Every story I've ever written rots in a graveyard, unfinished.

[skimom2]

If you say 'I can't' or 'this will never work', you'd be right every time. I like one of Mr. King's quotes: "Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work."

So.

Either you want to finish a story or you don't. You can be the best wordslinger in the world, but if you stop before the story is ended no one will ever know. I'm putting on my editor hat here, so forgive me if I'm being blunt. Writers like to sling around the old, "It practically wrote itself." That would be an exaggeration in nearly every case. Sometimes the words appear like magic and sometimes they don't; either way, producing something that is intended for someone other than yourself to read is work. Hard f***ing work, sometimes. You'll consider and discard a thousand ideas before you finish a project, and then you'll set aside some of those you finish. And that's okay. You learn with practice and perseverance.

Maybe it's time to try something different. Write something in a different genre-doesn't have to be a long involved thing. Write in a different voice--I notice that you post using elevated language that doesn't feel entirely natural. So write something using the simplest language you can. Take time to read good writers, not to pick them apart but to appreciate and enjoy. Most of all, give yourself a break, dude. Allow yourself to turn out a piece of utter garbage, if that's what it takes to get the juices flowing and break your self-imposed block. If you require perfection at the first shot…well, first that's something of a God complex. Not a single book/story is produced without writing and rewriting, and rewriting, and editing, and rewriting again. Second, you'll never finish anything, and that would be a shame.

Finally (and then I promise I'm done), consider John Steinbeck. Maybe the finest American writer that's lived so far. Read what he said about writing, and then ask yourself if he knew what he was talking about and if you really think you're more blessed with certainty than he was: (BTW, all of his letters are marvelous. He was a writer's writer.)

Letters of Note: A book is like a man

 

[VultureLvr45]

Beautiful, Skimom2

 

[Mr Nobody]

Wolf: Seems like you actually have a couple of ideas there, not just one. The 'Creatures from Another Dimension' story is probably strong enough to stand alone. The stuff about the cause...well, do you really need that? Why not suggest that, hey, that's the way it is and has always been, man, it's just that this dude's accidentally uncovered 'the secret'. Or perhaps he's always had episodes that he thought were just dreams, but then he learnt better.
Put together, I'm not 100% sure it'd work. I mean, rich or not, how do you adequately defend yourself or protect others against trans-dimensional (and presumably powerful) beings? Can it even be done?
If split, with the rich man in his mansion, etc, forming a second story...OK, why is he rich? Was it a case of rich family, daughter goes off to do her own thing, joins the army and comes back damaged (her story would be interesting too, don't you think?), or did he 'make good' somehow - the 'how' might be relevant there, lots of potential for tension, familial and otherwise? Did he even 'make good' at all? What if his wealth came from not exactly legal/white-hat endeavours? (And maybe that goes back to your original set-up, where it's all one idea: maybe these things are appearing to him and threatening his family for a reason.)

Either way, what I got from your post was that you'd "created and destroyed an entire reality" in two evenings. Now, to me, that's not enough to be able to call something dead. In a hard patch, yes. Struggling to come through as clearly as in that first brilliant few moments...sure, we've all had that. Like skimom2 said, sometimes it's like trudging through mud. Take more time. Go for a walk, exercise, whatever. Just let your mind do the work.
But you know - and I'm sure you do know - it's not meant to be easy anyway. If it were, everyone would be doing it (successfully)...and ending can be the hardest part. (Look at the criticism SK has taken over some of his endings!)
Personally, I know my jumping-off point maybe 30% of the time at best. Mostly, I have to turn the puzzle and find the way in...but then there's the odd 5-10% of the time where nothing suggests itself, so then I start out freewriting. That is, it's not real freewriting because I'm still doing 'The Story' (and I really, really struggle with titles and character names, so I just slap placeholders up where I need them and move on; that's what first draft is all about: moving on and getting the story written, even if all you really get to use in the second draft is 90% of the bones). But, I'll be there, writing around it all. Could be I'm describing the weather, or the way the sun slants through a window just so, or maybe there's an old guy in a wooden chair enjoying the sun. In my mind's eye, he'll turn his head and look at me...except I'm not really there, so maybe he's seeing Pete, or John, or Sally, and so on. Just spinning it out.
Eventually, something will snag and some kind of point will form. Then the story begins and all that stuff from before...well, I keep it. Not in the story, maybe, but I'll draw a box around it or print it off as a note.
That's the beginning, but with not really being a plotter - I might have an outline that I jot down, ideas that go to structure later on (or in the second or third drafts) - I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen at the end. Sometimes it seems that stories (like some of my posts! ) will have no end. But end they inevitably will, and having faith in that can be one hell of a leap.
Take it. Just once. Prove to yourself that you can reach the conclusion. Just once, because that's all it'll take. (And remember, as Yoda said, do, or do not; there is no 'try'. )
If, on the other hand, you find you absolutely can't ever reach the end-point...stop. Or at least, end the cycle you're in, because it can't end well otherwise. Write, but know that what you write will not be published because it's unfinished, if it's the initial process of creation you enjoy and you find you have to write something. Being completely honest, though, my strong advice would be to find another creative outlet. Art, maybe. Music. Something where you can express thoughts, feelings, or fragments of ideas in a form that, arguably, better lends itself to ambiguity and a sense of (possible) incompleteness.

Anyway, I'll belt up now and spare you more semi-coherent ramblings. Good luck, and finish a story!

 

[Mr Nobody]

If you say 'I can't' or 'this will never work', you'd be right every time. I like one of Mr. King's quotes: "Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work."

So.

Either you want to finish a story or you don't. You can be the best wordslinger in the world, but if you stop before the story is ended no one will ever know. I'm putting on my editor hat here, so forgive me if I'm being blunt. Writers like to sling around the old, "It practically wrote itself." That would be an exaggeration in nearly every case. Sometimes the words appear like magic and sometimes they don't; either way, producing something that is intended for someone other than yourself to read is work. Hard f***ing work, sometimes. You'll consider and discard a thousand ideas before you finish a project, and then you'll set aside some of those you finish. And that's okay. You learn with practice and perseverance.

Maybe it's time to try something different. Write something in a different genre-doesn't have to be a long involved thing. Write in a different voice--I notice that you post using elevated language that doesn't feel entirely natural. So write something using the simplest language you can. Take time to read good writers, not to pick them apart but to appreciate and enjoy. Most of all, give yourself a break, dude. Allow yourself to turn out a piece of utter garbage, if that's what it takes to get the juices flowing and break your self-imposed block. If you require perfection at the first shot…well, first that's something of a God complex. Not a single book/story is produced without writing and rewriting, and rewriting, and editing, and rewriting again. Second, you'll never finish anything, and that would be a shame.

Finally (and then I promise I'm done), consider John Steinbeck. Maybe the finest American writer that's lived so far. Read what he said about writing, and then ask yourself if he knew what he was talking about and if you really think you're more blessed with certainty than he was: (BTW, all of his letters are marvelous. He was a writer's writer.)

Letters of Note: A book is like a man

Shame I can only Like that once.

 

[Wolf O'Donnell]

If you say 'I can't' or 'this will never work', you'd be right every time. I like one of Mr. King's quotes: "Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work."

So.

Either you want to finish a story or you don't. You can be the best wordslinger in the world, but if you stop before the story is ended no one will ever know. I'm putting on my editor hat here, so forgive me if I'm being blunt. Writers like to sling around the old, "It practically wrote itself." That would be an exaggeration in nearly every case. Sometimes the words appear like magic and sometimes they don't; either way, producing something that is intended for someone other than yourself to read is work. Hard f***ing work, sometimes. You'll consider and discard a thousand ideas before you finish a project, and then you'll set aside some of those you finish. And that's okay. You learn with practice and perseverance.

Maybe it's time to try something different. Write something in a different genre-doesn't have to be a long involved thing. Write in a different voice--I notice that you post using elevated language that doesn't feel entirely natural. So write something using the simplest language you can. Take time to read good writers, not to pick them apart but to appreciate and enjoy. Most of all, give yourself a break, dude. Allow yourself to turn out a piece of utter garbage, if that's what it takes to get the juices flowing and break your self-imposed block. If you require perfection at the first shot…well, first that's something of a God complex. Not a single book/story is produced without writing and rewriting, and rewriting, and editing, and rewriting again. Second, you'll never finish anything, and that would be a shame.

Finally (and then I promise I'm done), consider John Steinbeck. Maybe the finest American writer that's lived so far. Read what he said about writing, and then ask yourself if he knew what he was talking about and if you really think you're more blessed with certainty than he was: (BTW, all of his letters are marvelous. He was a writer's writer.)

Letters of Note: A book is like a man

Well damn.

Objectivity really is priceless.

You've pretty much stabbed the heart. I didn't realize what a puffed toad I'd become. A spoiled child who wants it all now, really. In my arrogance, my blindness, I considered myself something of a literary genius with the main problem being that I'm too brilliant for my own good.

When I was a kid some bad stuff happened, stuff that makes me think I never really got a chance to have a childhood. It's strange you mention a God-Complex because for the longest time I've wanted to seize control of reality and make it what I think it should be. Wars would end, the world be paradise, everything wicked and horrible would be obliterated...so on and so on. I'm told this is pretty typical for people who were forced to try and be adults before their time.

I think, in my writing, I've been something of a control freak (again trying to force the worlds I make to my vision) and it took your post to make me face it. You say I use 'elevated language that doesn't seem natural', well I didn't see it that way before I read what you wrote.

Let's take the cliff in my mind, the one I've got to beat somehow, described this way: "A jagged wall of nearly infinite ice towering and grim, covered in a sparkling cloak of frost, the deep despair of its frigid shadow colder than a winter grave, the insurmountable height a colossal and crushing doom to the slightest progress."

I could have just said: "The great cliff sparkled with frost and cast a long shadow." Why didn't I?

Because I'm an idiot. I could use words akin to craniums and nether regions to describe myself, though I won't. Even worse, writing the former sentence rather than the latter is a drain. Trust me, when crap like that starts to pile up you wonder if you're an amazing writer or the worst that ever lived and there's no one around to give me an honest answer, to say nothing of the fact that going over a draft of it makes me go cross-eyed.

There's also a lot of high-handed rhetoric I could use in regards to the impact of your link to John Steinbeck (who I had never heard of until tonight). I'm going to take a page from your book and say simply that 'I was blown away.'

I can't thank you enough for taking the time to write your response. I guess a good start would be leaving the wasteland reigned by King Bulls**t behind and realizing nothing worthwhile is ever won easily.

 

[Wolf O'Donnell]

Wolf: Seems like you actually have a couple of ideas there, not just one. The 'Creatures from Another Dimension' story is probably strong enough to stand alone. The stuff about the cause...well, do you really need that? Why not suggest that, hey, that's the way it is and has always been, man, it's just that this dude's accidentally uncovered 'the secret'. Or perhaps he's always had episodes that he thought were just dreams, but then he learnt better.
Put together, I'm not 100% sure it'd work. I mean, rich or not, how do you adequately defend yourself or protect others against trans-dimensional (and presumably powerful) beings? Can it even be done?
If split, with the rich man in his mansion, etc, forming a second story...OK, why is he rich? Was it a case of rich family, daughter goes off to do her own thing, joins the army and comes back damaged (her story would be interesting too, don't you think?), or did he 'make good' somehow - the 'how' might be relevant there, lots of potential for tension, familial and otherwise? Did he even 'make good' at all? What if his wealth came from not exactly legal/white-hat endeavours? (And maybe that goes back to your original set-up, where it's all one idea: maybe these things are appearing to him and threatening his family for a reason.)

Either way, what I got from your post was that you'd "created and destroyed an entire reality" in two evenings. Now, to me, that's not enough to be able to call something dead. In a hard patch, yes. Struggling to come through as clearly as in that first brilliant few moments...sure, we've all had that. Like skimom2 said, sometimes it's like trudging through mud. Take more time. Go for a walk, exercise, whatever. Just let your mind do the work.
But you know - and I'm sure you do know - it's not meant to be easy anyway. If it were, everyone would be doing it (successfully)...and ending can be the hardest part. (Look at the criticism SK has taken over some of his endings!)
Personally, I know my jumping-off point maybe 30% of the time at best. Mostly, I have to turn the puzzle and find the way in...but then there's the odd 5-10% of the time where nothing suggests itself, so then I start out freewriting. That is, it's not real freewriting because I'm still doing 'The Story' (and I really, really struggle with titles and character names, so I just slap placeholders up where I need them and move on; that's what first draft is all about: moving on and getting the story written, even if all you really get to use in the second draft is 90% of the bones). But, I'll be there, writing around it all. Could be I'm describing the weather, or the way the sun slants through a window just so, or maybe there's an old guy in a wooden chair enjoying the sun. In my mind's eye, he'll turn his head and look at me...except I'm not really there, so maybe he's seeing Pete, or John, or Sally, and so on. Just spinning it out.
Eventually, something will snag and some kind of point will form. Then the story begins and all that stuff from before...well, I keep it. Not in the story, maybe, but I'll draw a box around it or print it off as a note.
That's the beginning, but with not really being a plotter - I might have an outline that I jot down, ideas that go to structure later on (or in the second or third drafts) - I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen at the end. Sometimes it seems that stories (like some of my posts! ) will have no end. But end they inevitably will, and having faith in that can be one hell of a leap.
Take it. Just once. Prove to yourself that you can reach the conclusion. Just once, because that's all it'll take. (And remember, as Yoda said, do, or do not; there is no 'try'. )
If, on the other hand, you find you absolutely can't ever reach the end-point...stop. Or at least, end the cycle you're in, because it can't end well otherwise. Write, but know that what you write will not be published because it's unfinished, if it's the initial process of creation you enjoy and you find you have to write something. Being completely honest, though, my strong advice would be to find another creative outlet. Art, maybe. Music. Something where you can express thoughts, feelings, or fragments of ideas in a form that, arguably, better lends itself to ambiguity and a sense of (possible) incompleteness.

Anyway, I'll belt up now and spare you more semi-coherent ramblings. Good luck, and finish a story!

First off, yes, the story I came up with is swiss cheese and you came up with a bunch of stuff I didn't see. Maybe I sensed it and that's why I quit so soon, maybe I'm just being my typical quitter self, either way the road led to oblivion.

Secondly, combined with skimom2, you've hammered home that writing isn't 'abra-kadabra' and that if I don't have the patience to work damn hard if I want to call myself a writer I should go home myself. On top of that the two of you have made me realize that the flaw isn't just work ethic, it's having the courage to face creative break downs and self doubt. It's a battle and it's one a coward can never win.

Freewriting, placeholders and drafts that are races to the finish line are steps I'm going to take starting now. As you said (and someone wise and green said in a galaxy far, far away) there is no try, try is the gray blanket we wrap ourselves up in to face the chill of self-doubt and absolve ourselves of responsibility.

By the way, I didn't see any rambling. Everything you said was relevant (even the statistics, which I find pretty damn close to the mark when dealing with my own unfinished fragments) and that you made an effort to make me see light won't be in vain.

 

[Bryan James]

The words are too much with you.

 

[Wolf O'Donnell]

The words are too much with you.

As cryptic and insightful as a severed hand found within a fully grown watermelon.

You're right. I'm going to let the words speak for themselves from now on. The leaner the better.

 

[Mr Nobody]

First off, yes, the story I came up with is swiss cheese and you came up with a bunch of stuff I didn't see. Maybe I sensed it and that's why I quit so soon, maybe I'm just being my typical quitter self, either way the road led to oblivion.

Secondly, combined with skimom2, you've hammered home that writing isn't 'abra-kadabra' and that if I don't have the patience to work damn hard if I want to call myself a writer I should go home myself. On top of that the two of you have made me realize that the flaw isn't just work ethic, it's having the courage to face creative break downs and self doubt. It's a battle and it's one a coward can never win.

Freewriting, placeholders and drafts that are races to the finish line are steps I'm going to take starting now. As you said (and someone wise and green said in a galaxy far, far away) there is no try, try is the gray blanket we wrap ourselves up in to face the chill of self-doubt and absolve ourselves of responsibility.

By the way, I didn't see any rambling. Everything you said was relevant (even the statistics, which I find pretty damn close to the mark when dealing with my own unfinished fragments) and that you made an effort to make me see light won't be in vain.

Glad I was able to say something you found useful, Wolf.
Keep your feet on the ground but reach for the stars.

 

[mjs9153]

each thing I do I rush through, so I can do something else..
Stephen Dobyns
the title of this thread reminded me of this..

 

[Wolf O'Donnell]

Glad I was able to say something you found useful, Wolf.
Keep your feet on the ground but reach for the stars.

I can't really do justice to some of the things you've said to me with a post. You've changed the course of my life with passing advice that will affect my thinking far into the future...how does someone describe the power of that or the ripples that aren't yet?

As for the rest of the helpful, who held up lanterns of wisdom in the darkness of my drunken doubt...thank you.

Something I can't escape for all the guiding lights is that I'm still a phantom of the literary opera. So many of you have overcome and left this graveyard of mine behind, you have finished works that you can hold in your hand and be proud of, and you've changed the world with them.

I'm proud of you and dream of doing what you've done. I'm also sad, because I don't belong in your company. Not yet.

Goodbye.

 

[Bryan James]

^
Well that sucks. Don't go yet.

We have such sights to show you.

 

[GNTLGNT]

I can't really do justice to some of the things you've said to me with a post. You've changed the course of my life with passing advice that will affect my thinking far into the future...how does someone describe the power of that or the ripples that aren't yet?

As for the rest of the helpful, who held up lanterns of wisdom in the darkness of my drunken doubt...thank you.

Something I can't escape for all the guiding lights is that I'm still a phantom of the literary opera. So many of you have overcome and left this graveyard of mine behind, you have finished works that you can hold in your hand and be proud of, and you've changed the world with them.

I'm proud of you and dream of doing what you've done. I'm also sad, because I don't belong in your company. Not yet.

Goodbye.

....sounds like you might need some counseling, your self-image is a bit wonky-and that combined with the drinking is a dangerous cocktail....forget the writing for now and find some help forthwith, we will be here when you have yourself taken care of, that's what this family is concerned with...

 

[Mr Nobody]

I can't really do justice to some of the things you've said to me with a post. You've changed the course of my life with passing advice that will affect my thinking far into the future...how does someone describe the power of that or the ripples that aren't yet?

As for the rest of the helpful, who held up lanterns of wisdom in the darkness of my drunken doubt...thank you.

Something I can't escape for all the guiding lights is that I'm still a phantom of the literary opera. So many of you have overcome and left this graveyard of mine behind, you have finished works that you can hold in your hand and be proud of, and you've changed the world with them.

I'm proud of you and dream of doing what you've done. I'm also sad, because I don't belong in your company. Not yet.

Goodbye.

Wolf, come back, man! No need to go anywhere! My company's not that great. (Er...)
Besides, look where I am. I'm presuming to talk about writing on the message board of one of the biggest-selling authors on the planet!

See, what you've made me do now is wish I'd remembered to include something I'd intended to say when I first hit 'Reply'. That was:
Don't beat yourself up.
Compared to a lot of people, I've achieved nothing. That's not my opinion, it's a fact. I keep going, keep trying, and...who knows? Let's see where I end up.
That's life. You keep going, and it's hard because you're always on the curve. Like all such curves, it's harder going at the bottom, a) because the curve is new, b) because you've not developed the right muscles yet.
The world you've chosen (or have felt compelled) to enter is a tough one. It's competitive. Not really dog-eat-dog - most writers get on, don't see it in terms of 'me against others', etc, because it's not that kind of game - but there are a lot of people submitting things and it comes down to a case of 'how's your luck?'
Your story could be brilliant, the editor might even think it's the best think s/he's seen in years...but if they're full, or don't need that kind of story for their next edition (or two), or have only just run a similar story...well, then you generally get a rejection slip.
Now, they can be really hard to take, especially when you get a run of them. It's even worse when you get a run of them after a not-bad starting average (here speaks the voice of experience, so listen in ). What you have to remember is, it's not personal. It is not a rejection of you, nor even of the story, particularly. Unless they say otherwise, it's only ever a case of not this story, not right now. A month before or a few months later, you might have made it. Right at that moment...no dice.
Unfortunately, creative types are (generally) sensitive souls, and writers are (generally) more introspective - it's probably 'nature of the beast' stuff...or it could all be horse-doings. I don't know.
Point is, you have to develop a bit of a rhino's arse when it comes to rejection.It'll never be quite as tough as you need, or you'd like, it to be. Something will always get through. Without it, though, you're in trouble.

Whatever you end up doing, though...I wish you well.

 

[Wolf O'Donnell]

I’ve decided to post again because I’ve discovered something I think those who have difficulty with finishing stories should know.

As writers go, though I’m unaccomplished I have the potential to be ‘prolific’. In a particularly ferocious and creative night I can commit 4-5k to paper. You may think that’s a good start to a story.

It isn’t. Not for me.

I expend so much energy on it, tunnel-vision on it so completely, that the story floods my mind and inundates my creative drive to the point of drowning. Boredom and restlessness set in. The idea acquires a sort of metaphorical cancer and no tyrannical regiment of ‘stick to it’, no matter how brutal or willful, can force it to cling to life.

My advice, to myself and anyone else with the problem this thread attempts to address, is to write a little, not a lot. I’ve been working on the same story for over a week, which is a record for me when I consider the last year. The key difference is I only write 500-1000, then force myself to stop.

Why?

Because a lot of what was there yesterday could have been written yesterday, which motivates me to write it tomorrow. Even better, new ideas emerge in the interim, leading to continuous refreshment which gives me enough energy to continue. Take some notes if you’re afraid you’ll forget your ideas but don’t add to what you’ve done until your next writing session. Patience.

I’m not going to write a best seller or free myself from the hell of my life in a month, I’ve accepted that now. With the pressure of instant gratification willfully and ceremoniously entombed there’s no rush to complete something. Just write for an hour or two and take the rest of your free time to enjoy life and have fun in other ways. Progress is made yet you don’t look back and demand so much from the investment of your time.

I know some folks will advocate writing until you can’t, ‘just get it out’, they’ll say. If that works for you that’s wonderful! If you’re plagued by writer’s wanderlust, try to limit your word count each day so that you wander within the current story rather than away from it.

This, then, is the best conclusion I can draw both here and in my own limited experience.

 

[Mr Nobody]

Wolf, you've hit upon something there.
It's right to listen to others...but you can be too open, and there are indeed people out there who will say things like 'If you're not writing for 8 hours a day, you're no writer' or 'Write until it's done' (which is usually impossible, and certainly is for a novel-length work, unless you're one of these people who don't need sleep (but then you're probably mainlining caffeine and other things to keep you going; not good)).
If you've read On Writing you'll know how SK works. He gets the job done for the day and then goes off to live his life. In the book, iirc the limit he sets for himself is 2k. Other authors only do 1k.
Personally, I try to do 1-2k per day, but with a +/- 20% margin. So if I get 800 words instead of 1000...OK, I can live with that, because tomorrow I might do 1200, or 2000, or 2400. But I don't push. You can get bored or feel the urge to do other things, and the trick there is to learn which are simply misleading voices and which are true signals that you've had enough, and might be at risk of ruining the story (through rushing or some other thing) if you press on.
Another way of looking at it is, if you were operating a piece of machinery and lost focus, felt tired or whatever, would you carry on and risk an accident, or would you find that it was a good time for a coffee or comfort break?
In short, though, there is no right way or wrong way to do it, there's just your way. Finding that path can be hard, and giving yourself 'permission' to follow it can be tougher still, but it seems like you've hit upon yours. Now you only have to walk it. (Only. )

Again, you have nothing but my best wishes. Stick around and let us know how you're getting on. PM me if you need or want advice or have a writing problem you just have to get off your chest.
Right now, the best advice I can offer is to stick with whatever you find is working, and if you don't already, keep a copy of On Writing close at hand. I've found that, on the worst days, a quick read of the relevant part sets me back on the right track.

 

[50's Kid]

I don't plot either!

There's just an inevitable and crushing certainty that no matter how original a story idea, it will wind up emerging as something someone has seen a thousand times before, that events will culminate in a boring and disappointing illusion of originality. I won't write any story here, my main problem is that I envy original works that venture far enough off the beaten path and I just can't think of one myself.

Take a look at Carrie, Cujo, Desperation, Joyland, Dead Zone...on and on. What makes King the best is the fact that he took old things and made something new.

I've written about a mad sultan served by a guilt-ridden vizier, a priest who ventures to hell to save his daughter, a team of cyborg mercenaries battling mutant moles in a post-apocalyptic mine, yet all those ideas are spins on something old and overdone that seemed new enough at the time but turned out to sound like the same old thing.

I think in the end that's what's critically wrong with me. I envy original, creative ideas and can't come up with one. The closest original thing I can think of is 'demon possessed dolphin drives people to murder with telepathy' and the premise of that is...heh.

In short, the only thing I want to plot is a 'What if' not so familiar.

Do not be discouraged. We all get writer’s block. But, don’t get lazy and use that for a perpetual excuse, either. That is an easy trap to fall into. I know, because I was there for a long time (almost 20 years).

I like the idea about the priest, and maybe you should start with that one, using the Bible as reference for part of how the priest views things. It has the potential for a very emotional and philosophical story.

In any event, there is probably one of your stories that stands out to you as being the most interesting, and you should start with (and Finish) that first.

I like to do some research about a particular story line, to be sure the exact thing has not been done before. At some point, though, you have to just charge into it, and ignore all of the internal and external voices that are saying you can’t succeed. Even if the story does not sell, you have still succeeded by conceiving it and finishing it. At the very least, it will give you good practice for the next one.

Believe me, if you let these ideas sit around and rot, you will not find peace. Many of them demand to be completed, and will hang around in your thoughts to almost a painful level. Musicians and poets (I have done some of that, too) will tell you the same thing. That darn song or story wants to be written, and you Better do it. Bring it to life.

I read somewhere that there are only 7 plot lines, and that all stories are somehow derived from them. However, that does not stop people, including you, from being able to find new ways of taking those plot lines (I personally think there are more than 7) and constantly weaving millions of new stories out of them, over thousands of years in the past, and for thousands of years into the future. Our eyes only perceive 3 primary colors of light, but that does not stop the world from being a beautiful and varied place to see.

So, don't be your own worst critic. Write something, and don't worry about how "original" it may be. Just do it, and follow through with some of your ideas, from start to finish.

I follow the advice of one of my creative writing instructors. She said to write down every [writing] idea that comes into your head. This is much easier with Word, or any good computer word processor.

The advantage to this is that it clears out your brain for other things, including new ideas. I think this is because you are no longer dedicating brainpower/neural synapses to temporarily storing these ideas. Then your subconscious (the muse) can concentrate on writing and finishing one story, and then another, while still coming up with more ideas.

At some point, you will have enough ideas (in your Word “random ideas” document, or perhaps still resting in your brain’s temporary memory) to be able to form a coherent story, with a beginning, middle and end.

Because I am a screenwriter, I keep a constantly updated file, named “additions to screenplays”, for this purpose (part of it is pasted, below). Sometimes, I will write notes on the proverbial paper napkin, and later add it to the main file at home. I wrote my entire last script in my head, while working on the assembly line, then transcribed those parts each day after work.

Personally, I usually come up with the end, first, then the beginning, and the hard part is always the middle. But, everybody is different. Sometimes, the whole plot will present itself. Often this will happen in a dream. The real work then starts. As many writing textbooks correctly say, most of writing is re-writing. I usually rewrite each script around 50 times, changing a little bit less each time, until I am finally happy that no further changes are needed. Still, I may go back and tweak the story later, and do not feel guilty about that at all.

You will know when this process is complete, because no further changes will suggest themselves.

When I am working on a script (usually, more than one at a time), I keep a separate story, called [Name of story]-scraps. As I am working, if something does not seem to fit the actual story, I Never delete it, just cut and paste it into the “scraps” story. Sometimes, I will change my mind and pull parts back out of the “scraps” story and cut and paste them back into the main story. Often, I will pull all or part of them back out again, but I Never permanently delete anything, even after the main story is completed, to my satisfaction.

As I said, I usually work on more than one story at a time, so don’t feel discouraged if you have more than one going at a time. I’ll write until I am out of ideas, then jump to another story, where I do have some ideas. It is hard to follow through and finish, but it can be done. It does take discipline, and the advice about doing something with consistently, even in small increments, is very good. This is like learning to play an instrument. A little practice, every day, is more effective than several hours, once a week.

Also, always back everything up, at least once a week (a month at the most), in at least 3 places (one of them a good, fireproof safe), and in a couple of different locations (your house and another location, such as a safe-deposit box). Use triplicates of CD’s or DVD’s, not flash drives, which are very volatile. Spare Hard Drives are okay for temporary storage, but not good for permanent storage, because they all die eventually, and more quickly if they are not spun up and used once a month.

 

[FlakeNoir]

Do not be discouraged. We all get writer’s block. But, don’t get lazy and use that for a perpetual excuse, either. That is an easy trap to fall into. I know, because I was there for a long time (almost 20 years).

I like the idea about the priest, and maybe you should start with that one, using the Bible as reference for part of how the priest views things. It has the potential for a very emotional and philosophical story.

In any event, there is probably one of your stories that stands out to you as being the most interesting, and you should start with (and Finish) that first.

I like to do some research about a particular story line, to be sure the exact thing has not been done before. At some point, though, you have to just charge into it, and ignore all of the internal and external voices that are saying you can’t succeed. Even if the story does not sell, you have still succeeded by conceiving it and finishing it. At the very least, it will give you good practice for the next one.

Believe me, if you let these ideas sit around and rot, you will not find peace. Many of them demand to be completed, and will hang around in your thoughts to almost a painful level. Musicians and poets (I have done some of that, too) will tell you the same thing. That darn song or story wants to be written, and you Better do it. Bring it to life.

I read somewhere that there are only 7 plot lines, and that all stories are somehow derived from them. However, that does not stop people, including you, from being able to find new ways of taking those plot lines (I personally think there are more than 7) and constantly weaving millions of new stories out of them, over thousands of years in the past, and for thousands of years into the future. Our eyes only perceive 3 primary colors of light, but that does not stop the world from being a beautiful and varied place to see.

So, don't be your own worst critic. Write something, and don't worry about how "original" it may be. Just do it, and follow through with some of your ideas, from start to finish.

I follow the advice of one of my creative writing instructors. She said to write down every [writing] idea that comes into your head. This is much easier with Word, or any good computer word processor.

The advantage to this is that it clears out your brain for other things, including new ideas. I think this is because you are no longer dedicating brainpower/neural synapses to temporarily storing these ideas. Then your subconscious (the muse) can concentrate on writing and finishing one story, and then another, while still coming up with more ideas.

At some point, you will have enough ideas (in your Word “random ideas” document, or perhaps still resting in your brain’s temporary memory) to be able to form a coherent story, with a beginning, middle and end.

Because I am a screenwriter, I keep a constantly updated file, named “additions to screenplays”, for this purpose (part of it is pasted, below). Sometimes, I will write notes on the proverbial paper napkin, and later add it to the main file at home. I wrote my entire last script in my head, while working on the assembly line, then transcribed those parts each day after work.

Personally, I usually come up with the end, first, then the beginning, and the hard part is always the middle. But, everybody is different. Sometimes, the whole plot will present itself. Often this will happen in a dream. The real work then starts. As many writing textbooks correctly say, most of writing is re-writing. I usually rewrite each script around 50 times, changing a little bit less each time, until I am finally happy that no further changes are needed. Still, I may go back and tweak the story later, and do not feel guilty about that at all.

You will know when this process is complete, because no further changes will suggest themselves.

When I am working on a script (usually, more than one at a time), I keep a separate story, called [Name of story]-scraps. As I am working, if something does not seem to fit the actual story, I Never delete it, just cut and paste it into the “scraps” story. Sometimes, I will change my mind and pull parts back out of the “scraps” story and cut and paste them back into the main story. Often, I will pull all or part of them back out again, but I Never permanently delete anything, even after the main story is completed, to my satisfaction.

As I said, I usually work on more than one story at a time, so don’t feel discouraged if you have more than one going at a time. I’ll write until I am out of ideas, then jump to another story, where I do have some ideas. It is hard to follow through and finish, but it can be done. It does take discipline, and the advice about doing something with consistently, even in small increments, is very good. This is like learning to play an instrument. A little practice, every day, is more effective than several hours, once a week.

Also, always back everything up, at least once a week (a month at the most), in at least 3 places (one of them a good, fireproof safe), and in a couple of different locations (your house and another location, such as a safe-deposit box). Use triplicates of CD’s or DVD’s, not flash drives, which are very volatile. Spare Hard Drives are okay for temporary storage, but not good for permanent storage, because they all die eventually, and more quickly if they are not spun up and used once a month.

Just letting you know that I have removed the writing/screenplay notes and link from your post as it isn't something we allow on the MB, sorry. If you would like to post a link to any of your work, the Self Promotion area would be the place to do this.

 

[50's Kid]

I got back into the swing of things (in the late 1990’s) by finally starting to seriously write a story (the only story I had in mind at the time, which I had first thought of in 1979, during the Iranian hostage crisis).

A friend of mine, who was also a writer, suggested writing the story in the format of a screenplay. I tried this (using a dedicated screenwriting program, which is the only way to go), and found that format much easier for me, personally.

The back story of the main character in this script, who was loosely based on me, took on a life of its own, and turned into the first story in what ended up being a 5-movie series. The original story naturally became the second in the series.

Based on your statement that your childhood was not happy (join the unfortunately large club), you might want to consider having the rich man, or the priest (just throwing things against the wall, here) also be suffering from such a past, which affects every decision they make as adults. This could even be a reason the portal opens for the rich guy, because his negative feelings make it possible (like the dark side of the force).

More advice from my favorite creative writing professor: She said that it helps to alleviate suffering if you write it down. I though that was all a bunch of Hippy (I was one) feel-good Bovine droppings, but found out it is somewhat true.

For the record, the pain from my childhood did not really go down to a livable level until I finished that first story, which became almost auto-biographical. I was 50 years young when that happened.

Seven years ago, I had a loved one pass away at an early age, through a preventable tragedy. The pain was intense, and I ended up writing an entire script based around the incident. This was very hard to do, and it only made things a little easier to bear. Time will eventually soften the pain, but that kind of loss is always with us. Hopefully, some other person, who is going down that dead-end path toward destruction, will someday see that movie and it will wake them up in time. I have never seen anything good come from alcohol. It totally ruined my father’s life, my mentor’s life, and that of many other people I have known. I am certainly no saint, and I’m not preaching. All of our lives are way too short, and it is not good to waste them in a clouded vision, when there is so much good to experience with both eyes clear and open. Sometimes, you have to go through tragedy cold-turkey, to get it over with, rather than trying to dull the senses, and slow the inevitable process of working through it. There is a better tomorrow waiting for you.

Now, get a good night’s sleep and get back to work on that story that wants to be created…

 

[50's Kid]

Just letting you know that I have removed the writing/screenplay notes and link from your post as it isn't something we allow on the MB, sorry. If you would like to post a link to any of your work, the Self Promotion area would be the place to do this.

That's cool. I was wondering about whether to add that in, and I think I was able to make my point without it.