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Posted By: pigeon Jun 23, 2003 - 07:43 pm

I am new here and I was looking for any advice on how to keep going on projects. I have started and worked part way through a lot of pieces that are good work, but I can't bring myself to finish them. Not for lack of material, I just can't finish writing. By the time I get 70 or 80 pages into a project something new comes up and I get obsesses with that, and then the same thing happens over and over. Soon it becomes more of a hassle to sit down and work on the projects.
Just looking for some friendly advice on keeping going to finish stuff.

Posted By: Hakan Jun 23, 2003 - 08:28 pm

hey Pigeon, there's a topic further down the page which deals with this exact problem (I think).
Here's the link:

http://speculativevision.com/forum/messages/385/2857.html

Posted By: Eleika Jun 23, 2003 - 08:58 pm

Not necessarily.

Lemme guess, you get stuck in the middle and don't know how to get going again, and the very thought of writing it any more is incomprehensible.

A perfect book for you to read is "Beginnings, Middles, and Ends" by Nancy Cress.

Posted By: Daelish Jun 24, 2003 - 03:41 am

I hate to be a fuddy duddy, but it sounds to me as if you just need to tough it out. Sure picking up a new story to write is fun and all, but if you keep stopping in the middle of one for another you need reevaluate your work. Put down all of the stuff you are writing and don't write -anything- for a week or so. Then go back to one of your unfinished stories and pick it up. Maybe the fun will be back into it. If not, try to just stick it out. Rough through the slump until you start to get close to the ending then it will get to be fun again. I have SO much more fun writing the end of a story than the beginning and middle. Probably because by that time I have everything clear in my head about what I want and the story pretty much writes itself.

Posted By: fiftytwo Jun 24, 2003 - 03:57 am

There are a few ways to look at this. One, writing is a nonlinear process; many writers deliberately jump around, writing the ending first, etc. Two, getting away from it, like any project, is a good idea.

I've always believed that *finishing* is important. When and how is harder. Perhaps you are manipulating your characters.

Posted By: Alexander Jun 24, 2003 - 04:03 am

Here's what I usually do: when I get an idea for a long piece of work (ie. longer than can be finished in one sitting), I just write the first couple of pages, with the rest of the plot synopsys, and let it sit for a week or two.

If, after a week, I still have interest in continuing this work, I go right ahead. If not - then, let's face it, it probably wasn't such a good idea to begin with. Since I started with this system, I noticed it prevents me from burning precious time on projects that I no longer find interesting after a while.

Posted By: Jaxantha Jun 24, 2003 - 03:13 pm

Is it that you don't have a clear idea of what the ending of any one project is going to be?

Posted By: Sara Jun 24, 2003 - 05:38 pm

Hi, Pigeon,

I agree with Daelish: stick it out. Usually halfway through one of my manuscripts, I get this (seemingly) GREAT idea for the next installment, and while I'm trying to focus on the current project, this prospective one just twinkles in my brain, enticing me. You have to ignore it. Take notes if you need to, but work on one thing at a time, start to finish. That works for me, at least; I've tried not working in a linear fashion like that, but I've found in the final revisions, the scenes I wrote out of sequence and inserted (a) seem out of place in the end and (b) are almost always cut. So I don't do that anymore. What really helps me is giving myself a deadline. I don't set it right off the bat; about 3/4 through, I set a "first draft" finish date, and then I stick to it. You can always flesh out, improve, augment, etc. in revisions. You can also instill some good ol' fashioned writing discipline in yourself by making yourself write every day, whether you want to or not. (Ok, maybe take a day off a week to avoid burn out...!) Nothing wrenching - try 3-5 pages a day to start. Work at that until it becomes natural to you, and then increase it to 5-7 pages a day. Personally, I try to get 5-7/day, and usually wind up with more. Setting deadlines and practicing writing so that it becomes disciplined within you is a great way to see a book through from start to finish. Good luck!

Posted By: PartiallyClips Jun 25, 2003 - 07:07 am

Sara, you're a bloody genius. I couldn't have said this better. I used to have exactly the same problem as pigeon and there's no better solution than "stick it out, even when it's not fun anymore."

I'm also going to try that "set a deadline at the 3/4 mark" with my current fantasy story, too.

Rob Balder
-------------------
Two words for weird

Posted By: Sara Jun 25, 2003 - 03:35 pm

Thanks, Tom.

You were rather ingenius yourself, if I may say, in your post at the "Can anyone become a writer" thread.

I think those two threads ought to go hand-in-hand. Anyone with the desire and skill to be a writer can certainly succeed, so long as they are willing to approach it as a disciplined craft, and exercise the time and determination not only to see the manuscript-writing process through, but the publication-pursuit process, as well.