I should say something here. This is a blog after all.
Saturday I pushed myself hard and got back on track with my word count--25,000 words written in one month. And I wrote my 1,250 Monday. Then yesterday I hit a wall again. Absolutely nothing came to me. What do you do when this happens?
My normal response would be to walk away from it for a while. Leave it sit for a week. After a break, inspiration usually strikes again. Or at least after giving my brain a rest, I'm ready to push through the block again. But this time I have a goal. If I leave it for a week, I'll fall over 6,000 words behind. Besides, this idea has been stewing for so long, I don't think leaving it alone would help this time.
All the big events are written. What's left is the daily conflict that will connect the dots and drive the story forward. The kind of thing more research won't help me with. It's about relationships and inner turmoil. The story between the lines of history--the fictionalized part.
Any advice? Sympathy?
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...it's a work in progress.
About Me
- Tina Helmuth
- Minnesotan born and raised, writer of Christian historical fiction, wannabe artist, and just enough of a perfectionist to do a decent critique.
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3 comments:
No sympathy. We've all been where you're standing and sympathy does absolutely nothing to move your story forward.
Instead (and these are my suggestions only--they work for me, but may not for you), re-read your last 10-20 pages. Highlight or mark stuff that looks great but does not move your story forward. Go into file. Paint same. Hit "delete" key.
Then, think about your characters. If your story's not moving, think about the absolute worst thing that could happen to your main char. Then write it happening to her. Even if you paint-and-delete later, you will have gone somewhere new, which may shake you out of your rut. If the Force is with you, you'll end up with a keeper-scene and increased tension.
Which is good thing, no?
Friend
I envy where you are . . . I'm in my last section, last edit and I can't seem to finish. Only maybe two weeks, but . . . Maybe it's fear of ending. Though I want to start writing something new . . . Soon I hope.
Dreams are yours to share.
Dan H
Dan Hanosh
Dreams Are Yours To Share
I forge ahead and write the entire story, warts and all, and call it my outline when I am finished. After all, good writers are actually good re-writers. Also, a good novel is not what you put into it, but what you take out of it. My last story had some very detailed and vivid dream sequences. I removed all of them and any references to them because they boggd down the plot. This is just my method. I wish you luck.
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