Thread: Quitting Again

I've finally realised and accepted that my novel isn't going anywhere because the whole idea is crap. You can't force something along if the idea is bad from the start.

Everything else I write I become bored with. How can I expect others to enjoy reading it if I don't enjoy writing it? People on this forum live to write. I read how so many people here set time aside every day to get something written. That is a foreign concept to me and one I can't seem to be a part of.

As this is a writing forum and I'm not a writer, I will be quitting the forum. Best of luck to all of you real writers here.

~Offeiriad

I have found that setting aside stuff for months or years helps you to really know. The blind men didn't know what an elephant was because each of them was too close to a different part. A little perspective will give you a better chance of assessing your work.

My husband says that if you're looking up a guy's butt, all you see is crap. It's a matter of what angle you're approaching it from as to what you see.

Heck, everyone needs a good way to waste time. Plus, I think there are some other folks around here who aren't writing anything either -- so you might as well stick around.

Originally Posted by astroannie

I have found that setting aside stuff for months or years helps you to really know. The blind men didn't know what an elephant was because each of them was too close to a different part. A little perspective will give you a better chance of assessing your work.

My husband says that if you're looking up a guy's butt, all you see is crap. It's a matter of what angle you're approaching it from as to what you see.

The novel idea has been set aside so long I barely remember the main character's name.

The other story idea has been on hold for a few months now.

The title of this thread insinuates that this isn't the first time you have quit, so perhaps you will come back again. As Joe said, writing is a great time waster, as are most hobbies. Don't let your decision eat at you. Do what makes you feel best. No one is going to sent the word police to arrest you if you start another project and never finish it, or if you never start one.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

Originally Posted by Terry D

As Joe said, writing is a great time waster, as are most hobbies.

I guess writing can be a waste of time, but I was actually talking about hanging around the forum.

Novel writing isn't the only kind of writing out there and not every writer's a born marathoner. I felt pretty much the same way about my novels for a while so I switched to short-story and flash fiction writing which I enjoyed much more. Not saying it's easier (it's not) but it's gratifying to get from start to finish with fewer words and you might enjoy it. Why not try?

Originally Posted by Offeiriad

Everything else I write I become bored with. How can I expect others to enjoy reading it if I don't enjoy writing it? People on this forum live to write. I read how so many people here set time aside every day to get something written. That is a foreign concept to me and one I can't seem to be a part of.

Some do seem to live to write, and it's just as foreign a concept to me as it is to you. I read posts by people saying they can't sleep if they haven't written, or how they spend multiple hours every day writing. I can't imagine doing that.

Why DO you write? Is it to tell a story? If so, perhaps try focusing on smaller ones. Maybe participate in the Literary Maneuvers competitions, just to explore getting a finished story out there. Maybe try something that's only 5,000 words. Maybe 10,000. That way you'll be reaching the conclusion faster, and you'll be more motivated to go all the way through.

But, at the end of the day, it boils down to this. Do you want to write? I understand you're dissatisfied with the results, but do you actually want to write? If so, keep trying. Sometimes the writing process is going to suck. Sometimes the results are going to suck. But when you get that one piece that you finish - that one thing YOU can be satisfied with - it makes it all worthwhile.

If you want to write (regardless of whether or not you think you're a "writer"), keep trying. Just set goals that you can manage and go from there. If you don't want to write, then you're doing the correct thing by leaving it behind. Perhaps it'll open up opportunities to do things you DO enjoy.

Hey Offeiriad, don't beat yourself down. So your novel idea didn't work out, it happens to lots of writers. Don't think of it as the end, think of it as an opportunity to move on and try something new.

Everything else I write I become bored with. How can I expect others to enjoy reading it if I don't enjoy writing it? People on this forum live to write. I read how so many people here set time aside every day to get something written. That is a foreign concept to me and one I can't seem to be a part of.

You know what? It sounds to me like you just need a little break from writing. I always take breaks and I think its beneficial, and even healthy. There's this stereotype that "real" writers are people who lock themselves away in their houses, just writing, writing, writing all day - it's total BS. Like you said, people on this forum live to write, so go out and live. Try new things, meet people, get some new experiences, and don't think about writing for a while. Maybe if you spend some time away from it, you'll find inspiration.

I don't schedule my writing time. It's never worked for me either. I just let the inspiration strike whenever it does.

I don't really believe you're going to quit writing, I just think you've hit a rough patch. So I hope you take my advice, because it sounds like you've been playing tug of war with your novel ideas and could use a break.

Good luck.

Boy, if I quit every time I wrote something that was crap, I'd have done so at least 30 times by now. But I don't quit--I just take siestas. So take one, but if you really want to write, come back.

I don't know too many people that literally live to write, and frankly, I'm inclined to think it's a bit of a cliche. People romanticize the craft far too much these days. I don't live to write, and that's for damn sure. I don't write to live either. I write because I feel like it, because I enjoy creating, and because I like to entertain and play with words. I don't do it every day. In fact, I'd say my average is about one short story per month, written and edited. And novels... heck. That can, and indeed has taken years. The novel I'm editing now has been in the works since 2007.

Don't be so discouraged. When it all comes down to it, even the best writers produce crap, start things they never finish, have days where they'd rather open a vein than write a single sentence, and take time away from words.

Do what you want. If you enjoy writing, write. If you want a break, take one. If you really do want to quit, then go ahead. I hope you change your mind though. Good luck, with whatever you choose.

Originally Posted by Offeiriad

I've finally realised and accepted that my novel isn't going anywhere because the whole idea is crap. You can't force something along if the idea is bad from the start.

Disagree entirely. There's no such thing as a bad idea. There are inexpert ways of expressing it, and all it takes to fix that is practice. It's just like riding a bike. The more you do it, the better you get.

I think you have gotten a lot of encouragement here to continue writing, but I just wanted to chime in and say that I don't think it's necessary to leave a writing forum simply because you're not currently writing anything. There are other reasons to stay, and other opportunities for socializing here, even if one is just more of a reader than a writer. You can hang out in the word games forum, and work out your writing muscles in tiny, fun spurts. You can try your hand at poetry, which doesn't need to be long at all. You can simply read and toss a critique post out every so often.

I know it's not the same thing, but there are several women on the cloth diaper forum that I'm a part of (it's not just an environmental choice, it's a lifestyle, lol) that have no children or plans for any, or whose children are long past diapering age, and they all stick around because they have grown to enjoy the camaraderie of that specific group of people. Heck, my 2 y/o is now completely diaperless (even overnight, woohoo!), and I not only have no plans to leave, I'm even a mod there!

Originally Posted by The Backward OX

Disagree entirely. There's no such thing as a bad idea.

There's definitely such a thing as a bad idea. If I wrote a story about a cow who wins the Indy 500, that would be a bad idea. If the story was instead about a CEO's private tea parties with stuffed animals, that would also be a bad idea. If I decided to reinvent dragons as mountain goats and wrote a book called "The Dragonriders of Bern," that would be an AWFUL idea.

Saying "there are no bad ideas" is like saying "an opinion can't be wrong." Yes it can, and yes there are.

Originally Posted by Gamer_2k4

There's definitely such a thing as a bad idea. If I wrote a story about a cow who wins the Indy 500, that would be a bad idea. If the story was instead about a CEO's private tea parties with stuffed animals, that would also be a bad idea. If I decided to reinvent dragons as mountain goats and wrote a book called "The Dragonriders of Bern," that would be an AWFUL idea.

Saying "there are no bad ideas" is like saying "an opinion can't be wrong." Yes it can, and yes there are.

Hmm ... interesting ideas in that lot, Gamer_24 - dragons as mountain goats in, say, The Draggin' Riders of Bern, has the potential to be a good parody; have you read Harvard Lampoon's Bored of the Rings? (where the riders of the Widdermark are remade as Wagnerian Vikings riding sheep).

The other two are definitely stories for children, especially the racing cow story. The CEO's tea party with stuffed animals sounds like a cross between Winnie the Pooh and the Mad Hatter's Tea Party episode from Lewis Carroll.

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Offeiriad, quit the forum because you don't want to participate in the forum, not because you feel jaded about writing.

Hell, I don't write everyday, and I'm a professional writer and editor - OK, semi-retired. My own fiction sits idle for months or years at a time; so what? I don't let that stop me from participating.

Life is life - make of it what you will.

I'd argue there is such thing as a bad idea. But the idea includes the whole concept -- not just a little snippet like "a cow wins the Indy 500."

It's about writing it in a way that is plausible or that allows people to suspend disbelief. Not much point considering some little bit of nonsense and elevating it to the status of "idea."