the next few months. Just wanted to share!
Congratulations Fitz! Now comes the hard part: editing. Can't say I envy you, but you must be excited to finally have the first draft done.
I just wanted to say that I've finally reached 100,000 words with my own work in progress. Man, it's taken me quite a while. Started the book in August so maybe I'll be finished within the next couple months. Fingers crossed anyway.
congrats fitz and good luck.
elliot is right, editing is the hard part. I finished one of my projects about 10 months ago and still haven't finished editing it. that is more my procrastination though.
Congrats, Fitz!
New story at Silver Blade about a warrior who comes back from the dead, only to bring with her a hellish new threat to her friends. With a touch of the east and of brimstone... I also think the background graphic (although it's not specifically for my story) looks pretty damn awesome, no? Enjoy, if you can keep your eyes from straying to the art too much!
http://www.silverblade.net/shortstories6.html
Originally Posted by Arinth
Thanks to everyone for the congrats. This has been a LONG time coming. I haven't started the editing yet. Right now I'm choosing to focus on the website, take a few days away from it, and then jump back in. For me, I actually enjoy the cleaning up part - or have, which is why it took so long to finish because the first 7 or so chapters have already received a good deal of editing. I finally had to stop spending so much time cleaning up what I wrote and focus on writing more (to the end! YEAH!!!)
That helped, but I know I'll have more work to do the closer I get to the end of the book.
I'm putting my two cents in on that editing thing. That is the hard part, mostly because it takes a lot of time. Time that one could spend writing.
I am close to finishing book three of a trilogy I started last March. When I'm done, I intend to let it rest for a while and edit a book I finished some time ago (and maybe indulge a little and let myself start writing the new book idea I have been making notes on).
I can push myself through editing shorter work, but a book, that takes some discipline that I am still developing.
Anyway, happy writing all!
Previously in this topic, I wrote that the urge to write had left me.Not a good state to be in. But, I waited it out, and now it does seem to be returning - though a little slowly, perhaps.
I tried, last night, to resume work on my current Work in Progress, but all I succeeded at doing was staring at a blank document for a good hour or two.
I can't say for sure if this will help, but this is a link someone posted up on a different forum: Write or Die. It's a pretty tricky script, designed to force writers to write through blocks. There's a couple different modes - Kamikaze mode, I hear, starts actually *erasing* your writing if you take too long, so I wouldn't advise it, but one of the others might help. The advice I always got is to just keep writing if you're stuck, even if it means going off on a tangent, because that'll give you an opportunity to stumble on the thread you need to keep moving.
Another thing that's worked for me is to get away from the computer and start writing with good old-fashioned pencil and paper. Sometimes I get so caught up with multitasking on the computer that I just keep drifting off from writing, and getting away from the business of online life helps me in those cases.
I hope you get your inspiration soon!
Sounds like a nifty topic to post on...
My behemoth 175,000 word fantasy novel is complete (or as complete as its going to be for now, post 6+ years of tinkering). This book was actually the first story of any sort that I wrote... and as such, some of the chapters are on their 8th, 9th, 10th revisions (though its good to see that my writing has improved!). I printed out 3 copies to get feedback from a few friends/acquaintences. They're all over halfway through the book now, so I'm anxiously awaiting their thoughts.
Currently bouncing back and forth between a 3,000ish word short story and a sci-fi story that may be destined to "novella" territory.
Wow, what an interesting idea! It reminds me a bit of something I tried last month-I downloaded a timer and set it to run for a certain length (about 15 minutes) then tried to just... write. The results were pretty good (I actually wrote more than a sentance for a change) but despite initial success, I haven't bothered to try it again.
I don't know why.
Over the past few months, I've tried many different ways to get myself to write. I just seem to be utterly stuck on chapter one, and the more I struggle, the more I feel myself becoming completely detached from my story, its world and the characters that I once loved.
I did try writing by hand, and again, had some limited success. Unfortunately, a minor problem with my wrist has rendered me incapable of writting this way for very long.
I've tried just writing the dialgoue. I've tried skipping to a further chapter and trying to pick things up there, but this doesn't really work for me because I don't plan well enough to be able to feel confident that I won't miss anything in later parts that might make an appearance earlier on.
At the moment, I am thinking of perhaps writing something from another character's point of view for a bit. Just to do something different and get me back into the world and its characters without having to figure out how to get over the same old hurdles that have been standing in my way for the past few years now.
Hang in there BrightStar. I've gone through a lot of these. Some of the things that have helped:
1. Write scenes you are passionate about. Don't worry if they will still fit when you get to them in the actual story. You can always change things later.
2. Read through the last chapter when you have enough time available to keep going. A lot of times, simply reading through what I last wrote will help me refind inspiration.
3. Try writing another character you really like. You may discover that their viewpoint adds something to the story, or you might not. Remember, you can always change things later.
4. If all else fails, try writing a short story that is unrelated. Just something to get the juices flowing. Be totally self-indulgent and don't worry about anyone else ever seeing it. I have actually come up with some great pieces this way and some pieces I will probably never show anyone.
Regardless, don't give up and don't despair. I've gone through a dry spell recently myself while 1/3 of the way through book three of a trilogy I've been working on. Way too much commitment there to let it fall apart. It can happen to anyone.
YEAH! I'm not the only one just finishing! It must feel good to hit the end, and actually weird, at least for me. Our setup is pretty similar because mine took me about as long. Way to go!
wf
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