For these never ended WIPs

[HotCosmo]

I decided to hurt myself this morning, counting the total words that I have written since June of this year, the moment I released my first story game. It has become my preferred format to write since then:

82451 total words
in 14 different WIPs

So, here we are. If I had been able to focus on one or two of my projects, I could have released them. My first story game that was a branched story was around 30000 words, and most of my projects have that scope, but my usual way to work (obsession with an idea, creating the roadmap for the story, programming some of the mechanics, writing a few thousand words, obsession with another story, and repeating) is making ending and publishing a project almost impossible.

And that's all. I accept advice, but to be honest, a little of knowing that I'm not the only one in the same boat would be good too. It's cool to share our problems and just complain (well, not a real real problem, because this is a hobby and that, but you know what I wanted to say)

 

[StillStunned]

And that's all. I accept advice, but to be honest, a little of knowing that I'm not the only one in the same boat would be good too. It's cool to share our problems and just complain (well, not a real real problem, because this is a hobby and that, but you know what I wanted to say)

I've stopped posting screen caps of my WIP folder because I can't fit it on one screen anymore. At the last count I was around a hundred.

You're not alone. The idea, the start, the excitement of writing something new - that's the easy part of writing. The discipline to grind out the middle and the end, that's the hard part. That's what costs energy, and what keeps sucking out the energy after the excitement of the project has died down.

I've given up feeling bad about it.

 

[Z_TheWriter]

I don't have a ton of experience to draw from so I'm talking out of my ass here, but my immediate thought (if you want to finish things) is that you need to pick something.

Pick one project that speaks to you. This is now the thing you're primarily working on. Every time an idea pulls you away, write/outline/whatever enough of that idea that you can safely put it away and come back later. Then return to the primary project.

If you end up working on something else for 3 days or 3 weeks, because brains... who can understand them. Well that happened, whatever, now you return to the primary project. Every time, between every single other idea, or writing binge.

Probably you will either end up focusing on it enough to finish it, or get so sick of it you decide to scrap it altogether. Either way is progress. And then you pick the next one.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

It's just a matter of discipline. I've never stopped writing a WIP because I wanted to switch attention to some other story. Sure, I felt the pull more than once, but I simply said no.

I write one thing until I finish the story or the chapter. Only then do I choose what to work on next. Writing down the ideas that come to me as I write something else is the only thing I allow myself.

You should develop some firm personal rules to avoid dispersing your efforts so much. It takes some time getting used to, but it's worth it.

 

[Not2Pervy]

Up until maybe three months ago I never had more than one WIP. Before moving on to the next idea I always just ground it out. Then I realized the stories I liked best, or that got the best reactions, tended to be the ones I felt more enthusiastic about while writing them. In other words, when I forced it, it showed in the end product.

(This shouldn’t have been surprising but it was kind of a revelation for me). Now I have three stalled WIP, haven’t entered the Winter contest, and am more frequently asking myself why I should even bother. When I was grinding it out at least I had a sense of completion and accomplishment even if I wasn’t scoring 4.8+. There were people who enjoyed those stories even if they weren’t my best work.

Even at a paltry 3, my WIP folder nags at me and makes me feel guilty. The bigger it gets, the more it makes me feel like I’m letting “the perfect be the enemy of the good.”