help?

[Lady Knight]

I kinda need help, I start a story but end up not finishing. I have severel stories like that. I want to write a book and have many ideas but...cant ever seem to get them down on paper. Can any one offer advice?
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[Writing4Jesus]

I feel yo' pain, sista'! Lol! I have so many unfinished stories, I could put them together for a book!! What I really want to do is write a novel! I got some ideas, but theyre kinda jumbled up. What you really need is time and patience, which I have none of, which is my problem...

 

[oncewaslost]

only thing i can say is that when you write you've got to write something that keeps your interest. once you lose interest in what you're writing it's really hard to keep going. endings for me just kind of happen. i write myself into an ending and go "well... i guess that's it." novels take time. lots of time and it's not always easy. if you want to force yourself to write a short novel you could always participate in one of those 50k words in a month challenge. NaNoWriMo is one such challenge and i think there are others out there.

for me, when i have ideas that don't want to be put on paper, i force it out. it's not the greatest but that's one way to go. maybe someone else has a better idea. also, when i have an idea that i can never seem to get around to writing i develop the characters. i have fun developing characters and it makes them more realistic and less stereotypical.

btw, you get even less time when you're older just thought i'd mention that.

 

[silentpoet]

the best way to finish one is to finish one. Does not have to be perfect, that's what re writing is for.

 

[pastel]

When I am writing, and a lot of ideas come to me, the best way for me to keep it clear is to write it out in outline form. When I see where the storyline needs to go, the story simply writes itself. Outlines are the quickest and easiest way to get the main ideas and the details sorted out in order.

 

[Xaddiline]

Woah...I have never written a story except in 3rd grade when we were required to do so...

 

[oncewaslost]

i couldn't write an outline to save my life.

 

[silentpoet]

I Beginning
A.where
B. When
II Middle
A. Who
B. Why

Well you get the idea. If you know the story roughly you want an outline is fairly easy to write. At least the roman numeral part. Filling out the levels below it is where it gets tougher. When I did a paper in college, I would always do an outline. Once I had the outline, the paper was practically finished.

 

[Ellesar]

I have that same problems sometime Lady K. One of the stories I'm working on, I've recently come back to after abandoning it for a while...my goal is to get it finished...

 

[die2live]

Just write it all out. Doesn't matter how stupid it sounds the first time. That's what revising is for, I guess. I find endings and beginnings hard. But I find revising a lot easier than actual writing. So I just do it and work out the rough edges later. I've written two full drafts of one novel, which I've now decided to make into three with a really different plot line, so that's at least one more. I'm working on my third draft for another one. I really think it's okay not to have everything worked out until the fourth or fifth time. I think it makes it better. It just takes a bit more patience.

 

[TheOriginalWhitehorse]

I agree. Everyone gets writer's block, but the best way to get through it is to write your way through it. Make a hot cup of tea and grit your teeth and write dry if necessary. You'll end up throwing a lot of it away and rewriting it: several times. But it's all part of the task of writing. I have several projects at any time, and sometimes if I get writer's block on one, I work on the other. The key is to always be working on one of them; as long as you're always writing, they will get done. I had to rework the entire second half of a book one time, because I changed the premise: after I had finished writing and editing the whole book.

But I wouldn't add too many projects. Set a certain number of projects you'll allow yourself to work on at any one time and make a time commitment. Once you have two or three projects, don't start a new one until one of the old ones is finished and edited. Then add a new one. But keep writing down ideas for new projects as they come-while you're restricted to your old projects, you don't want to forget the really good ideas that come to you in the meantime. They'll all get done.

 

[GodFlute2]

discipline your self. that's what I have to do.

 

[Rose D.]

I can never write outlines - sometimes I jot down ideas for characters, scenes, or settings, but never an actual outline. One thing that helps me to write (I'm almost done with a historical novel) is to write the chapters in whatever order they come to me in. That way I don't get bogged down because of a difficult chapter, and I can come back to that chapter later and finish it.

The other thing I do that seems to help is to keep a document on the computer with little bits and pieces of interesting scenes that I can paste in different places where they fit - if a few lines of dialog that I want in the story somewhere comes to mind, but I don't know where I'll use it yet, I put it in that document for later.

And amen to what oncewaslost said - you'll have less time to write as you grow older.

 

[TigerLibby]

I have the same problem as you. I have about 10 stories that I haven't finnished...I just write whatever pops into my head and when I get an idea I add it. I agree with what other people said: Outlines are hard for me, but I think they would work. And if you don't like your first draft that's okay, you can always go back and rewrite a part. Just finnish the story, then go back and revise it.
God Bless
~Libby~

 

[TheDandyMan]

I'd do NaNoWriMo, since you've got a set deadline that you can't change, and thus have to work for it. Plus, you might end up with "Novelist" in your series of qualifications, like me.

 

[Lessien]

Write something that interests you. If what you're writing bores you, either start over or jazz it up a bit. And to get past writers block, I find it's helpful to imagine that you're the main character of the story you're writing. Daydream, and role-play your character in your head.

 

[Lady Knight]

I do ezactly that Lessien. But it seems that the stories want to stay in my head and not come out on papper.

 

[Lessien]

Plan it out in your head. Get the wording just right, the dialougue, the desc. of the scenery, everything you can, before you write it down. And maybe you just have to wait for something good to hit you.

 

[jobstears]

Hi Ladyknight,

One of the things I found when I first started writing was not to write something too long or drawn out...think of a story with a beginning, middle and end without dragging along in between. Think of a simple plot with a non-complicated setting and not too many characters, then tell your story and give it a good ending. Then once you have one story under your belt, the rest seem to come easier because you've built up some confidence. Short stories are fun to write and they don't make you feel so overwhelmed in the process. It worked for me. I have lots of great story starters if you're interested. Just let me know, I'd be glad to help.

blessings and good luck!
jobstears

 

[ilovechrist2005]

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