Struggling to get back into writing my story (frustration, boredom, distractions, and other annoyances)

[Fivestrings]

So, about 18 years ago I had this idea for (what I consider) a great story.

It's original in it's own right, reads initially as though it is a fantasy, until it becomes clear (through certain plot developments and topics) that it's actually sci-fi.
I've had the main characters firmly grounded within their own personalities for many years, as well as the meat and potatoes of the main plot.

I've written on and off over the years (sometimes a few years between fits of obsessive keyboard hammering), and written some stuff that I was really quite proud of (and I'm always the last to give myself praise for anything), but above all, I really enjoyed the writing of it.

The story itself has changed over the years as I got older, however the original idea/s are still what drives it, and even when not writing, it has always been there in back of my mind, whispering to me that it is still unfinished.

A few months ago, it started shouting at me again. I went months, frustrated of not having a laptop or being able to afford one, and itching to write. I made notes on my phone, penned ideas and conversations in a note pad, all in anticipation of getting that laptop and submersing myself into it for one final assault...
Well, I got the laptop a couple weeks ago, and I may have written all of a thousand words since, tops, that's it. And those thousand words or so came hard. They certainly did not pour onto the screen in the frantic way that my previous writing did.
They were a slog, to be quite honest, and what I've written is, "meh" at best.
I'm feeling deflated and frustrated.

Now, I'm sure I'm not the first person to have ever felt this way!
I've been trying to get to the bottom of why, all of a sudden, I can sit here staring at a blank screen and write not a word before shutting it down and giving up.

How do people deal with this if/when it happens to them?

I need to get that old feeling back of typing away, not even knowing myself what is going to happen, and being excited about that.

 

[Guillermo Stitch]

That I know of, there's no easy answer, but maybe this will help. Thinks of 'pantsing',which you are describing, and 'outlining' as two directions that are always available to you. You can chop and change. If you are paralysed at your screen when trying to 'pants', stop trying. Outline.

 

[Fivestrings]

That I know of, there's no easy answer, but maybe this will help. Thinks of 'pantsing',which you are describing, and 'outlining' as two directions that are always available to you. You can chop and change. If you are paralysed at your screen when trying to 'pants', stop trying. Outline.

That's a fair point. I've rarely been one for outlining (apart from larger plot sequences), but maybe that will help me get back into it.

 

[Plucky Novice]

There are wiser and more experienced heads than mine on this forum who I'm sure will have some techniques to help.

It seems to me if you're struggling to write the next chapter in the book then don't write the next chapter in the book. Pick a great scene you're looking forward to writing and write that. It doesn't matter if you're out of sequence if it gets you writing again.

 

[Plucky Novice]

That's a fair point. I've rarely been one for outlining (apart from larger plot sequences), but maybe that will help me get back into it.

This helps me a lot when I'm struggling to move the story on.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Don't look at the big picture. Slow and steady. Aim for 500 words a day - that's a short scene - and, if you surpass it you'll feel great, and if you don't make it it's easy to catch up. Small and often and you'll have a book at the end.

 

[James Bridie]

I would ask, what happened to the voice, that used to whisper and was sometimes shouting at you?

Has is slunk off into oblivion? Was it a mischievous demon, who got you to get the laptop, and is now sniggering? Or was it quite happy to haunt you when you weren't paying it any attention, but now disturbed you might be bringing it to fruition? Or is it still whispering in your ear, trying to urge you on, or shouting bossily to get on with it?

If it has slunk off and nowhere to be seen, why not drop the story again for now, and strike out to do something completely new? If it still cares, can you use that to somehow to defy it or satisfy it?

 

[Joshua Jones]

What works for me is to take a minute and write something else entirely. It could be in universe or not, but something which is only intended to be a scene or two, or perhaps an entry in a writing challenge here.

Also, resist the temptation of perfectionism in your first draft. The first draft is an attempt to put something on page which roughly conveys your story, which is then edited into brilliance. Personally, my first drafts are complete garbage, and then get refined into reclaimed garbage before going for critique, where others help me see what is still garbage and what has some artistic value. But first draft perfectionism will kill your drive for writing faster than nearly anything else I know.

 

[sknox]

The advice here is mostly along the same lines: change the game. Write something different, change your method, shift your goals, and so on. I'll add another possibility: change the medium.

I'm more creative with pen and paper than I am at the computer. Very broadly and with many exceptions, I draft on paper, edit on computer. You might try getting a notebook and a pen or pencil. There's a third medium, which is voice--try recording. Anything to out-fox the block.

I'm sympathetic. I had a similar story. "Worked" on it for a decade. A few things helped me. One, I wrote something else. I wrote it all the way to completion, meaning published on Amazon. It wasn't bad, but I did it not so much to sell it as to finish it. Somehow, getting all the way to done helped me with the unfinished project, I think because it gave me a notion of what done would look like.

Two, I joined a writing group. It was f2f at my local library. The help there, I think, was in critiquing the work of others. It got me to think about story as story, rather than as this world I'd invented and what all I might say about it.

Three, I stopped caring so much. The first two helped there. I decided that getting the novel finished was the most important thing. I accepted that it would not be my best work. I tried hard to make it as good as I could, but ultimately getting to the finish line was the most important thing. That helped. There were still hundreds of times when I thought I was writing dreck. Hundreds when I was discouraged, bored, even in despair. Worst was the fear that the reader would come along for the ride then be disappointed in the ending. I wound up caring more for the characters than for the plot or world, and I wanted to do right by them. I sort of had to hold my breath and write that ending and just hope.

Anyway, there's no way to get those feelings to go away. All you can do is to learn to cope with them. I'm still working on it.

 

[millymollymo]

When stuck, when lost, when entangled in "meh" especially in First Drafts ask yourself "What happens next."
Write it, and it doesn't have to be on a laptop. A4 sheets & back of envelopes, its about getting the idea down. Join the pieces up later. You clearly have visions of what happens.
In the words of a starship captain, make it so.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Some projects are a slow burn, no matter what you try to do with them. I've ended up opening up side-projects that should be simpler to write and develop - so I can dedicate time to them when I can't on the bigger one.

 

[Fivestrings]

I would ask, what happened to the voice, that used to whisper and was sometimes shouting at you?

Has is slunk off into oblivion? Was it a mischievous demon, who got you to get the laptop, and is now sniggering? Or was it quite happy to haunt you when you weren't paying it any attention, but now disturbed you might be bringing it to fruition? Or is it still whispering in your ear, trying to urge you on, or shouting bossily to get on with it?

If it has slunk off and nowhere to be seen, why not drop the story again for now, and strike out to do something completely new? If it still cares, can you use that to somehow to defy it or satisfy it?

I think maybe it noticed me paying it attention and legged it! It's still nagging at me from around a corner, though.


Some really good advice from everyone here, actually. what a bunch of stars.
I'm going to take a different approach, relax, and stop pressuring myself!

 

[Toby Frost]

I think there are a lot of good suggestions earlier in this thread, and I think that you’re wise not to worry about it too much.

Just a random thought: might it be that you’re coming at it from the wrong direction? Sometimes, it feels as if the wrong character is the centre of the scene, or the story would be better served by being told in a different way. Sometimes I know what I want to say, but I haven’t worked out quite how to say it, and the story just feels wrong as a result.

 

[Titus Groan]

Don't restrict yourself in ANYWAY. Try writing on the back of receipts, on tiny fluro post its, on the butcher paper your pepperoni was wrapped in. Write it in the tweet box of twitter, on your shower walls (in a WASHABLE substance), in shaving foam in the sink.

Something else I find that helps immensely is turning a big idea into Flash Form, ie, 400-500 words. Go in late and leave early. This will inherently reveal the key point of tension in any scene or idea, and help you as a writer understand what you really really really need to keep and what is ultimately not adding to your stories aesthetic or plot.

 

[Vladd67]

I think it was Piers Anthony that said when he sat down to write if he got stuck with a story he would just carry on writing any old thing, shopping lists, lists of things to do, a character study, anything as long as he was writing. Eventually the original story would stop bubbling in the back of his mind and come through. Of course he had to do a lot of editing later, taking out all the non story material, but I believe he had a secretary for that.

 

[tinkerdan]

Often once the great idea strikes it is difficult to find the correct voice to tell the story.

I agree with many that you need to sit down and begin writing. A page of trash is more treasure than a blank page; in part because it is moving forward.

I started mine over thirty years ago and had two novels- two hundred pages of 8.5x 11 inch type written pages and even though it reads like crap it was still an effort at going forward.

After letting it sit for 30 years I decided to try again; however it took several years and finding the voice and character POV that I wanted to spend time with.

If you are struggling, you might want to ask yourself if your POV and narrative voice are people you would spend time with, just listening to them tell their story. If not then there's a bulk of the problem because if they are not you have to consider the fact that you will be spending a long time with them.

After I restarted it still took several years to get the story into shape.

 

[zmunkz]

In my limited experience, stories that coalesce over that long a time window can become very hard to write because your inner expectation for the story has grown, shall we say, unreasonable? You spend so long with the idea of this story that putting it to the page almost feels like skinning it, or doing it an injustice.

This happened to me on my first novel. That was a 7-year process with notebooks of worldbuilding, careful planning, and even character art comissioned on fiverr. In the end I had to put it aside and start fresh with something totally different. As hard as that was, I’ve not looked back. The new project flowed easily and became even cooler than the first.

I know of two similar cases with friends. One also just went to a new project, and was totally freed after doing so (though they intend to return to it someday). The other remains stuck on the same story for about 15 years now, with little progress to show since I met her 3 years ago.

I don’t mean to suggest your particular story is not worth writing! Certainly not. Only that the state of mind that comes on after such a vector might be best broken by a total change of gears.

 

[The Bluestocking]

In my limited experience, stories that coalesce over that long a time window can become very hard to write because your inner expectation for the story has grown, shall we say, unreasonable? You spend so long with the idea of this story that putting it to the page almost feels like skinning it, or doing it an injustice.

This happened to me on my first novel. That was a 7-year process with notebooks of worldbuilding, careful planning, and even character art comissioned on fiverr. In the end I had to put it aside and start fresh with something totally different. As hard as that was, I’ve not looked back. The new project flowed easily and became even cooler than the first.

I know of two similar cases with friends. One also just went to a new project, and was totally freed after doing so (though they intend to return to it someday). The other remains stuck on the same story for about 15 years now, with little progress to show since I met her 3 years ago.

I don’t mean to suggest your particular story is not worth writing! Certainly not. Only that the state of mind that comes on after such a vector might be best broken by a total change of gears.

I think it really depends on the individual writer though.

My story world (and the people in it) had been developing at the back of my mind for 15 years before I was finally ready to write the stories based in that world. I tried when I was younger but it didn't work - I personally needed that long to reach the right point in my life and storytelling skills to start tapping out the words on the screen.

I've had one false start (not really false but it's filed away for a while until I am at the right stage to write it), and written half of the first novel set in my world from another character's POV. Got stuck, then switched to writing a short story yet another character in my world which I'd finished... and am now expanding into a novella which - fingers crossed - I'm on track to finish on time to sub to Tor. Then I'm going back to finish my first novel.

Does the long gestation period make the writing process any easier? Well, yes and no:

On the "yes" side:

Because I know my world so well, my writing group and anyone who reads snippets of my WiP have remarked at how rich, layered, and developed it is.

Because I know my characters well (they are my my longtime imaginary friends who talk to me), this means it is relatively easy for me to navigate their adventures because I know how they'd act, respond, react etc to situations and circumstances.

On the "no" side:

I still have to muddle my way through story structures, plot holes, etc. I still get stuck at certain points and have to work out the story knots. Same as any other writer.

@Fivestrings - Perhaps it's because I've been gestating my story world and characters for a long time rather than have a set story to tell that I'm able to move forward with the writing as it means I have a sandbox ready for me to stage my stories in it. So maybe work on worldbuilding and getting to know your characters first before going back to writing your story? Heck - that exercise might even help your mind get back in gear for the story. Plus, character is usually the main thing that drives a story, so maybe you getting stuck so often is because you are plowing ahead with telling the story without knowing your characters.

My two cents. YMMV.

 

[Fivestrings]

I think it really depends on the individual writer though.

My story world (and the people in it) had been developing at the back of my mind for 15 years before I was finally ready to write the stories based in that world. I tried when I was younger but it didn't work - I personally needed that long to reach the right point in my life and storytelling skills to start tapping out the words on the screen.

I've had one false start (not really false but it's filed away for a while until I am at the right stage to write it), and written half of the first novel set in my world from another character's POV. Got stuck, then switched to writing a short story yet another character in my world which I'd finished... and am now expanding into a novella which - fingers crossed - I'm on track to finish on time to sub to Tor. Then I'm going back to finish my first novel.

Does the long gestation period make the writing process any easier? Well, yes and no:

On the "yes" side:

Because I know my world so well, my writing group and anyone who reads snippets of my WiP have remarked at how rich, layered, and developed it is.

Because I know my characters well (they are my my longtime imaginary friends who talk to me), this means it is relatively easy for me to navigate their adventures because I know how they'd act, respond, react etc to situations and circumstances.

On the "no" side:

I still have to muddle my way through story structures, plot holes, etc. I still get stuck at certain points and have to work out the story knots. Same as any other writer.

@Fivestrings - Perhaps it's because I've been gestating my story world and characters for a long time rather than have a set story to tell that I'm able to move forward with the writing as it means I have a sandbox ready for me to stage my stories in it. So maybe work on worldbuilding and getting to know your characters first before going back to writing your story? Heck - that exercise might even help your mind get back in gear for the story. Plus, character is usually the main thing that drives a story, so maybe you getting stuck so often is because you are plowing ahead with telling the story without knowing your characters.

My two cents. YMMV.

On reflection, I think you're close there. Rather I think it might be a case of me needing to get back in touch with the characters again after so long.
Good point!

 

[Jay Greenstein]

The problem may be that while you have the story, you're missing the tricks of the trade. If that's true, and all you have is verbal storytelling skills—which do not translate to the page—and the nonfiction skills we use every day, that great plot won't read with the excitement it had in your head when you move it to the page.

Let me toss a few things at you:

Are the things on the list below something you think about as you write (or would were you able to get past that blank screen), and take into account? If you have to think about what a given term means you're probably not making use if it, but should:

Short-term-scene-goal; inciting incident; scene and sequel; black moment; foreshadowing' rising tension.

Do you know why the following statement has a problem? "Nancy smiled when Dan came through the door." Hint: It has to do with viewpoint. Things like this, and why it matters should be at your fingertips as you write.

My point is that if we're not aware of a structural issue as we write we won't recognize it as a problem. But...our experience in reading will tell us one exists. Why? As Sol Stein observed: “Readers don’t notice point-of-view errors. They simply sense that the writing is bad.”

In short: It may be that the reason you can't start is that you don't know how to select the point at which to begin the story. And that's fixable. To quote Larry Brown: “There’s no such thing as a born writer. It’s a skill you’ve got to learn, just like learning how to be a bricklayer or a carpenter.”

You have the story. Doesn't it deserve the best setting? If you want the reader to view your writing as professionally written doesn't it make sense that you need to know at least part of what the pros know? To write a scene don't we need to know what a scene on the page is, and why? It's verry different from what constitutes a scene on stage and screen.

You have the story and the desire. Add the tricks of the trade to them and who knows...

You'll find a wealth of information on writing fiction in the fiction-writing section of your local library. And if you truly are meant to write, the learning will be fun. For an overview of the issues involved I might immodestly suggest the writing articles on my WordPress pages. And while you are at the library I'd look for the names, Dwight Swain, Jack Bickham, or Debra Dixon. They're pure gold.

Hang in there, and keep on writing.