Insecure Writers' Support Group (IWSG) is a
really awesome meme that you should be doing along with the rest of us
writers. Unless you truly are happy with your writing and don't feel the
need to vent about your insecurities because they don't exist for you. But, really.... Don't they?
IWSG is hosted by Captain Ninja Alex at his blog, Alex J. Cavanaugh.
IWSG is hosted by Captain Ninja Alex at his blog, Alex J. Cavanaugh.
It looks like it's that time of the month again, the Insecure Writers Support Group time. This month my writing insecurities are coming out and screaming at me, again. They haven't been so much in recent months, but they have returned from their sojourn.
This month I'm finding myself having trouble with a section of my novel work-in-progress that I have never been able to get clear about. While I have a lot of the story already planned, this is the portion I'm struggling to get through because I don't know what needs to happen.
This might be caused by the fact that I never write long novels. Everything is much shorter, usually. So, I'm struggling to write something that has to be a bit long, maybe around 80,000 words, rather than a short novel, and it's tough. I'm having trouble making myself get the writing done that needs to be done and I'm procrastinating a lot, too. I hate when I do that. :(
The only thing I can think of to do to get through this is to really plan my scenes out ahead of my writing sessions. I guess I need to just write the summaries out for each scene in the order they need to appear because when I've done this in the past, it's really helped me to write. I usually know exactly what I'm going to write before I sit down to write, but I keep it in my head. Right now, I'm drawing a lot of blanks on how to get through this section of my novel.
Is this writer's block? I don't really know what that is because it seems like it can be defined in different ways. I figure it's some sort of writer's block. I'll just have to tough it out and plan, plan, plan.
Ever suffered from writer's block?
An outline would probably help. Then you'll know what needs to be done. (I tend to plan to death so I rarely get stuck.)
ReplyDeleteI kind of consider outlines to be similar to scene summaries, or better, actually. I need a plan, though, that's for sure!
DeleteSorry. Do you have someone you can bounce ideas off of? That might help. Writing can be tough. That's why I gave up. Well, that and it just wasn't working for me at the time in my life. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but I feel so uncomfortable doing that during this phase of my writing! I suppose I would resort to that if I really needed the help badly. Otherwise, I feel like this is my draft so I can't get help yet. Writing is hard and I put it off for years before I went back to it. Timing is everything, so maybe you'll get back to it when you're truly ready. ;)
DeleteEven though I basically have my novel plotted out, there are always a few spots where I just can't figure out what happens and I spend weeks (months) trying to work it out. Frustrating, but I think it's normal. Just keep running the scene over and over through your head until you come up with something.
ReplyDeleteI envy you being such a good plotter and having so much planned out before hand! I have the major things thought out, but nothing too incredibly detailed, usually. I need to spend some time really thinking about this area!
DeleteWhatever it's called, this kind of hesitation to write happens to all of us at the best of times. I've had the biggest case of it since November last year after NaNo so I know exactly what you're going through. Normally it helps me if I just write any old thing and then hand the MS over to beta readers.Otherwise I've been finding that writing other fun stuff is helping me get back into my novel writing. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteMaybe writing any old thing until I get to the parts I do know already is a good idea. I'll just have to do that if I can't come up with anything particularly substantive. At least I know you do it, right?
DeleteI wouldn't really consider it writer's block. More like we're getting old and the brain doesn't retain things like it used to (for me anyway). I find I write much better when I take the time to outline and write summaries for each chapter. Even if I decide to change things, at least I don't draw a blank. My only real problem these days is mishaps getting in the way of writing, like an abscessed tooth, and the fact that my "O" key literally just broke in the middle of my trying to return IWSG comments. Now I'm just hitting a tiny bump of a switch on the keyboard, and half the time it's not working so I keep having to correct typos. *sigh* Good luck with your novel! :)
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your "O" key, Lexa. Seems like you managed to type everything out fine in your comment here. I'm going to see if getting a good plan together helps me out. Otherwise, I'll just write a bunch of crap until I get back on track. Good a plan as any.
DeleteYou could always write some notes down and then skip to the next chapter you do know to write and go back. I work best if I have some sort of outline, even if it's just a few sentences per scene to keep me on track and to help me know when something isn't going to work out. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I definitely need to be the planner-type more so.
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