how to keep from getting bored while writing.

what i mean by boredom is that i get sort of tired of the story im writing. i ussually start another story after that. i enjoy writing but i have a bad attention span. im not exactly interested in short stories either.

another problem i have is that i go through stages where i write a lot and stages where i barely write anything at all.

most of the work im doing now is not intended to be published. just as practice.
 
There are some other issues which could play a role in here. Many writers get lost in their own fantasy while exploring their stuff. In fact, they think, that this is the fun in writing. I do not think so. To me it is fun to see a well planned structure gain flesh and life. Most fantasy stuff I see loses characters, does not tell about the intentions of the main character, introduces a new character who gets the main character in the middle of the story, and expands set descriptions and inner reflections of the characters until no successive, touching and plausible plot can be experienced any more. No humour, no action, no surprise, but pouring words into countless pages.
So I recommend a plan for a structure, mostly like that of a good fantasy movie: four acts,strictly cleared up to the purpose of those parts: Introduction of characters and intentions, confrontation, conflict, resolution. Thats the way you get out of your own cage and succeed to communicate with your readers.
 
assasin said:
what i mean by boredom is that i get sort of tired of the story im writing. i ussually start another story after that. i enjoy writing but i have a bad attention span. im not exactly interested in short stories either.
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Do you tell your friends all about a story before you write it (Or half way through writing it?)? I find doing that saps a lot of energy I have for writing the thing, because in a sense its already been told.

Keep quiet about it and the only way anyone will ever know is if you finish.
 
I think I know where some people are coming from.

I do not enjoy writing greatly. What do I like? I love creating worlds, characters, and especially plot lines, twists, and premises. However, my favourite canvas is my mind; putting my ideas to paper is not my forte.

Although I read lots of books and know many words, my word collection is not very good when it comes to writing. My rough drafts are VERY TERRIBLE. Like Sean Connery's character in "Finding Forrester" I just write. Write with your "heart" and edit with your "head".

By the time I reach my second edit, I am starting to enjoy myself. I have a thesaurus by my side. I've always been better at "tweaking", or making the icing moreso than the "cake".

So all in all, the things I enjoy about "writing" is the story-creating stage and the editing stage. That stage in the middle...the writing stage...that's the part that is the beast.
 
I often suffer the same problem as you assassin. I use to consider myself a "mood" writer, which meant I had ten different projects going and worked on them depending on what mood I was in. Unfortunately, that also translated into I had ten projects that never got finished and never got serious attention.

I think the trick is not to ignore your mood-writing instinct, write as your mood strikes you but also discipline yourself to seriously work on a single project and see it through. The value of focusing on a single project is it allows/forces you to hone your skills and refine your work.
 
I think frustration is just an inevitable part of the process (as with any complex task) and has to be worked through. Not easy but then writing isn't easy. I always find research helpful in 'unblocking' a story or for simply refiring my writing energy. A trip to a museum or the local library does wonders...
 
J-WO said:
Somedays, writing can be like bath time when I was a nipper; I hate getting in and then, once I'm in, I don't want to get out.
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...particularly if you're writing a Wetstern.


*cough*



I think that one of the benefits of writing a novel rather than, say, much shorter forms, is that a novel is capable of containing a much wider range of material without it feeling forced. (Okay, if you're writing somnething that's unrelentingly grim, there's less chance of light banter in a romantic setting; and vice versa.) What this means is that you do not have to leave your WIP in order to write or edit something more conducive to your current mood; you can please yourself and make progress.


* Wonders if thinking like this is one reason for his endlessly tinkering. *

.
 
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Personally, I tend to brood on an idea for some time before writing it. I make notes sometimes or just ponder it, but by the time I get round to putting in words, it's sufficiently fermented to work.

Have you considered whether your ideas would be better as short stories? If you find yourself running out of steam, it may be because the idea you had was better suited to a short form. Asimov and Clarke both wrote really epic short stories, in terms of setting and idea. A big concept doesn't necessarily need a trilogy to be properly expressed.

a) start another piece that is never intended for the light of day, it should be the furthest from the style that you're writing and it should be fun, fun, fun.
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I did this and the end results are now published. On the other hand, the very serious, innovative, genre-challenging historical revenge fantasy I was trying to write at the time is currently gathering virtual dust on my hard drive. I don't know if there's a moral to this, but it does prove that Boneman has a point.
 
There have been times when I have got 'bored' for want of a better word because I can't think of anything interesting to write next so I'm staring at the screen, not being able to think of anything - which is boring.

And there are times I dream about what exciting things my characters can do next and I wake up desperate to get my ideas on 'paper' and find out how it pans out.

I do plan in that I know how the story will end and I know roughly how it will get there, but all the little details of how my characters are going to get from where they are now to where I want them to be are not planned at all, so it can sometimes be tough, and it can sometimes be so much fun.

Maybe you need to plan in more detail if you are getting stuck.
 
If I understand what you mean by "boredom" (and I think I do), I have a similar issue. It's not that I become bored with what I'm writing, just bored in general. I find I focus best with some kind of distraction going on, but I may just be weird, as even if I'm reading a book or watching tv I've usually got the radio on, too.

Personally, YouTube works great for this. I'm a big fan of AVGN (that's all I'll say) and have compiled a playlist of the available videos. For me, the reason it works is because it's something like 7 hours of backround noise and motion in my view but just out of focus to distract me. Besides that, if I need to take a break, I'm right there watching videos I enjoy and my story is right in front of me to be my distraction. ;)

I know that's a strange cycle, but it works for me. On top of that, my personal routine involves doing most of my writing between Midnight and 2am. I work pretty late so when I get home it takes me a few hours to unwind and be ready for bed, everyone's asleep, so I just get some coffee, turn on my videos and go. I don't churn out huge numbers, but I usually put down 350-600 words. So spread throughout a week, it's progress that's none too shabby.

Maybe you should give something similar a go? Good luck!
 
The clay pot it functional. The squiggle design on the pot is art -- it's what the potter does when he/she gets bored :)
 
500 words, I've only written that in a single day about twice in the last four months. But I'm finishing stories, I enjoy finishing stories.

Finish a story, just try it, it feels really good.
 
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