Here we are again at the beginning of another month and another post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Learn more about them on their website, Facebook page, and Twitter.
Our hosts this month are SE White, Cathrina Constantine, Natalie Aguirre, Joylene Nowell Butler, and Jacqui Murray.
Here's our question for this month: When the going gets tough writing the story, how do you keep yourself writing to the end? If [you] have not started the writing yet, why do you think that is and what do you think could help you find your groove and start?
This is a tough question to answer because there are so many possible reasons for the writing not going well. For example, if I have a great idea for the opening of a story but don't know how it'll end, I'll soon start floundering around. Perhaps I don't know enough about a subject to know what details to include or if something is feasible. There could be personal distractions affecting my focus or simply a lack of time/energy for the story. If you can correctly identify the problem, then it's easier to figure out the solution.
The wording of this story implies that the best solution for writing problems is to push through the writing. Sometimes, however, I feel it's better to set a story aside, at least temporarily. I admit I have a couple of half-completed works in my science fiction Catalyst Chronicles series that have been shelved for years. One of them is told by a Native American teen, and I don't feel I know enough about her background to do it justice. (Plus, I lost focus on the plot.) The other story meandered into side plots, and I felt stuck on it because I had planned to write the Native American teen's story first. It might be best for the series if I discard the first story (which was planned as a short story set between two novels) and tell the other one (the next novel and a major turning point in the series) anyway.
As far as the second question goes (not starting a story), I think that can have many causes. One thing I've noticed as I've continued to write is that there are three different series in three different genres that I want to work on, but I don't have enough time for all of them. Currently I'm trying to focus on editing my cozy mystery, Restaurants and Revenge, and finish drafting stories for a fantasy collection to be called The Season Between. These series are priorities for me because they're more marketable than the Catalyst Chronicles series and because I'm also internally driven to work on them. Inner drive or grit is part of the answer to both questions, as grit will help you overcome internal and external obstacles.
What causes your toughest writing problems, and how do you overcome them? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
3 comments:
You have to go with your inner grit. And with what is working.
I agree with you, that sometimes it's best to push a project to the side if it's not working for you. Then, perhaps, it will call you back.
As long as you are passionate about those two series, marketable does matter.
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