I don't know if very many other authors or would-be authors, like myself, have this problem as I do. Do you find yourself in this scenario?
You think of a great idea for a story that seems unique and you get excited about it, telling others about the idea and they agree it is something they'd love to read one day. So, you start writing it and you don't get very far with your first draft before you realize your brain just won't conjure up the creativity needed for you to keep going.
You bang your head against the wall to see if that will jog the creative juices, but it is of no avail. You cannot, for the life of you, get this story off the ground. You have no choice but to put it away and think of something else entirely to write next.
My current writing project seems to be fine, so I don't think this is an issue for me right now, but this has been how my year as a writer has gone until recently. I started out writing a Young Adult high fantasy about winged people until I realized the story was boring me to tears and sounded as flat as a plank. Then, I started a sci-fi apocalyptic story about cyborgs and destructive robots only to not be able to think of what to actually write. Then, a zombie apocalypse novella that somehow got away from me and I don't even know how that happened.
I was starting to think something was seriously wrong with me because I couldn't finish anything. I still might have this problem, but I can say that I feel my current YA vampire historical novel is a project I can at least finish in the first draft stage. I have the motivation to do it and am truly loving to write the characters. Finally, although it's likely it won't be finished until next year. So, I will have spent one full year not getting a first draft finished.
I shake my head at myself, but I wonder how unusual is this for authors. Does this happen to anyone else? I really don't see authors admitting this, so it makes me feel like it's just me who has ever gone through this. I hope I'm not the only author who struggles with picking the right story to focus on and has to sift through quite a few to land on the right one. Surely, the norm is not to come up with the perfect idea out of the blue and just sit and write the story until it is done. That would be a little too perfect for this imperfect world, right?
Do you ever struggle to find the right story to focus on?
I struggle to find a good idea in the first place. That's why it's taken me so long to decide if I would even continue to wrap.
ReplyDelete@Alex: Well, now I know! Thanks for letting me know you struggle with this, too. :)
DeleteJudging by the number of writers I've spoken to and the 4 previous unfinished novels I have sitting on the hard drive in my computer I don't think you're alone :P Sometimes it just takes a while to find true passion for a story. I think we writers sometimes get caught up in the hype of what's hot right now and convince ourselves that we can write something similar just because we enjoy books in the same genre. If it doesn't feel right writing something, moving on is the best idea. Doesn't matter if you're on your first or fiftieth story as long as it's the right one. Every time I read interviews for famous authors they're always saying they wrote a lot of books before the one that really made it big. Hang in there!
ReplyDelete@Lan: I wish more writers admitted this, since it seems like most don't. That's why I feel like I'm the only one having this problem. It just seems like it would be more common, so I hope it is.
DeleteI'm pretty sure it's not just you! I go through a lot of ideas. I write down most of these ideas (to keep them for later when I have time!). And it's that idea that sticks with me the longest, that goes around and around my head and becomes MORE interested and detailed to me, that I choose to start writing. It's that idea that I know I won't get bored with and can spend many months (or years!) working on. And I think it's a necessary process your (or mine, at least!) brain has to go through. It has to sift through the less interesting ideas in order to get to the good one. So if I were you, I wouldn't see it as a waste of time that you had to go through a few unfinished drafts to get to the story you're really enjoying writing. Just see it as all being part of the process! And when you finish a totally awesome story, it will all be worth it!
ReplyDelete@Rachel: Thank you for your insight! You're right--it will be worth all the agony and wasted time trying to get to the right story if I have gotten there already. I just hope I'm working on that one right now, but if I'm not, I'll just have to accept it. :)
DeleteI do that all the time! I get lots of ideas. Some make me want to write right away, but I know I'm not that kind of writer. I need to mull the idea over. If it keeps coming back, it's a keeper, but when to write it? That's the question. I'm going through that right now as I think about what I want to write next year. I have a good seven months or so of next year to work on some new projects, but I still don't know what to do.
ReplyDelete@Cherie: I agree that my ideas need to be mulled over for quite a while before I feel like I can totally trust them. I get a lot of ideas that I usually forget all about and I'll keep the ones that don't go away. Glad to know it's not so easy for other authors to decide on what to write.
DeleteI'm sorry for you, but happy to hear someone else has my problem. In over a year, I've only managed to write 10k on one WIP -- and then decided it needed major re-thinking, so it's halted for now. Believe it or not, having an agent adds pressure. She wants something high concept to submit to big pubbers. I can't think of anything high concept (except the one I started but it has *issues*). I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that like you I'll eventually find a great idea and actually be able to write it. Until then, I feel like the most useless writer in the world...
ReplyDelete@Lexa: I feel bad for you, Lexa! At least you have a book getting published! That is really something to be proud of. I haven't gotten any full-length manuscripts finished enough to even become a published book, yet. I hope, in time, you will be able to think of a story, high-concept or not, that will work for you.
DeleteHonestly, just write a great story and forget the pressure for high concept. People buy the books that they love--they don't care about high concept. I used to get really freaked out about that problem, as well, and I decided to start writing the story that was always wanting to get a voice, so I'm doing it now. It's simple and I couldn't be happier with it and my characters! :D
Oh this is me all the damn time. I've started several projects and can't seem to finish anything. Maybe that's the problem, I've got too many on the stove but I can't help it, I get ideas all the time, it's choosing the ones to focus on that can be difficult. Sometimes I'll have a good story idea, but can't flush out the details, or I'll have interesting characters but no story idea. Currently, I have a story idea that I really like, that I think could have a shot, but I'm scared I'm not good enough to execute it properly, plus, it's so full of plot holes that I almost broke my neck trying to get through it the other day. Anyway, one day at a time I try to tell myself. But I'm glad to hear your YA ms is moving forward! It sounds exciting and I wish you good luck with it. Just keep at it and write as much as you can while you're hot! (:
ReplyDelete@Elise: As bad as I feel for you, I feel better knowing you share my pain. I hate thinking I'm so singular in this writing career. I also have plenty of ideas that I feel I'm not a good enough writer to pull off properly. It could be that we need more time to grow as authors before we'll be able to handle some of our more lofty ideas. That's what I tell myself, anyway. At least my current MS is pretty easy to write and is just a simplistic story idea. Thanks for your encouragement and I hope things get better for you, too! :D
DeleteI generally only work on one manuscript at a time, so I haven't had this particular problem. But when I struggle with the one I'm working on, the idea for my next week pops up in my brain. It's almost like it's a shiny bauble sent in to distract me from the challenge of my current one.
ReplyDeleteGreat IWSG post!
As an artist, I occasionally find myself with out inspiration. As a result, I have a bucked that whenever I have an idea, I write it down and put it in. When I need some inspiration, I turn to the bucket. I find this to work really well. Since most of the ideas are mine, when I open an idea, I usually remember when I was thinking when I wrote it and that can turn out to be a great project.
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