Waking Up Earlier and Earlier...

[Zeb_Carter]

And having a new story, each time, floating around in my head. So I get up and start typing. I have never done anything like this since I started to write. Currently, I have 63 stories on my computer, all started and on going, yet I can't seem to finish them, because a new one pops into my head about every other day or so.

I'm so frustrated... They are all, so far, about 10,000 words long and I haven't even got to the middle of the story. It seems those damn characters don't want their story to end, so they keep coming up with different story side lines that will keep them alive. Not that the plan is to kill them off, just end their story.

Any one else have this kind of trouble?

God I love writing... but, maybe not.

 

[NotWise]

I've had the problem with stories not ending. My goal when I first started publishing to Lit was to plan stories and write them from beginning to end without letting the characters sidetrack the story. It worked, but since then I've given the characters more rein and the stories have gotten longer.

 

[KeithD]

I don't have more than a couple of stories or books open ended at a time. I have more than the usual number now, though. Intruding is that I suddenly have several big books back from the publisher to review before they publish. I've just reviewed a 779 pager that dropped this morning when I was planning to be writing instead.

 

[SimonDoom]

This is a constant reality for me. Lots of ideas, not so much discipline. I have 30 stories in my file for which I've written anywhere from 500 to 12,000+ words but not finished. I don't fret about it too much, because I'm not making any money off them and I'd rather get to a story when the mood hits rather than make it a forced march. But it does get a bit frustrating when the backlog grows faster than the tally of completed stories.

 

[lovecraft68]

I force myself to finish what I'm working on before I go to the next. That's a good test of knowing how 'real' a -plot bunny that jumped into my mind is.

If I can finish the WIP and the idea is still strong its a keeper and I get to it. If by the time I finish the first idea, its kind of faded then it shows it was just a fancy, not a solid idea.

 

[ElectricBlue]

This is a constant reality for me. Lots of ideas, not so much discipline.

"Ain't that the truth," said Suzie. "Thank goodness for the 750 Word Anthology. I'd never have paid off my video-cam without that. And I've still got the roses."

She spun off, turning on her toes, the fluffy tutu cut high on her butt. She poked her tongue out at Simon. "And I've got all my "u"s back!"

Simon spluttured as if he had Tourette's.

"Torette's, mate," EB added helpfully. "For you Americuns."

 

[Voboy]

Can't relate, OP.

You need to finish. Nobody counts how many stories you've started; just how many you finish. You're spinning your wheels.

When I get a new concept, I jot it down. I DON'T start writing it. I tell myself I'll start writing it, based on my jottings, ONCE I FINISH WHAT I'M WORKING ON ALREADY.

I'd suggest something similar, OP. Discipline. You're never going to finish all five dozen partial stories, so every word you've written on most of them? Time you could have been spending finishing another one.

 

[handysr]

This is a constant reality for me. Lots of ideas, not so much discipline. I have 30 stories in my file for which I've written anywhere from 500 to 12,000+ words but not finished. I don't fret about it too much, because I'm not making any money off them and I'd rather get to a story when the mood hits rather than make it a forced march. But it does get a bit frustrating when the backlog grows faster than the tally of completed stories.

Can't relate, OP.

You need to finish. Nobody counts how many stories you've started; just how many you finish. You're spinning your wheels.

When I get a new concept, I jot it down. I DON'T start writing it. I tell myself I'll start writing it, based on my jottings, ONCE I FINISH WHAT I'M WORKING ON ALREADY.

I'd suggest something similar, OP. Discipline. You're never going to finish all five dozen partial stories, so every word you've written on most of them? Time you could have been spending finishing another one.

I have several dozen unfinished drafts as well, and I don't mind if I don't finish most of them. I still go back to one of them when I don't have a good plot bunny ready, then I read through them to get back into the flow once I find one I'm in the mood to continue. I'll either add a page or ten until I lose focus.

It's not wasted letters though. Sometimes the plot is just stupid, or the subject is difficult to write, or... or... or... Whatever. Some of the unfinished ones force me to find different ways to format speaking or action, and it's therapeutic to not have the stress of not being able to expand on a though and forcing myself to work on a story that I'm not into at the moment.

One downside to an unfinished library is that I have noticed a few times that a certain plot bunny is so interesting to my mind that I write a new one while forgetting I already have the same topic in the 'draft' folder. Oops. It's not a total waste though. I'll get the two or three that kind of match and see that there are slightly different ways it could go, and I can merge the best parts together before deleting the others.

 

[eroticstoryspinner]

And having a new story, each time, floating around in my head. So I get up and start typing. I have never done anything like this since I started to write. Currently, I have 63 stories on my computer, all started and on going, yet I can't seem to finish them, because a new one pops into my head about every other day or so.

I'm so frustrated... They are all, so far, about 10,000 words long and I haven't even got to the middle of the story. It seems those damn characters don't want their story to end, so they keep coming up with different story side lines that will keep them alive. Not that the plan is to kill them off, just end their story.

Any one else have this kind of trouble?

God I love writing... but, maybe not.

Yep, I try to stay focused on one story or at least do a certain number of words a day for the say spread out over all the WIps

 

[Voboy]

I have several dozen unfinished drafts as well, and I don't mind if I don't finish most of them. I still go back to one of them when I don't have a good plot bunny ready, then I read through them to get back into the flow once I find one I'm in the mood to continue. I'll either add a page or ten until I lose focus.

It's not wasted letters though. Sometimes the plot is just stupid, or the subject is difficult to write, or... or... or... Whatever. Some of the unfinished ones force me to find different ways to format speaking or action, and it's therapeutic to not have the stress of not being able to expand on a though and forcing myself to work on a story that I'm not into at the moment.

One downside to an unfinished library is that I have noticed a few times that a certain plot bunny is so interesting to my mind that I write a new one while forgetting I already have the same topic in the 'draft' folder. Oops. It's not a total waste though. I'll get the two or three that kind of match and see that there are slightly different ways it could go, and I can merge the best parts together before deleting the others.

What you describe in your last paragraph horrifies me.

I'm happy (truly!) that you find it therapeutic to work that way, because you're right: we're doing this for ourselves, ultimately. But my take is that the OP doesn't find it similarly comforting. In fact, I get the sense that the OP is craving a change, or some solution. Discipline is the answer.

Plus, I was careful to reference wasted TIME, not wasted WORDS. I don't think words are ever wasted. In fact, I've got a document of "snippets" that just occur to me without context, usually clever jokes or nice turns of phrase, that I plunk into that document until I can find a use for them.

 

[handysr]

What you describe in your last paragraph horrifies me.

I'm happy (truly!) that you find it therapeutic to work that way, because you're right: we're doing this for ourselves, ultimately. But my take is that the OP doesn't find it similarly comforting. In fact, I get the sense that the OP is craving a change, or some solution. Discipline is the answer.

Plus, I was careful to reference wasted TIME, not wasted WORDS. I don't think words are ever wasted. In fact, I've got a document of "snippets" that just occur to me without context, usually clever jokes or nice turns of phrase, that I plunk into that document until I can find a use for them.

You're 100% right, we do this for ourselves. There are various reasons we write smut/pr0n/romance/etc, and it could be to get the demons out of the head, for a personal turn-on, or knowing we are turning on others.

I said letters, you said time, but the waste is different for each person. You're also right that discipline is needed to focus on finishing what you're working on. I would politely counter that while it can be considered wasted words to get halfway done with a story and not be able to finish it, it's not wasted time because the act of doing the writing is only half the fun. When I'm on a roll with one story, it doesn't take much effort to stay on task and get x,000 words in without even the thought of dropping it in favor of a new one.

A few anonymous readers/commenters and trolls will hate it because reasons, but most people will like what's posted. I've found that forcing myself to continue a particular story when I'm not feeling it will cause the story to flounder. I'm random enough as it is. I have the discipline to get my tasks at work done in a timely manner, but for a hobby I hide from the people that know me, I like having the ability to bounce around. I don't want the story to feel 'forced', I want it to be good. The trolls will hit me anyway, but I want to do my best to deny them a legit reason.

Having a method of dealing with ideas is a great idea, and I do have one. Sometimes a scene or plot will come to me, and I will put it in on long document, or I'll make a new one with a few paragraphs that basically outlines what I think should happen. When I'm done with the current story, or lose interest in it, I can go to the 'idea' folder and pick one up.

For the OP, I know it's frustrating to be like this sometimes, but if this type of thing randomly started, it can randomly stop as well. If nothing else, when your muse goes on vacation, you have lots of stuff to choose from when you want to write but aren't having any new ideas.

One possible idea is to keep it in your head and don't write anything. Let it fester. Let your subconscious work on it. Build it start-to-finish in your head before you write the first word. Think about it when you go to sleep, as if you're trying to focus your brain on it and dream about it, so the same thing is on your mind when you wake up. Then do a quick outline in one document, then let 'er rip. I don't know if it will work for you, but that has helped me a few times.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Well, woke up this morning with another one floating around in my head. And the funny thing is I no longer dream or I don't remember them.

So I wrote a blurb and the first couple of paragraphs and went back to the one I want to finish next. Which in now somewhere around 22,000 words.

Also, now I'm not feel well, I don't think is COVID-19, but I have acquired something. No fever, no cough, no nausea, just all over aches and pains.

So, with the end of the world coming, who would like to inherit my unfinished stuff to finish?

 

[NotWise]

Well, woke up this morning with another one floating around in my head. And the funny thing is I no longer dream or I don't remember them.

So I wrote a blurb and the first couple of paragraphs and went back to the one I want to finish next. Which in now somewhere around 22,000 words.

Also, now I'm not feel well, I don't think is COVID-19, but I have acquired something. No fever, no cough, no nausea, just all over aches and pains.

So, with the end of the world coming, who would like to inherit my unfinished stuff to finish?

There was an article in our local paper yesterday that was an interview with a couple in their sixties that came down with CV-19 early. Their first symptoms were exactly what you described. Body aches, feeling generally crappy. They progressed to severe symptoms but weren't hospitalized, and they're getting over it now.

You should get tested, and you should probably act like you're contagious until you get a negative test result.

As far as inheritance is concerned, I'd rather it didn't happen. Get tested, and (if you have it) get care, and get over it.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

There was an article in our local paper yesterday that was an interview with a couple in their sixties that came down with CV-19 early. Their first symptoms were exactly what you described. Body aches, feeling generally crappy. They progressed to severe symptoms but weren't hospitalized, and they're getting over it now.

You should get tested, and you should probably act like you're contagious until you get a negative test result.

As far as inheritance is concerned, I'd rather it didn't happen. Get tested, and (if you have it) get care, and get over it.

Thanks, but I rarely go anywhere. And I have been practicing social distancing for a lot longer than the past year.

As for the achy feeling I have, there are several other factors that could be the cause. I have a call into the doctor about it. I take some meds that will cause what I'm feeling so and I was actually feeling this way, off and on, long before COVID-19 came along.

As far as inheritance goes... I'm a lot closer to the end of days than most. So just in case... drop me a PM is anyone would like to inherit a bunch of unfinished stories when I do pass on, so I can let Laurel know who gets them.

ETA: This morning I didn't wake with a story rattling around in my mind. Lucky me.

 

[litfan10]

It's not just us. It's true of all writers.

I remember in the early nineties I was talking to a big house agent, not mine and sadly never came to be mine.

She had just got back from visiting her biggest client, a hugely successful writer who was living alone and had increasingly hermitted (yeah, I know that's not a word but it should be!) himself from all society as he grew older.

Basically this NY Times best selling novelist was living practically in a shack spending all waking hours writing because that is what he always did.

Again, this was the early nineties and computers still hadn't taken over. I met the agent in a bar, and she was busy drinking away the memory of the trip. The writer had piles and piles of typed manuscripts stacked all over the place. He even (no lie unless the agent lied to me which I doubt) had three or four manuscripts shoved under one corner of a beaten down sofa for the rare guest. One of the legs broke, and he used manuscripts to hold it up.

She was horrified what little care he had for his own work while being amazed at this insane level of output. She told me she had enough material for numerous decades of annual releases.

Sure enough the author died in the late nineties and new books are still coming out regularly to this day twenty years later.

Writers write because we cannot not write.

 

[SamScribble]

As some of you know, I write short stories. Three thousand words is about the limit. However, about a week or so ago, I woke up early with an idea in mind. It was a pretty vague idea, but I thought that I would jot it down and see where it led. Twenty-five thousand words later, I am still going.

Yesterday, I sat down and read what I have written so far. And it's really very readable. It's not going to help anyone looking for a quick orgasm, but ... well ... there are more things in life than quick orgasms. I guess I shall just have to see where it leads.

 

[NotWise]

As some of you know, I write short stories. Three thousand words is about the limit. However, about a week or so ago, I woke up early with an idea in mind. It was a pretty vague idea, but I thought that I would jot it down and see where it led. Twenty-five thousand words later, I am still going.

Yesterday, I sat down and read what I have written so far. And it's really very readable. It's not going to help anyone looking for a quick orgasm, but ... well ... there are more things in life than quick orgasms. I guess I shall just have to see where it leads.

We can only look forward to it.

 

[yukonnights]

As some of you know, I write short stories. Three thousand words is about the limit. However, about a week or so ago, I woke up early with an idea in mind. It was a pretty vague idea, but I thought that I would jot it down and see where it led. Twenty-five thousand words later, I am still going.

Yesterday, I sat down and read what I have written so far. And it's really very readable. It's not going to help anyone looking for a quick orgasm, but ... well ... there are more things in life than quick orgasms. I guess I shall just have to see where it leads.

That is interesting. Makes me wonder why this one? Good luck and have fun

 

[Zeb_Carter]

As some of you know, I write short stories. Three thousand words is about the limit. However, about a week or so ago, I woke up early with an idea in mind. It was a pretty vague idea, but I thought that I would jot it down and see where it led. Twenty-five thousand words later, I am still going.

Yesterday, I sat down and read what I have written so far. And it's really very readable. It's not going to help anyone looking for a quick orgasm, but ... well ... there are more things in life than quick orgasms. I guess I shall just have to see where it leads.

Good luck with it Sam.

The ones I wake up with begin as a 5,000 word or less story, yet some, make it into the 50,000 or more category. You never know where things will go until you decide to put them down on 'paper' and then the characters may just runaway with it anyway.

 

[gordo12]

Sorry, posted on the wrong thread.

 

[Touch_type]

The BBC rebroadcast an interview with Douglas Adams a few weeks ago to mark the 42nd anniversary of the first broadcast of Hitchikers’ Guide to the Galaxy. In it, he spoke about his notoriously difficult problem with deadlines and the ending of one of his books which apparently has been subject to much speculation as to meaning ever since.

He said that his increasingly frustrated publishers, demanded in the end, that he just finish the page he was on and send them the manuscript.

I was a similar length into one of mine a few days later (only 4 unfinished at the moment) and still a good 10k words off the ending I’d originally envisaged. It occurred to me that there was no reason not to end it more or less where I was. It hung together,and fulfilled my other ambition for it - to write shorter than I usually do. It got a lot - for me - of take-up and one person ommented ‘looking forward to more of these characters. Doubt I’ll get round to meeting that wish any time soon.

Maybe you could try it? Imagine 63 stories published in the course of a couple of weeks. You’ll gain superhero status.