How do you stay motivated? Looking for someone to help me.

[BlinkenLights93]

I have written several stories, have created a shared erotic novel universe but I have hit a road block. I don't know if it's depression, burn out, working on too many stories at once or lack of time but I can't seem to move past whatever it is that is blocking me. I have several stories half finished that I constantly think about, but can't bring myself to actually sit down and finish. I know how the overarching story will end but reaching that point seems so daunting. I want it to be a three phase story, but I'm only about halfway through phase 2. I have to also admit, the more I write the more the sex scenes become gratuitous and unnecessary. I feel like I'm forcing myself to write them instead of telling the real story I want to write.

If there is anyone who has experience with mental roadblocks or wants to become accountability partners to give me a push in the right direction or even to brainstorm, I would be all for it. At this point I'm not opposed to the idea of collaborating to finish the story.

 

[Omenainen]

Write something unrelated. Why force yourself with something you don’t want to write? Write a short story about something else entirely. Like a 750 words one.

 

[EmilyMiller]

It sounds like you are taking on a massive task. I can imagine you’d likely get bogged down.

My suggestion, take it or leave it, is to write something for fun. Nothing to do with your magnum opus, just a short story about something. No pressure, no need to think about self-consistency, no need to juggle characters or timelines. Just write something for the love of writing.

If that’s fun, do the same again. At some point you will hopefully feel like going back to your main story. Even then, maybe write a stand-alone piece in the same universe. Think Andor vs Star Wars.

If the writing is not fun, you’re not going to do it. Try to find the fun again.

Em

 

[EmilyMiller]

Write something unrelated. Why force yourself with something you don’t want to write? Write a short story about something else entirely. Like a 750 words one.

Jinx

 

[BlinkenLights93]

Write something unrelated. Why force yourself with something you don’t want to write? Write a short story about something else entirely. Like a 750 words one.

I absolutely want to finish my story. I just have a roadblock that I can't seem to get past. This story has been in my head for going on 8 years and I plan on finishing it.

 

[BlinkenLights93]

It sounds like you are taking on a massive task. I can imagine you’d likely get bogged down.

My suggestion, take it or leave it, is to write something for fun. Nothing to do with your magnum opus, just a short story about something. No pressure, no need to think about self-consistency, no need to juggle characters or timelines. Just write something for the love of writing.

If that’s fun, do the same again. At some point you will hopefully feel like going back to your main story. Even then, maybe write a stand-alone piece in the same universe. Think Andor vs Star Wars.

If the writing is not fun, you’re not going to do it. Try to find the fun again.

Em

I'm following the Marvel formula. Individual stories with bigger team up stories. So yes, it's massive task. My "Endgame" has already been thought about so much it's practically finished. But getting to that point is where I am having trouble. I don't want the second act to feel like a filler, but I also don't want to make it too big that there's no way to make it bigger in the finale.

 

[Misshotndeep]

Speaking in generally, I set small goals. I celebrate those small goals. Then I move on to the next till the end of the project. Then I celebrate some more!

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I absolutely want to finish my story. I just have a roadblock that I can't seem to get past. This story has been in my head for going on 8 years and I plan on finishing it.

Try doing something different with what you have already to see if it inspires you. For example, consider making an audio version of what you've written so far. There are sites such as Amazon Polly that would allow you to select different voices, and while they might sound robotic, you could hear the words through characters and that might place enough of a twist on things to get you started again.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I have written several stories, have created a shared erotic novel universe but I have hit a road block. I don't know if it's depression, burn out, working on too many stories at once or lack of time but I can't seem to move past whatever it is that is blocking me. I have several stories half finished that I constantly think about, but can't bring myself to actually sit down and finish. I know how the overarching story will end but reaching that point seems so daunting. I want it to be a three phase story, but I'm only about halfway through phase 2. I have to also admit, the more I write the more the sex scenes become gratuitous and unnecessary. I feel like I'm forcing myself to write them instead of telling the real story I want to write.

If there is anyone who has experience with mental roadblocks or wants to become accountability partners to give me a push in the right direction or even to brainstorm, I would be all for it. At this point I'm not opposed to the idea of collaborating to finish the story.

Pertinent I think:

From ``Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman'', by Richard Feynman, Copyright 1985, pg. 157-158. Dr. Feynman was a Nobel Prize-winning physicist who, among other things, worked on the first atomic bomb at Los Alamos, NM. He died in 1988.

---

Then I had another thought: Physics disgusts me a little bit now, but I used to enjoy doing physics. Why did I enjoy it? I used to play with it. I used to do whatever I felt like doing - it didn't have to do with whether it was important for the development of nuclear physics, but whether it was interesting and amusing for me to play with. When I was in high school, I'd see water running out of a faucet growing narrower, and wonder if I could figure out what determines that curve. I found it was rather easy to do. I didn't have to do it; it wasn't important for the future of science; somebody else had already done it. That didn't make any difference. I'd invent things and play with things for my own entertainment.

So I got this new attitude. Now that I am burned out and I'll never accomplish anything, I've got this nice position at the university teaching classes which I rather enjoy, and just like I read the Arabian Nights for pleasure, I'm going to play with physics, whenever I want to, without worrying about any importance whatsoever.

Within a week I was in the cafeteria and some guy, fooling around, throws a plate in the air. As the plate went up in the air I saw it wobble, and I noticed the red medallion of Cornell on the plate going around. It was pretty obvious to me that the medallion went around faster than the wobbling.

I had nothing to do, so I start to figure out the motion of the rotating plate. I discover that when the angle is very slight, the medallion rotates twice as fast as the wobble rate - two to one [Note: Feynman mis-remembers here---the factor of 2 is the other way]. It came out of a complicated equation! Then I thought, ``Is there some way I can see in a more fundamental way, by looking at the forces or the dynamics, why it's two to one?''

I don't remember how I did it, but I ultimately worked out what the motion of the mass particles is, and how all the accelerations balance to make it come out two to one.

I still remember going to Hans Bethe and saying, ``Hey, Hans! I noticed something interesting. Here the plate goes around so, and the reason it's two to one is ...'' and I showed him the accelerations.

He says, ``Feynman, that's pretty interesting, but what's the importance of it? Why are you doing it?''

``Hah!'' I say. ``There's no importance whatsoever. I'm just doing it for the fun of it.'' His reaction didn't discourage me; I had made up my mind I was going to enjoy physics and do whatever I liked.

I went on to work out equations of wobbles. Then I thought about how electron orbits start to move in relativity. Then there's the Dirac Equation in electrodynamics. And then quantum electrodynamics. And before I knew it (it was a very short time) I was ``playing'' - working, really - with the same old problem that I loved so much, that I had stopped working on when I went to Los Alamos: my thesis-type problems; all those old-fashioned, wonderful things.

It was effortless. It was easy to play with these things. It was like uncorking a bottle: Everything flowed out effortlessly. I almost tried to resist it! There was no importance to what I was doing, but ultimately there was. The diagrams and the whole business that I got the Nobel Prize for came from that piddling around with the wobbling plate.

---

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I have written several stories, have created a shared erotic novel universe but I have hit a road block. I don't know if it's depression, burn out, working on too many stories at once or lack of time but I can't seem to move past whatever it is that is blocking me. I have several stories half finished that I constantly think about, but can't bring myself to actually sit down and finish. I know how the overarching story will end but reaching that point seems so daunting. I want it to be a three phase story, but I'm only about halfway through phase 2. I have to also admit, the more I write the more the sex scenes become gratuitous and unnecessary. I feel like I'm forcing myself to write them instead of telling the real story I want to write.

If there is anyone who has experience with mental roadblocks or wants to become accountability partners to give me a push in the right direction or even to brainstorm, I would be all for it. At this point I'm not opposed to the idea of collaborating to finish the story.

After such a long time, I think the only solution is to put some force into it. Make yourself write some sentences and those don't even need to be great sentences, just make them acceptable. But start the ball rolling. Keep pushing and keep making yourself until the ball catches momentum. That approach worked for me when I got stuck at a point where it seemed like too much effort to write a particular scene. My block was for like 8 days, not 8 years though

 

[Omenainen]

Jinx

Great minds!

 

[KeithD]

Writing isn't the only iron I have in the fire. I rarely have a writing block and not very long if I do, but I always have something interesting I can go do in the meantime. For one thing, I've hand painted my own Christmas cards for 45 years--100 of them each time. Each takes about a half hour to do, and after the first few they don't require a lot of mental work. I work on them throughout the year. I always have them to work on if the writing is failing me. And there's always reading. I keep two books going at a time and try to hit 60 every year. Keeping as just one activity and not forcing the writing, a put out about half a million words of published copy every year.

Just go do something else until the urge brings you back to the writing.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Recently in the same pickle. For me it was too many irons in the fire. Four stories in progress.
So I opened up a new folder moved three to the new back burner file and just concentrated on the one story. The one that was the most complete on paper and in my mind. Then I knocked it out. Finishing a story renews my motivation every time.

 

[12oclocktales]

I absolutely want to finish my story. I just have a roadblock that I can't seem to get past. This story has been in my head for going on 8 years and I plan on finishing it.

If it's been in your head for 8 years that's more than a road block, more like a cataclysm. I'd try two things: 1. You say you have the story all worked out in your head, so just get it down on paper, no matter how crappy it might be. Now you've got something concrete to work with. You can think of it then as an editing job, even though it might be a major one. 2. Maybe it's just not meant to be. Can you live with discarding the whole thing, starting over with something completely different? This might take months of total abandonment to decide. Perhaps, but the trick is never to believe it, after you've decided to give up on it, voila, it all comes back brand new again.

 

[BlinkenLights93]

The main problem for me is finishing the middle section of the story. Phase 2 is proving to be the most difficult and I'm not willing to discard everything. The main part is creating a worthy enough villain to make a good second act but also leave room for it to grow in the finale. Furthermore, introducing that character to cross paths with the protagonists is also proving more challenging than originally thought. I don't want a weak second act, I want it to feel like a complete story in and of itself like my first act did.

 

[Dearelliot]

For me not so much motivation, but the time to be motivated.
For years, life got in the way of my story writing, then I retired, and we were still too busy to find the time..
I found if I get up 6 in the morning I can write for 3 hours before my wife is awake.

 

[oneagainst]

The main problem for me is finishing the middle section of the story. Phase 2 is proving to be the most difficult and I'm not willing to discard everything. The main part is creating a worthy enough villain to make a good second act but also leave room for it to grow in the finale. Furthermore, introducing that character to cross paths with the protagonists is also proving more challenging than originally thought. I don't want a weak second act, I want it to feel like a complete story in and of itself like my first act did.

I know exactly what you mean about the sheer amount of work involved in a shared universe, building up to an Avengers' ensemble finale. How many chapters are you in? I saw 11 in your profile, but they don't look related.

I'm about to tick over the hundred chapters published, with about another 60 to release, but at least it's all written now (literally, last one this weekend!) - just now pushing them out two at a time. It's been really, really hard, but for me it was the case of turn up, get out a chapter, repeat. Practice, practice, until you drop into writing mode because it's a habit. The thing that helped me across the arcs is the fact that I had the big pieces written, e.g. the one that's going live tonight, well before anything else in the story, as targets to aim for. I've been writing the on-ramps and off-ramps to the set pieces, in *no strict chronological order*, filling in the gaps wherever the mood took me. Then at last, you've got to do the joining sections to bridge between them, but they're only 4000 words, and you can knock that out.

It really helps that the villainess is on her knees in the kitchen, or the heroine is standing in front of all her enemies on the front of the stage, or the protagonists are finally meeting up again on the rooftop, right there at the end, way before much of the rest is written. Reading it back brings the characters to life, and motivated me to finish the rest of it, to the point that I couldn't wait to write the Endgame to all the stories.

 

[BlinkenLights93]

There are some that are related on my profile and some that aren't related. I think if memory serves me correct 6 of them are in a shared universe.

The reason I can't just release one is because if I suddenly decide that I don't like a certain plot point or I think of a great idea to use then I won't be able to change it. So I'm waiting until all of phase 2 is written before I start to go through the rough drafts and finalize everything. I will also be doing a remake of my first story because it was when I was very inexperienced as an author and there's things I would do different now that I'm more experienced.

The finale, my personal Endgame has been in my head for the past two years and I think I'm going to just start writing it to motivate me to finish the rest. It's gotten me emotional just thinking about it and I know it's going to be a worthy finale. Anyone who cares about the characters I've made will as well.

 

[oneagainst]

The finale, my personal Endgame has been in my head for the past two years and I think I'm going to just start writing it to motivate me to finish the rest. It's gotten me emotional just thinking about it and I know it's going to be a worthy finale. Anyone who cares about the characters I've made will as well.

That! If you have it all sketched out then start dropping in the bits you enjoy. Cherry pick. The gaps between them just get smaller. Good luck!

One other thing... publishing helps as well, but only when one story is complete, for the reasons you give. I start releasing when I have the words done and have done a first edit pass so I know it's all there bar the polishing. It's surprisingly inspirational to be dropping chapters of one book while writing the next.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I suggested this before to someone. If you're really stuck, then write about yourself, a part of your memoirs. It doesn't have to be explicitly sexual. If you like it, then Lit will publish it in Reviews and Essays. Seriously, write more than one. It will give you a topic for the duration of your stuckness, and then you can get back to your original plans.

P.S.: You don't need a collaborator. I don't know much, but I know what I'm talking about with this. As for the sex scenes becoming unnecessary, you are under no obligation as to how much or how little sex is in there. Just cut out the ones you don't want, or minimize them.

 

[oneagainst]

P.S.: You don't need a collaborator. I don't know much, but I know what I'm talking about with this.

Didn't work out?

 

[Duleigh]

1. Write about what you know, if you don't know enough then research it
2. Write about what you love, if you don't love it, then your readers aren't going to like it.
3. Don't take big bites, keep the number of open projects down, and switch between them
4. Don't throw anything away. All of us have changed directions in a story, save what you chop out, it could be useful later in a different story
5. Schedule your stories so you can prioritize your efforts.
6. Try something new on occasion - the 750 word project got the juices flowing for lots of different writers. I pity whoever has to draw up this year's list.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Didn't work out?

No, I've never had a collaborator. I meant the suggestion that he write non-fiction as a change of pace. I have about eight or nine of those here, and I'll probably have a couple more pretty soon. At least one is not a memoir; it's about how the singer Phoebe Snow (formerly Phoebe Laub) got her stage name. What does that to do with Literotica? I don't know, but they published it and I got a 4.29 score with just 1,000 words. Good enough for me.

 

[LongDraw]

The main problem for me is finishing the middle section of the story. Phase 2 is proving to be the most difficult and I'm not willing to discard everything. The main part is creating a worthy enough villain to make a good second act but also leave room for it to grow in the finale. Furthermore, introducing that character to cross paths with the protagonists is also proving more challenging than originally thought. I don't want a weak second act, I want it to feel like a complete story in and of itself like my first act did.

Okay, so let me start by saying I know nothing about any stories you may have published here quite yet. What I can say though that may help is that I recommend work on the world and character building aspect of writing your story. Not because you don't know all those details, but because seemingly like you, I also have been working on my novel since September of 2019. What really helped me get writing at a better and stable pace was utilizing the features on OneStopForWriters. Now I want to put this out here, I have no benefit for referrals, affiliate status or click payment benefits for that site.

As for a collaboration partner, I wouldn't be opposed to a trial run with being a collaborating author with you. Maybe you could do the same with my book?

 

[TheRescuer]

If there is anyone who has experience with mental roadblocks or wants to become accountability partners to give me a push in the right direction or even to brainstorm, I would be all for it. At this point I'm not opposed to the idea of collaborating to finish the story.

BlinkenLights93,

I am sure that a lot of other authors are trying to send you some private 'offline' advice and ask specific questions.

Have you turned on your PM's here?

I have more than a 'little' experience with trying to piece together longer series but don't want to bore the rest of the group with the actual details again. If you want to keep your PM's off - just drop me message,

Thanks!

The Rescuer/Sextified