Thread: Having trouble with direction

Okay all, here is the deal. I'm currently working on two books. I jump between the two to keep things fresh in my head, and if I run aground with one I can work the other until an idea comes up. Well unfortunately I've hit bumps with both of them. One book I just wind up doing the same sort of actions over and over again with no real story progression. And the other one have variety in what my character is doing, but to me it just feels like it's thrown in there for the sake of being there. Both issues come down to a problem I have with all of my works. When a story reaches a certain point, I have a hard time keeping it going. I want both of these to be about 150 pages, but with everything I have a difficult time getting most things past 20 pages, after that it feels forced and to me the story should have a resolution. Short stories are fine and dandy, but I want to write novels. But this issue of getting blocked 20 or so pages in kills most of my projects. Does anyone have some advice on how to over come this form of writer's block? The ideas are in my head, how it starts, where it ends, what everyone does...I just can't seem to get the middle to fit together.

You write 20 page stories, and want to fill a 150 page book - write eight to ten stories using the same main character(s), and then weave them together.

Sir Gibby, you are not alone. I went through the same thing in my early years. Many other young writers have the same problem. We get so far in to a story and seem to hit a brick wall. The important thing now is to keep writing. It is a skill that improves with practice. Over time you will find that you can write more and more before hitting that brick wall, and eventually you will get to a point where you can finish a novel without a serious break in the middle. In the meantime, don't be afraid to start a third or a fourth story and rotate between them all. Whatever you do, keep writing.


Have you thought about outlining? And do you understand how a novel is supposed to be structured? I find that structure gives me goals and keeps me on track. If you knew that in Act II your protagonist must overcome five different challenges, it might force you to come up with five new story elements instead of repeating the same ones over and over again. So far, it sounds like you have been trusting your muse to reveal the story to you, but your muse is in a rut. At this point, you can't trust your muse and must exert a little more control over your story. Later, as your skills develop, maybe you can give your muse a little more rein again. C.M.

Originally Posted by SirGibby53

,..I have with all of my works. When a story reaches a certain point, I have a hard time keeping it going. I want both of these to be about 150 pages, but with everything I have a difficult time getting most things past 20 pages, after that it feels forced and to me the story should have a resolution.

Hi SirGibby,
The bad news is it means you've finished, that's far as inspiration will take you. You've got to the bit you wanted to get to and that's it.

The good news is, if you change your approach to structure you can by-pass the 20 page block.

C.M Aaron has found a way round it, try what he suggests - it worked for him.

A hundred and fifty pages (double spaced) is about 37-40,000 words. Are you writing YA or children's books? If not you need to double your word count.

Maybe you should step back and think about how you want each story to end.

If the ending is what you wrote on page 20 then you are done. You have a short story. Don't try and force it any further.

If the ending is something beyond what is on page 20 then write it down. Skip to the end and write it. You can change it later even. It is not written in stone.

Then think about how to get the character from the point he or she is to where you want him or her to be. Maybe you don't know exactly. But maybe you come up with a point in-between. If you do then write that in between point. Then think about the points in between those points and so on. Eventually you just might have that 150 page story you are looking for or at least a first draft that can be tweaked.

Read some books by other authors and see the types of conflict they introduce. Don't copy what they do for your book, but don't be afraid to borrow and adapt. After all, that is what J.R.R. Tolkein did and Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit is a pretty enduring set of books. Most of what he wrote was just modified versions of existing stories spun together into a new tale. Don't be afraid to go in search of inspiration.

Writer's block I think is more lack of knowing where to go. I've run out of story before I got the the point I wanted, and the overall story isn't something that will see the light of day without the whole structure being fixed.

There are quite a few writing books out there that cover structure and scenes. The fundamentals of putting together longer stores. They won't teach you how to do it, but they will get you thinking about it in the right ways. Then when you read you start to see some of those techniques used in novels. Not only that, you can sometimes identify why some stories resonate more with you than others.

My question is this. How good are you at writing short stories?

Hi

Sounds like you may have an issue of landing...

Perhaps focusing on two works at a time may have hindered you from focusing the ending of each one? You may want to start thinking about how it ends first. You would need to select and decide one eventually. One look at the movies available today would give you some indications on how you want the novel to end.

It's good to have an aim of limiting to 150 pages. Personally, if you are writing a novel, you can add more pages (60k - 80k words). That aside, why don't you finish the book first without focusing on the pages? You could edit and decide later which scene/action to remove. For example, most movies are produced with more recorded scenes. The key work is the editing stage where they have to decide which scenes to leave out and which are the ones to retain. I remember vividly the movie, 'Robin Hood; Prince of thieves'. The MC was Kevin Costner (Robin Hood). I read from somewhere that they had to delete many of Alan Rickman's scenes (Sheriff of Nottingham) because he was so good that he kinda clouded the main character.

Another area of consideration is write also with the reader in mind. What type of readers are you focusing or attracting? Those that indulge in lengthy & descriptive novels? Or those that enjoy an easy but entertaining read. That also helps me in how I start and finish a novel.