What is your toughest challlenge as an author?

[JenniferSmithJones]

As a writer, each of us hits a stumbling block sooner or later. Are you great at writing the beginning of a story, and struggle with it after that? Or the opposite: great at writing an ending, now how do you get it set up for that?

My greatest challenge is keeping the story moving. I tend to get way in to excruciatingly minute detail. Like I don't even understand the concept of brevity. I've got a quote on my desk by Mark Twain: "A story is typically best told in as few words as possible."

I've had to cut bits that I really liked how I wrote them, but they had to go because they were stalling the story. I fight this battle constantly in my writing.

My only solution has been my own ruthless editing. If it isn't serving the story, out it goes. I save those passages, because they might be useful for something else.

Anybody else? Character names, describing outdoor settings (or indoor settings)?

 

[lovecraft68]

I struggle somewhat with names because after 15 years and so many stories, you can't help repeating yourself. I'm not one to use uncommon names because I think they trip people up a bit (my opinion) but in the end I can't see someone saying "Hey, didn't you have a Heather in a story five years ago"

Other than that? Doesn't apply here, but the blurb limit on Smashwords is 400 characters. I've written 30k stories with ease then struggled to break it down into a decent description in the allotted length.

Then there is always just the drive to keep writing. After a long time its not always easy to maintain.

 

[NuclearFairy]

Well once I get past the challenge of finding the time to get into the groove, it's probably bridge chapters. Ya know, those chapters that explain how they got from point B to point E. Or, even shorter bridge scenes, like explaining how the guy got from the car to the girls cell. Did he teleport, or was the guard polite or surely?

 

[dirk2024]

My issue is focus, or lack thereof. I write as a I fantasize, which can bounce all over the place. Consequently, I am working on multiple stories under multiple themes, often cobbling together the pieces of my fantasies. Each night I text myself a few lines so I don't forget them when I wake up.

So I spend a lot of rereading my stories trying to make sure they flow together.

I have one story I'm stuck on, theoretically ch 2 in possible five chapter series. Ch. 3 is complete and I'm halfway through ch. 4. But #2 is frozen and without it ch 5 won't happen either. Yet it may have to be a three chapter story instead. Damn, I can't believe I'm even considering chopping that work.

 

[AlinaX]

I struggle somewhat with names

I keep calling my characters Emily, for some reason.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

Starting and keeping momentum. My self-doubt is huge, and I always rewrite sentences up to ten times before keep going, hence I don't know how those who edit as they write keep progress. I call that a stutter, and it's what keeps me from sticking to writing for the most part. My solution for it is to use a very short timer: 10 to 20 minutes. Having a pressuring deadline makes me stutter less, if not it removes it entirely.

 

[Areala-chan]

One of my major weaknesses is juggling multiple characters, which is why so many of my stories end up focused on two. I'm insanely jealous of writers like @HelenL who seem to effortlessly craft up scenes where multiple main characters share the page, banter back and forth, wander around encountering one another, and you just get this sense of scale while reading, like you can visualize the camera tracking around, following one pair or group, then moving on to another one like you'd see in television shows with an ensemble cast.

Also, specific to this site: descriptions and tags. I suck at using both because I have no idea how to self-promote, so any success I've managed to garner here is entirely down to luck.

 

[JenniferSmithJones]

Starting and keeping momentum. My self-doubt is huge, and I always rewrite sentences up to ten times before keep going, hence I don't know how those who edit as they write keep progress. I call that a stutter, and it's what keeps me from sticking to writing for the most part. My solution for it is to use a very short timer: 10 to 20 minutes. Having a pressuring deadline makes me stutter less, if not it removes it entirely.

It took me a while, but I finally taught myself to never edit while writing. Especially if it's one of those times the ideas and words are just flying through your mind! You never stop and edit when the inspiration is hitting you. You can always fix it later, but you may never have that idea, or inspiration, again.

 

[NuclearFairy]

Also, specific to this site: descriptions and tags. I suck at using both because I have no idea how to self-promote, so any success I've managed to garner here is entirely down to luck.

Tags are the worst. I never know if I've tagged everything I should, or if the tags I do have are the best.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

My biggest challenge is "How much teasing is too much?"

My readers don't seem to mind, and the majority of my works here include nothing racier than implied sexual acts and substantial teasing between the main characters before a "fade to black" segue.

The challenge presents itself while I am writing the story. It seems that I have a tendency to imagine more and more ways for the teasing between characters, typically through dialogue, to continue to the point where it takes the place of other interactions.

Here is a brief snippet from a current work to demonstrate my point:

The first words spoken by Drew after kissing Mary at the ferry landing and getting her situated in the passenger seat of his car were, “Was two weeks enough time?”

Mary knew what Drew wanted to know. That is why she had purposely not worn any panties under her denim skirt. In response to his question, she shifted in the seat so that she could raise the hem of her skirt to her waist.

“You can feel it if you want. It still looks stubbly, but it is softer than it looks.”

Drew surprised her by reaching over with his right hand and gently stroking her pubic hair with just his fingertips. “Perfect.”

“I wanted to run an idea by you,” Mary said as she lowed her skirt back in place.

“Sure, what’s that?”

Mary took Drew’s right hand in her left before saying, “I believe that you would be okay with me trimming it. You just don’t want it completely bald. How creative could I get with the trimming?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, could I trim it into the shape of a heart, or maybe a downward pointing arrow, something like that?”

Drew laughed, “Pubic art! I might be able to get into that. Just leave enough for me to always feel comfortable with your maturity and I’ll be fine.”

Mary squeezed his hand, “That’s a promise. Your reluctance to have sex with me while it was bald is seared into my memory. And, on that note, are we good to go now?”

“Well not at this immediate moment,” Drew teased, “but to answer your question, I no longer harbor any reticence where hanky-panky with you is concerned.”

Releasing Drew’s hand, Mary slid her left hand up his right thigh, “How far do we have to go until we get to your house?”

Pointing to a hill on their left, Drew said, “We’ll be to our house in about two minutes. The gate is just around that bend in the road.”

During this scene where they drive from the ferry to his house, their interaction needs to include a conversation about several other topics critical to the story, so I am going to have to go back and find the best spots to include those. Not Earth-shattering to do, but like I said, I get into a teasing "rut" sometimes and that annoys me.

 

[THBGato]

For me it's new ideas queue jumping stories I had planned out.

I've got a story I started last summer. Honestly, at this point, I could probably have it finished in under a week. I know exactly what's going to happen. I've got 7,000 words written.

BUT... first I had On a wing and prayer queue jump it, then I had Forty, BUT I had to write three prequels for Forty, then Twenty. I thought I'd be able to get back to it, but real life commitments stopped me writing for about three months. But by the time I had the headspace for writing again, two other stories had jumped the queue and were demanding I write them. One is now finished (@Cagivagurl is currently correcting my efforts at Kiwi English) and the other is only 3,000 words in.

*Sigh.*

 

[NotWise]

My biggest challenge is to stay at the keyboard and write the damned story. It's easier if the story really holds my attention. Normally, the next distraction wins. Then I have to get back in the chair and focus again.

After that, it's title and short description.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

My greatest challenge is being satisfied with what's offered in terms of reach, exposure, feedback, reactions, impact...

While I don't expect an ideal situation, I do wish to see at least some effort and care. But I don't see almost any of it, and it irks me. I also think that the present approach leads to worse stories. Here and everywhere else.

 

[crookedletter]

My biggest issue is discipline. Not necessarily to write in the first place, though that can be a challenge when other lifey things get in the way. But sticking with projects when they start to feel like work.

Some stories kind of roll off the pen, the initial surge of inspiration enough to see them through to a draft. Others get longer and unwieldy and I run into roadblocks, and then my impulse is to pivot to something else. Which is fine sometimes, that can be a good way to kickstart the creative juices and come back fresh later, but when I'm juggling three or four projects and haven't finished anything in months -- or worse -- it starts to not feel great.

 

[Bamagan]

Loquacity.

 

[Writer61]

Also, specific to this site: descriptions and tags. I suck at using both because I have no idea how to self-promote, so any success I've managed to garner here is entirely down to luck.

I have started examining the word cloud of tags for my chosen category and selecting the ten largest that can reasonably apply to my story. Logically, that's back to front as it shows tags used rather than tags searched for, but I assume with such a large dataset, there will be some correlation with successful stories.

 

[Voboy]

I think of myself as a fast, accurate writer, because I very much was when I started writing here.

Nearly ten years on, my output has decreased. There are several reasons for this, but my mindset has yet to catch up. So I get annoyed with myself when things don't flow as they used to, and that can lead to me abandoning promising stories. I need to take a step back and chillax a little; my current stories simply aren't my older stories. They're being written in a completely different environment than they used to be.

 

[iwatchus]

I have to fight the urge to publish as soon as I can. I fall in love with the work as it is and want to share it, when it really should be aged a little more and let me re-read it cold a few more times. But that 'new story' button is always tempting me.

 

[yowser]

I don't have trouble coming up with ideas, but finding ones that are different or unique that make for a good story - this is getting more difficult. As my own bar for what I think is a decent story gets higher, the trouble to clear it grows. The gap between the 'in-the-head' part and its execution is unavoidable, but I would like to narrow that as much as possible.

Sometimes my 'way out' is to think of an experiment - hmm, never did a story that way before, in this style, or from a perspective vastly different from my own ... and then maybe something different arrives (and often isn't very good, which is only a minor irritation, next try will be better.) I don't feel like I exploit the wide open possibilities of readership here enough.

 

[HordHolm]

I keep calling my characters Emily, for some reason.

The number of names I ditch because they begin with A... all the time, I can't help myself .

 

[iwatchus]

The number of names I ditch because they begin with A... all the time, I can't help myself .

I had two Mary’s one Maria and a Marty all significant in the same series.

 

[JenniferSmithJones]

Loquacity.

+50 points for using a $10.00 word in a thread on an erotic website.

 

[Writer61]

This might sound strange, given the nature of this site, but what I find hardest is writing sex scenes.

I like getting characters from A to B(ed), it is what happens then that I struggle with. My challenge is to give enough detail without it becoming 'Insert tab A into slot B' (which doesn't appeal to me as a reader or writer) and keep it sufficiently different from previous scenes.

 

[Bamagan]

+50 points for using a $10.00 word in a thread on an erotic website.

 

[StillStunned]

The biggest challenge is probably a toss-up between writing and not writing.