Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Nic Trick Steinbach on June 30, 2011 at 7:48am

I found plotting out all of the scenes on post-its and then arranging them on the floor helped me keep moving. That and I told myself that the rough draft was suppose to be crap. :)

Permalink Reply by Nic Trick Steinbach on June 30, 2011 at 11:18am

I just remembered that I have a blog post with a picture of the post-it notes.  http://pickles-and-onions.blogspot.com/2010/10/trying-something-new...

 

There are a number of blogs linked, including the Plot Whisperer, that may help.

Permalink Reply by Yejide Kilanko on July 5, 2011 at 2:32pm

Hi Nic,

I just had to tell you how the plot whisperer link on your blog made my day. I have listened to all the clips and now understand why I have been getting the "I like it but..." sentence from publishing houses. I will be applying all the advice to my WIP and I am grateful. wishing you the best in your writing journey.

Permalink Reply by Shah Wharton on July 8, 2011 at 5:45am

oh - thanks. Will head over there. ;D

Permalink Reply by Shah Wharton on July 8, 2011 at 5:45am

Lol - I really do try to argue this point with myself too - but I'm still dragging behind. Its becoming ridiculous and the more ridiculous it becomes, the less confident I am - I feel like a mouse running in its circular thingy - getting know where  -  really quickly!

Permalink Reply by 369rhhb016ezg on June 30, 2011 at 9:24am

Boy oh boy can I relate to this!  Wish I could help you, still trying to figure that out myself.  It makes me feel an eentsy weentsy bit better to hear others have the same struggles, so maybe it'll make you feel a teeny tiny bit better as well.  

Have you had anyone give you feedback recently on what you do have of your novel?  Maybe that will help.  I probably shouldn't even be offering my two cents, however, since I am still struggling to even get my novel (I dread even using the word) going.  Have barely gotten started on a shitty first draft.

Best of luck to you, and if you come up with some solutions please share them.

Permalink Reply by Stacy Green on June 30, 2011 at 5:30pm

This is definitely something we all go through. I think you might want to try working on something else for a while. Do you have another story milling around in your head? Do you journal? Blog? Those can both be good ways to get past writer's block. It sounds like you're having as much trouble with your story plot/content as anything, and writing something new may help.

Permalink Reply by Candy Fite on July 1, 2011 at 12:24pm

Wow, Shah, have you been visiting my brain lately? This is somewhat how I've been feeling. Except the actual writing, I'm whipping pieces out faster than my brain can keep up with. BUT, there is this squeaky voice inside my head saying, "It's all crap, ya know?" I even answer the pesky voice by saying, "Oh yeah, well watch this!" and I write something new, only to file it away on the computer and never look at it again.

No matter what time of the day it is or what I'm doing, there isn't a second that goes by without me thinking about writing. I, too, will fill up my schedule to pass the day, and all the while, my work goes unfinished, and I lose interest.

You hit the big, red, blinking buzzer when you mentioned confidence. It's what I lack. That's the bottom line.

Today, I was thinking about a manuscript I let someone read over a year ago. She made a few revisions, but never finished it. I'd see her around, and she'd make up every excuse in the book as to why she hadn't finished. She even told me she'd misplaced it for a few weeks. I knew at that point, she hated it!

The reason I thought about it was because this morning my daughter asked me about the book. It is a middle grade, and she read over it last year. I told her it was still sitting on the computer, untouched, and that I thought it was terrible.

Remembering that this lady now avoids the entire subject when I see her, is humiliating! I was telling my writing partner recently, if I could just get one small, teeny break with something, even an article acceptance, it would sure help my mood.

I can't offer much advice, except try not to be so hard on yourself. You're certainly not the only one who suffers from this. Show up everyday, and write, even if it's just nonsense. Write it. When you're feeling stuck, go outside in the fresh air, take a few deep breaths and go back to work. It'll come. We're writers, it's what we do.

 

I wish ya all the best!

Permalink Reply by Laura Page on July 1, 2011 at 8:04pm

I struggle with confidence, too, ladies. The way it usually turns up for me is in my character developement. My characters almost always turn out somewhat insecure, and I think that it's just me, projecting my insecurity onto them. 

 

I also relate to what Candy is saying about rapidly writing and then second guessing myself. I have a ton of things filed away with document titles like "needs work," "almost there," or "maybe this is shit." 

 

The best advice I was ever given about tackling the lack of confidence thing, is to write for nobody but yourself. Write to entertain and move your own soul. I struggle to be a confident writer, but when I keep this in mind, it's better.

 

I actually just wrote a blog post about this very thing, in fact. http://literarylegs.blogspot.com/2011/07/perfect-narrator-with-impe...

Permalink Reply by Shah Wharton on July 8, 2011 at 5:56am

Thanks Laura - great advise. I'll stop by this post too! Shah .X

Permalink Reply by Shah Wharton on July 8, 2011 at 5:54am

Wow - fabulous feedback - its great (is it wrong to say great here) to hear you feel so similar. IT does help- I feel a little more connected to the writing community. As apposed to being detached and undeserving ;D.

 

I do blog - and write short stories and poems. I do write something therefore, everyday. But its the novel. The first nine chapters I wrote straight off (though they been edited to death since then) and the story has grown so much. IT now has layers. And I have really learned so much from the experience of doing all this. Howeever, I just want to at least get the skeleton/draft down. But the blockage is preventing it. 

 

My husbands off for four days tomorrow though and I've told myself 'No bloggin/face book/making excuses - WRITE!!' So fingers crossed - I want to write at least four chapters. 

 

Shah x

Permalink Reply by Candy Fite on July 1, 2011 at 1:20pm

Nic, thanks for adding your blog post. I enjoyed it! Thanks for the link also to the Plot Whisperer. She's great! I plan on watching all the videos. I'm going to add her video link to my blog, thanks for passing along!

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next ›
• Page