beaglegod

I just need some advice on how to deal with my little dilemma.

I had some ideas for a sci-fi/ fantasy story that I really got excited about, wrote myself a little nugget of my story, did some research and took notes, wrote a brief outline of major events and some of the subplots that would arise. I jotted down whatever came to my mind in the form of scenes and quotes that could be added in and I could see clearly in my head the finale of which I wrote down many of the details.

Now 13 pages into writing, I wonder if I should be writing this story. I dont seem to feel very emotional about it or the characters, the concept seemed cool, but now that Im actually writing the thing I feel,well emotionally flat about it. I dont know maybe the story is too big for me at this point or perhaps Im supposed to force myself to keep writing it. Im really not sure. Has anyone else ever felt this way before?

I know if I put this project down I'll probably feel guilty every time I look at it . Im not too sure how to handle this in a way that will be of a benefit to me .

Malone

You can just leave it and work on it whenever the mood strikes you. No reason to sit in front of a white screen trying to force something out if you don't feel like doing it, if you don't make a living through novel writing. It's supposed to be fun.

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Malone

And remember that you don't have to write it "in order." If you feel like writing the end, write the end. If you have a good idea for a chapter in the middle, write that.

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beaglegod

I had not thought of that.

I just wasnt sure if when just starting out if this was a natural hurdle to overcome.

Like when you first start working out and your sore but you know you need to work through it.

Malone

Normally, yeah. To write a novel, you have to be incredibly self confident that in the long run it will matter. Which it probably won't.

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lilacstarflower

It's going to be a struggle to continue writing something that feels emotionally flat for you right now.

I would get like this about one of my projects, I just put it to the side for a while and worked on other things that did make me passionate about writing. A few weeks after I put it down, something triggered my interest in it again and I really got into writing it once more.

It could just be that you spent so much time plotting and thinking up details that you got bored with the same thing - imagine watching the same movie every day until you know everything that happens before it does. Maybe a little break from it will do you and the story good once you get back to it.

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SilkFX

It's a natural hurdle for everybody. Might as well get used to clearing those hurdles now. See my sig.

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Talia_Brie

I do this. I've got a couple of projects that are just tucked away, and I get them out every now and then to add a few lines/pages/chapters. Then I put them away again.

That being said, you don't need to finish everything you start. Maybe the concept that got you so excited can be addressed another way, from another perspective, and that might be able to hold your interest.

Tim Winton went to the uni I went to, and when he was preparing a short story he used to write ten different versions of each one. Then he could pick out the one he liked the most.

I was talking to my wife once about a section of a book I was writing. I said I was having a hard time plowing through it because I didn't find it very exciting. She said, "How do you think the reader's going to feel then?"

Good point that. She's clever, my wife.

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skywalker21

Take your time and write from what your thinking at that time. Don't worse anything.

-カラス

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virginia

This thread is totally applicable to me and something I've been thinking a lot about lately. So, thank you for all those replies, not meant directly for me but very helpful nonetheless.

I thought up a big idea for a novel circa ten years ago but was a journalist at the time and, therefore, had no time to give to it. I made notes, wrote a synopsis, thought and talked about it and resented not being able to get on with it.

Then the MS took over... I left my job and, whoopee, was at home all day - no reason not to write now. Hah! Where I lived turned into a building-site for three years, I didn't have Internet and the MS fatigue stopped me doing much at all. Bad!

Well, fortunately I use herbal remedies (not cannabis) and at least I can stay awake all day now. So, after moving to this new - usually quiet - flat and learning to use the Internet, I'm back to thinking about the novel again.

But I learned to write blogs, joined a few forums (should have stuck to just this one!) and still much of my time is taken up with MS and MS paraphernalia - it's a bore! Plus - apart from here at WF - there's no one really to encourage and nothing at all to inspire.

So, there-you-go, thank you very much for this thread 'beaglegod' and I hope you do manage to get on with your book soon. Me: maybe, as someone did suggest, a few lines every now and then. Or, hey, maybe we should whack them out in November (NaNoWriMo [sorry if that's not right]) and polish them up later!

All the best,
Virginia

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SevenWritez

There are plenty of great writers who hate to write. It's work, and it's hard work.

If you feel in your heart that the story is one worth telling, then press on. Regardless of what is in your heart, the day by day progression of the tale is not one you will cherish. You will curse, you will moan, you will throw away two hundred pages of shit to salvage two worth using.

If you hate the story and think it to be pointless shit, then move on, but very rarely have I heard of someone finishing a novel under a cheerful state of mind.

SevenWritez

You're.

JosephB

I'd say that's up to her.

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SevenWritez

AHAHAHAHA.

Oh, shit.

WriterDude

I refer to Frank Herbert more than is healthy, but he did have a great point. He started writing a sci-fi story and only thought about making the best story he could possibly write. Nothing else mattered. It didn't matter if it would get published or not, if people would like it, if he would make money from it or anything. It took him six years to write it, and while writing it, he wrote parts of two sequels as well just to make sure they fit right into the story.

The book was called Dune and is rated one of the best sci-fi stories ever written.

My point is you should never, ever force yourself to write a story you don't like unless you are paid to write it beforehand (like a journalist, ghost writer or something like that). Unless you really like the story you are writing, don't write it.

The reason is so simple that if you don't like the story, you are not gonna write a good story and no one will enjoy it.

I say leave the story for now. Seriously, leave it. Put it in a safe location (mine are stored online) and ignroe it. Write another story if you want, restart the story and keep only the basics you did like if you want. If you ever feel like you want to write the story, then by all means do so! But don't write a story you don't enjoy writing.

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