I’m seriously one scene away from having a completed novel and I CAN’T SEEM TO WRITE IT. WHAT IS MY PROBLEM?
It’s like a spying/knowledge discovery scene where she sneaks around a psych ward after getting invited in on an internship. I’ve actually written a page of it (it helps me to start a new document and write the scene there before dropping it in the main document) and I have the basic idea of what’s going to happen. But for some reason I always find myself working on something else. Which is completely unhelpful to my progress to being a published author, because I can’t exactly publish and promote an unfinished book.
Anyway. Whine, whine, whine.
I’ve gotten into this weird habit where I’m dumping a lot of time into writing and then feeling bad about it because my brain is telling me I should probably be doing something like cleaning the house. Writing isn’t an immediate reward process (at least when you’re starting out – maybe it’s better later?) and it’s hard to feel like it’s “productive” in the sense that most of society expects us to be.
Maybe this is just the whole growing up problem where I’m starting to worry more about responsibilities than doing things I enjoy. Since writing isn’t exactly a money-making prospect at the moment, it’s just for pleasure and fun.
Or investing in my future and happiness. One or the other.
I know the neuroses of writers and their craft is endless and there are ton of different perspectives. What are you struggling with right now as a writer?
Awake Dragon 
January 16th, 2015 at 7:58 PM
I’m currently the farthest I’ve gone in my novel and I am having trouble moving on. I kept breaking down in tears telling myself I’m not a writer, what am I doing?
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January 16th, 2015 at 8:25 PM
Oh man! I’m sorry. Sometimes we get so far and (at least for me) I think we scare ourselves in the “what am I doing??” It’s that executive part of the brain spazzing out.
Is it just a lack of passion for it, not sure what you’re doing, or not having a clear conclusion? Do you have an idea of how you want it to end?
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January 16th, 2015 at 8:38 PM
I think it’s a bit of all three. I don’t love it as I once did, no idea where I’m going or how it will end. I am not even sure how I want it to end either. It isn’t thrilling to me as it once was.
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January 16th, 2015 at 9:24 PM
Hmm. A few years ago I went through a period where I was really not inspired to write at all. I felt like I was losing part of my identity because I just felt like it all stopped being important, or necessary. I ended up not writing for… maybe an entire year. I’d sit down and go over stuff I did, stare at it, maybe edit or at a sentence here and there. But nothing like I once did.
Soooo… I have three suggestions. One, maybe it’s time for a break. We gots lots of time to figure it all out. There is nothing wrong with taking a break and it doesn’t mean you’re less of a writer. Maybe things need to process. Maybe some life stuff needs to happen. Maybe your muse is getting sucker punched by a new one making an entrance. Who knows.
Two, maybe work on a different project. The novel I have almost finished and am working towards publication is not my first novel – I have one that’s just sitting on my computer that I struggled with for years. The first big project you write doesn’t have the be “the one” that gets out there. Maybe it’s the one you learn on. Maybe you’ll do something with it later! If you read published author bios, there are a lot out there that don’t publish their first novel until years after succeeding novels.
Third (and this one kind of goes with #1) maybe it’s time to stock up on ideas and good fiction. I think that creativity (at least for me) is rather like a sponge – you can’t keep just squeezing and expect something to keep coming out, sometimes you have to fill it up. Read some fun novels, maybe even some great ones. Catch up on some TV shows. Watch some inspiring/thought-provoking movies. Start discussing ideas with fellow peers.
Anyway, that was a lot of me throwing out ideas at you. Does that help at all? First and foremost, please don’t feel bad about yourself because of this. It sounds like things are changing a bit for you – anything happening in your life that’s changing, too? Or anything that feels like it’s not going to change at all? I think our writing responds to what’s happening in our lives, albeit at a sometimes delayed rate. You have your own path to figure out, and writing may or may not be in – or it may or not be in it right at this moment.
(I hope this all wasn’t too bossy or assuming of me)
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January 16th, 2015 at 9:26 PM
No, no, you helped me even more so on my recently made decision. I should continue to read and just accept the inevitable. I don’t want to work on a novel I half like. Your comment is really helpful, thank you!
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January 16th, 2015 at 9:28 PM
I’m glad! Go out there and kick ass with whatever you’re doing. We’ve all got crazy, different paths and you’ll figure it out.
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