What Makes You Put Down the Pen?

[gabrielsknife]

Okay, I think I'm brave enough for my first "new topic". Go easy on me! (total loz )

 

Anyway, I was curious. There have been a few instances where, either in the midst of a story, or just after I re-read it, I throw the file into the "discard" folder. Either the story doesn't stand up to my rigorous standards or it just falls too flat to inflate.

 

In one case, I had an on-going novel develop a Kudzu plot that I just felt too overwhelmed to prune down. I ended up throwing everything - the chapters, notes, and seedling stories - into the discard folder. In another case, I ended up writing the middle of a story that had no beginning. That was an almost auto-discard right there lol.

 

But, I'm curious about what you guys do when you come across something like this? How do you recognize when one of your own stories isn't going anywhere? Do you chuck it, or try to nurse the poor thing back to health?

[Graeme]

For the last year I've been trying to nurse a story back to life I started it in 2006 (I think), gave up on it and wrote another novel instead, and then went back to it after identifying the cause of the problem I had been having (I was rushing the timeline). However, since then I've managed to get from six chapters to nine, and a start on the tenth. Not exactly great progress. I really do want to finish it, but it's slow work as it's easy to lose motivation to work on it.

[Nephylim]

I write as long as I can write and then I stop. I don't plan out my stories, ever... although sometimes when an idea comes to me I write down a quick skeleton before the idea leaves me. The story then unfolds as I write it. When the inspiration ends I stop. I have dozens of stories in my 'Unfinished' folder where this has happened. Unfortunately one of the stories I have posted in efic died in the middle. I thought it would go on much further but I was wrong. I almost always come back to a story eventually and either write a bit more or finish it. But only if it comes to me. I never force it.

[Skylights]

I'm having somewhat of a problem with this right now. Like as of this second it's just developed in my brain. I've written a story and I realize that the ending I wrote...I don't know if I want to keep it like that. Changing it seems right, except it's all done...

 

So I'm confused as to what I should do. should i keep it? Should I change it? Maybe the story I want instead should be another story entirely and I should keep this one I've finished.

 

I don't know though. I've never had this before. I guess I can empathize with you.

[gabrielsknife]

Oooh! Replies! And just as I was about to head home too.

 

Graeme: I've got a similar standing with the 100+ discard. I've tried multiple times to rouse the story from the dead without much success. I've changed settings twice, changed character-builds a few times; the newest re-vamp is trying to bear some fruit though, so I'm thinking it might work. My problem is, as much as I adore the characters I'm working with, they don't "talk" to me much. That, and I have a thousand other stories "talking" at the same time. I hear you on the motivation thing though; it can be hard to open that document if you've got a thousand other things going on beside you .

 

Nephylim: I write a little like how you do; just going on until the vibe stops. A lot of times, I wear down before the characters do. Do you jump around from action to action or can you write in linear succession? I skip around so much when I write. I can go from part two to part ten and still turn around and pound out a part five without anything in between. >.<

 

Skylights: I *totally* have a short with the exact same problem. I've gone back to re-work the ending about two or three times, and I'm still iffy about it. Hell, I'm iffy about the whole thing lol! It's trying to be a horror story, but it's turned into a gore/erro fest and I'm not sure I'm happy with it. So, story has gone on back-burner and made room for others. Maybe, if you move on to the next story, you can let you first one "ferment". When you come back to it, you might figure out the best ending for it .

[Nephylim]

I have never done the 'jumping around' thing.. until now. The most recent story I am working to is kind of taking me like that. There are a number of strong characters and they are all speaking to me at the same time and take part in different parts of the story. Meh... at least I'm writing.

[Parchment_Of_Love]

This happens to me all the time. What I normally do is just save the file with a working title and make a note of the plot and characters in case I ever want to go back and work on it. I guess you could call me a pack rat of unfinished stories but hey it works for me. My current story Always was one of those. I hated it, but i kept it and one day I felt like working on it and BAM! Now it is my main project. I jump around from story to story all the time. It's my process. To each his own I guess.

[gabrielsknife]

This happens to me all the time. What I normally do is just save the file with a working title and make a note of the plot and characters in case I ever want to go back and work on it. I guess you could call me a pack rat of unfinished stories but hey it works for me. My current story Always was one of those. I hated it, but i kept it and one day I felt like working on it and BAM! Now it is my main project. I jump around from story to story all the time. It's my process. To each his own I guess.

 

I so feel ya' there. I can literally go from the middle of a paragraph in one story and start a whole new one - then, if I'm not dead tired, I can go back and pick up a totally different plot/story and pick up in the midst of the action. :wacko: It's a wonder I get any story finished! But, like you said, everyone has their own method .

Edited April 15, 2010 by gabrielsknife

[gabrielsknife]

I have never done the 'jumping around' thing.. until now. The most recent story I am working to is kind of taking me like that. There are a number of strong characters and they are all speaking to me at the same time and take part in different parts of the story. Meh... at least I'm writing.

 

I do it all the time. I've done my best to try and be linear, but it just explodes in my face >.<. Either my characters are talking so fast, all I can do is jot down the ideas, or they're like "while this part's cool, you need to hear this!"

 

It's always awesome for me to be hearing from all major characters, or a single lead, and then have a minor/secondary character get my ear for their input. Gives you a whole different perspective to the story. I'm doing that now, with Triptych: Lessons. I've been getting everything from one character, but now that the circumstances are changing, I'm able to incorporate other perspectives.

[Adam Phillips]

I have a short work in progress that won't be any longer than five chapters. I've written three.

 

I'm stalled for two reasons: I know what I want to happen, but I can't figure out a plausible way to get there. And also, I didn't do my research ahead of time and I'm caught in a knowledge-deficit. My story involves the Air Force as a background, and I don't know squat about the Air Force. This has implications for my setting and for some of the plotting. And some of the questions I can't really get answered from books or online; I'll need to consult a real-live Air Force guy and brainstorm with him.

 

I decided it was just easier to put it on hold and move on to something else.

 

But I'll get back to it. This year, some time, hopefully.

[gabrielsknife]

I have a short work in progress that won't be any longer than five chapters. I've written three.

 

I'm stalled for two reasons: I know what I want to happen, but I can't figure out a plausible way to get there. And also, I didn't do my research ahead of time and I'm caught in a knowledge-deficit. My story involves the Air Force as a background, and I don't know squat about the Air Force. This has implications for my setting and for some of the plotting. And some of the questions I can't really get answered from books or online; I'll need to consult a real-live Air Force guy and brainstorm with him.

 

I decided it was just easier to put it on hold and move on to something else.

 

But I'll get back to it. This year, some time, hopefully.

 

Oooh, you have fun with that one >.< It's my experience that you're better off writing what you know. And, if you don't know 'bout the AF, then why are you writing about it? (Please don't take that the wrong way! I know it sounds harsh, but I don't mean it to!! >.<) Would it be possible to change the AF parts to something else? Or could you get away with a little creative license? I mean, with two chapters left, it'd be a real shame to just throw it away.

 

I don't know much about the AF, but I know some about the Navy, because I have two different sources in my parents. I also know a bit about policing and the National Guard. I'd be more then happy to offer you a leg-up there if you'd like :2hands:.

 

But, you have a very valid point on the whole "waiting" thing. I know I've done the same when it came to a knowledge deficit.

[Tipdin]

I think many writers have a large 'unfinished' folder or an ever larger 'unacceptable' folder.

 

Anything I write is almost NEVER discarded. A story or an idea may just lay dormant; I might or might not come back to it again in a week or a decade.

 

One such dormant idea I had, collected virtual dust for nearly 20 years before a friend of mine badgered me into doing something with it. Today that dormant snippet of an idea is a trilogy of trilogies, totaling way over 500,000 words and has drawings to go with it.

 

I had one hit out of one million attempts. Not too bad for an amateur. Ya just never know which attempt will be the homer.

Edited April 15, 2010 by Tipdin

[Parchment_Of_Love]

I have a short work in progress that won't be any longer than five chapters. I've written three.

 

I'm stalled for two reasons: I know what I want to happen, but I can't figure out a plausible way to get there. And also, I didn't do my research ahead of time and I'm caught in a knowledge-deficit. My story involves the Air Force as a background, and I don't know squat about the Air Force. This has implications for my setting and for some of the plotting. And some of the questions I can't really get answered from books or online; I'll need to consult a real-live Air Force guy and brainstorm with him.

 

I decided it was just easier to put it on hold and move on to something else.

 

But I'll get back to it. This year, some time, hopefully.

 

Dude! My dad was in the airforce for 20yrs. I would be glad to pass along any questions along to him for you.

[Skylights]

Skylights: I *totally* have a short with the exact same problem. I've gone back to re-work the ending about two or three times, and I'm still iffy about it. Hell, I'm iffy about the whole thing lol! It's trying to be a horror story, but it's turned into a gore/erro fest and I'm not sure I'm happy with it. So, story has gone on back-burner and made room for others. Maybe, if you move on to the next story, you can let you first one "ferment". When you come back to it, you might figure out the best ending for it

 

 

Yeah atm I'm iffy about the whole story but Idk if I can just let it ferment. I know the possible ways I want it to go and each way I would take it there, but I have to decide whether to change it or not. It's just a matter of deciding whether I want to change the story to something else entirely. Also, If I left it, people would scream at me . @_@. Essentially, I'm not writing it and letting my thoughts compile.

[Adam Phillips]

Oooh, you have fun with that one >.< It's my experience that you're better off writing what you know.

 

Yeah, that's the old saying. And trust me, in a real way, this story is writing what I know. It just has an element that I don't know. Anyway, that ol' saw only goes so far. If you don't expand on writing about what you know, then eventually you run out of stuff. And obviously, fantasy writers go outside the known all the time. Fortunately for them, you can often just make stuff up. But the real problem here is that I didn't do my research before I started.

 

And, if you don't know 'bout the AF, then why are you writing about it? (Please don't take that the wrong way! I know it sounds harsh, but I don't mean it to!! >.<)

 

It has to do with where story ideas come from. Most of mine come in the same way that Stephen King says he gets his. Too back I'm not as good or as rich as he is, LOL. Anyway, he says he's tooling along and either something catches his notice, or an idea snags in his head, and he thinks to himself, "What would happen if..." and the next thing he knows, he's got a story. Well, that's how the Air Force story originated, sort of. "What if I were at a bar watching the NBA championships with a buddy, and this Air Force guy walks in..." Why Air Force? Hell, I dunno. Or maybe I do and I ain't tellin'. But anyway, I'm stuck with it--

 

 

Would it be possible to change the AF parts to something else?

 

I can't really, because the extant chapters have already been posted somewhere, and I don't really want to pull them down. Although I will say that the site effed the posting up so bad it might almost be better to have it pulled down. But in any case, I don't want to alter the basic premise of the story, and with just a little info I can probably get it done. It's not really about the Air Force anyway. It's about the two main characters. I just need a couple of pieces of information.

 

Or could you get away with a little creative license? I mean, with two chapters left, it'd be a real shame to just throw it away.

 

I'm not throwing it away. In fact, I'm going to finish it this year. The thread was about what makes a writer put down the pen, and I was just talking about what made me put down the pen on this one.

[Skylights]

I don't take criticism very well. And recently, that's what has made me put down the pen. I'm working on that flaw

[Adam Phillips]

I don't take criticism very well. And recently, that's what has made me put down the pen. I'm working on that flaw

 

I'm fortunate to have an editor who does the kind of thing he does with me professionally, with TV/movie scripts. At first I brought him on just as a proofreader with strict instructions to him to keep his mouth shut about my content and style. He promptly and gleefully refused to abide by my wishes. I hated that, but almost always ended up acknowledging that his points were valid. He's helped me become a better writer. I can see the improvement in style as Crosscurrents, my first story, has gone on--and it's stayed with me through my other story starts--and I owe that to him.

[Tiger]

Well, I was working on a story called Second Chances. It's posted in E-fiction. However, I stopped writing it, because my beta-reader read the 4th Chapter and basically said it was shit, so I abandoned the only chapter story of mine that was not sci-fi and/or fantasy. Someone telling me that it's just god awful tends to make me lose inspiration. So ever since then I've been sticking with sci-fi/fantasy. I doubt I'll ever finish Second Chances unfortunately. I'd probably have to re-write what I have so far and probably change the setting and some of the characters. But for right now, I'm just not at all interested in the story at all.