The Joy of getting past that “I dunno” stage of a new story!

[Emilymcplugger]

I don’t know if you’re like me (on your couch, way too late, typing this when you should be in bed sleeping) but often when I’m doing a new story I’ll regularly go back and forward, writing, deleting, writing, deleting, just trying to figure if I even have a story and then BAM!

The story is just there, flowing, moving, twisting and turning, the characters are popping in my head and just everything is on fire and even though I know I’ll get some blocks it’s all happening in my brain.

There’s something really incredible about getting past that “I dunno” feeling and moving forward with a range of new people who are gonna carve out their own personal niche in your subconsciousnessness.

I flucking love it.

 

[Euphony]

Maybe restating your same concept but nothing makes me euphoric like unlocking that one plausibility puzzle that ground the entire piece to an absolute standstill.

The freedom to finally unleash coupled with the tailwind of having overcome a significant sticking point is motivating beyond compare.

 

[SeraphNocturne]

I've gotten to the point I rarely wing it like this... the staying up way too late to write though, absolutely.

Once I have an idea I flesh it out in bullet points. Then I go through and basically create a detailed synopsis from scene to scene, and include everything I want to see happen. Only then, once I have it together start to finish, do I begin to write it out.

I'm so easily distracted and hard to focus that if I wing it these days, I'll write myself directly into a block. So I plan the ever loving fuck out of my stories now, and still I might hit an inspirational stump. Sometimes the flow takes on a mind of its own, and I'll write it how I intended to but in a much different vibe and tone than I the original vision. I enjoy the 'pop up' scenes. I love being able to add in as I go. Rarely do I take away--usually that's only in a series, I'll omit a scene that'll fit better in the next chapter.

The things that trip me up more than anything (aside from my procrastination) are my characters and how they develop through the story. Sometimes, even if I have it plotted, their personalities take hold... and they don't want to go with what I've plotted. Then I've gotta find another way around! It's insane how fictional characters can take on a life of their own.

 

[Djmac1031]

For me, story IDEAS come pretty easy. I have a folder full of them.

My challenge is making that idea work towards a logical and fitting conclusion.

I generally don't plot out a story; I just write and see what happens.

So the AH HA moment for me comes when I finally see the ending, that all of what I've worked on actually has a reason behind it and is headed towards a solid conclusion.

Doesn't always happen. Which is why I have a folder full of half started stories.

And a couple of series up with no TRUE ending.

I'm trying hard not to do that anymore of course.

And I am also trying to have an ending in mind BEFORE I write.

But I can't always get there that way. Most times I just gotta wing it and hope that AH HA ending shows up eventually.

 

[MelissaBaby]

For me, story IDEAS come pretty easy. I have a folder full of them.

My challenge is making that idea work towards a logical and fitting conclusion.

I generally don't plot out a story; I just write and see what happens.

So the AH HA moment for me comes when I finally see the ending, that all of what I've worked on actually has a reason behind it and is headed towards a solid conclusion.

Doesn't always happen. Which is why I have a folder full of half started stories.

And a couple of series up with no TRUE ending.

I'm trying hard not to do that anymore of course.

And I am also trying to have an ending in mind BEFORE I write.

But I can't always get there that way. Most times I just gotta wing it and hope that AH HA ending shows up eventually.

i'm the exact opposite. I never start a story unless I have a pretty strong idea as to the ending, and I very often either write the ending first, or once I've gotten the beginning fairly well established.

 

[MelissaBaby]

. Sometimes, even if I have it plotted, their personalities take hold... and they don't want to go with what I've plotted. Then I've gotta find another way around! It's insane how fictional characters can take on a life of their own.

You always have the option of killing them.

 

[Priscilla_June]

I wish I had the courage to free write more. Ideally I would sit down at any given time and be able to pull open whatever app I am writing on right now and just plug a way in bits as I have a few moments to spare.

What happens is I end up promising myself “ok, just wait till tonight when you have butt loads of time” and then I just psych myself completely out. I get in my own head, get anxious I will write wrong, and then not end up doing anything even though I have a great idea. I plan out sometimes and that helps but it still takes a weird amount of courage to open the app.

 

[SeraphNocturne]

You always have the option of killing them.

Oh yes, yes I do, and I love that option in most cases. Buuut that isn't my go to for every story I write, usually only the questionably dark ones. That option always depends entirely on the theme and setting. -chuckles-

Usually I try reasoning with them, because hey, if my character wants to take the moral high ground on some hot filth I'm trying to get them into, who am I to stand in their way? It just means I've gotta get more creative and add in more build up...

 

[Djmac1031]

i'm the exact opposite. I never start a story unless I have a pretty strong idea as to the ending, and I very often either write the ending first, or once I've gotten the beginning fairly well established.

I really am trying that approach.

It just doesn't often work for me. I honestly don't know why.

My inspiration is almost always just a premise.

From there I think about who's involved in said premise, why, and how to get them there.

And my endings usually resolve from all of that.

But not always.

I think that's why so many of my stories wind up open ended.

They "end," sure. But there always feels like there's more that could be told, too.

I have a new one I'm working on, wrote the first few scenes.

But I've realized very quickly I need an ending in mind before I continue it.

So for now I'm just stewing on it.

 

[Euphony]

I've gotten to the point I rarely wing it like this... the staying up way too late to write though, absolutely.

The golden time that is your mind/body relaxing to go to bed is incredible for idea generation but deadly on quality rest.

I do the make notes thing but the blue light is still a crusher. Couldn't give up the creativity flourish so now I'm trying blue light blocker glasses hoping it helps at least some.

Sometimes, even if I have it plotted, their personalities take hold... and they don't want to go with what I've plotted. Then I've gotta find another way around! It's insane how fictional characters can take on a life of their own.

G damn wild is what it is. I've literally felt like being told NO by a character and had the "am I... crazy" questions crop up after.

Annoying, my new psychosis seems to be even minor characters or those in current backburner stories demanding they are paid attention to.

I can barely handle the MC in whatever developed story I am focusing on.

 

[Euphony]

I really am trying that approach.

It just doesn't often work for me. I honestly don't know why.

Writing is beautiful in the way it allows for so many approaches to bear fruit.

I've even switched up approaches in my career just to see if I might like the fit (or could steal some of the pros to fold them into my prefered style)

I was a "have to know the end"er but found I am more creative if I do everything I can to put myself in the same space as my characters including not knowing any particular outcome (overall I know the destination but try not to worry so much about pathing until I have to)

It was a good shake up for me and somehow the bizzaro hybrid I'm trying on still is seemingly working. (at least I *feel* as much or more creative)

 

[Rob_Royale]

I flucking love it.

Me too. It takes a while for me to get there, but at some point every scene is fully realized in my melon. It's an awesome feeling that it's only going to get better as you get it written.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Maybe restating your same concept but nothing makes me euphoric like unlocking that one plausibility puzzle that ground the entire piece to an absolute standstill.

My favourite version of this: when there are two blocks holding up a story, and then I figure out how to make them solve one another.

 

[SeraphNocturne]

The golden time that is your mind/body relaxing to go to bed is incredible for idea generation but deadly on quality rest.

I do the make notes thing but the blue light is still a crusher. Couldn't give up the creativity flourish so now I'm trying blue light blocker glasses hoping it helps at least some.

G damn wild is what it is. I've literally felt like being told NO by a character and had the "am I... crazy" questions crop up after.

Annoying, my new psychosis seems to be even minor characters or those in current backburner stories demanding they are paid attention to.

I can barely handle the MC in whatever developed story I am focusing on.

Hopeless insomniac here. 4-5 hours of sleep a night uninterrupted is a blessing for me before I'm up and doing something... working... writing, whatever. I've gotten used to it. My creativity comes in strong bursts until I burn out. Then usually it's a three-four day reprieve before I've got it back again.

On the topic of blue-light though, I should really wear my glasses more, my poor eyes.

Oh man, a character flat out going 'NO'... like what? Excuse me?! I AM YOUR CREATOR YOU WILL OBEY.

The characters prodding for attention too! Oh, Euphony... thank you, I was really starting to wonder if I was just genuinely out of my damn mind, letting these brain babies have too much power.

 

[Euphony]

My favourite version of this: when there are two blocks holding up a story, and then I figure out how to make them solve one another.

Fictional Fentanyl that is.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Fictional Fentanyl that is.

Brrrr. My only first-hand experience with fentanyl was not a recommendation. Nor my main second-hand experience, come to that.

 

[Euphony]

The characters prodding for attention too! Oh, Euphony... thank you, I was really starting to wonder if I was just genuinely out of my damn mind, letting these brain babies have too much power.

You should thank yourself as you are the one who struck the chord.

I've had this idea I brewed solely as a change-up to my usual themes and psychologies explored. It's far afield for me and really just a minor respite when (inevitably) I'll need it.

Damn crazy kooks keep disrupting my main work, with all their ideas, negotiations, complaints, and juvenile behavior if they don't get their way.

I find myself abandoning work I need to do and have far more likelihood of finishing near term but their siren song keeps calling me.

 

[Euphony]

Brrrr. My only first-hand experience with fentanyl was not a recommendation. Nor my main second-hand experience, come to that.

No basis in real world user experience.

I have sort of a thing for making word sounds

 

[mirafrida]

Does it make me pathetic that when the story outline all clicks in place, and the last logical impediment has been resolved to my satisfaction, and the compulsion to take it through to the end is really kicking in, a solid chunk of my emotional response is "oh no, now I'm actually going to have to write all those sex scenes!"

 

[Bramblethorn]

No basis in real world user experience.

I have sort of a thing for making word sounds

I had it as part of general anesthesia for surgery some years back. When I was coming out, there was a patch where it felt like my autonomic breathing response hadn't come back, so I had to consciously focus on breathing in and out because if I wasn't thinking about it, I'd just... stop. That was scary in a way that's hard to describe.

My ex was prescribed it for chronic pain relief and eventually quit because being on fentanyl was worse than the pain. The quitting was tough; from others who've tried both, I understand fentanyl withdrawal is worse than heroin withdrawal. :-/

 

[ElectricBlue]

Annoying, my new psychosis seems to be even minor characters or those in current backburner stories demanding they are paid attention to.

This is me, frequently. Several bit characters have gone on to stories of their own, while others rampage up from my subconscious, "Whoa, where did you come from?" and take over a story. My job is to keep up.

Cycling back to the OP's observation - I'll know within five-hundred words whether a story will run or not. I've not deleted many false starts though, because once I do start something, that's it, my subconscious is on stream, and whatever it is will get written. That discovery process is the buzz.

This planning and outlining thing that people do, that's a guaranteed story killer for me. I tried it once, not so long ago, and the story ground to a halt, until I deleted the dot points from the bottom of the page.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Brrrr. My only first-hand experience with fentanyl was not a recommendation. Nor my main second-hand experience, come to that.

Damn glad I got clean before that shit started showing up everywhere.

 

[SeraphNocturne]

You should thank yourself as you are the one who struck the chord.

I've had this idea I brewed solely as a change-up to my usual themes and psychologies explored. It's far afield for me and really just a minor respite when (inevitably) I'll need it.

Damn crazy kooks keep disrupting my main work, with all their ideas, negotiations, complaints, and juvenile behavior if they don't get their way.

I find myself abandoning work I need to do and have far more likelihood of finishing near term but their siren song keeps calling me.

I'm going to assume that this minor psychosis is just a side effect of being highly immersive artists. When these absolutely non-existent people start piping up and having their own thoughts, opinions, and desires, we're definitely doing something right.

Alternately, having my muse pulled fifteen different directions by fictional people wanting their stories handled... that I could do without. Likewise with the bullies who refuse to let me put them down for a minute to focus on something else. Case in point--running series vs. Contest Submission. The series is bulldozing its way to the front. I've got a dark romantic knocking on the back door and a couple who are impatiently standing in my mental foyer... ugh, I'll never get this shit finished.

Does it make me pathetic that when the story outline all clicks in place, and the last logical impediment has been resolved to my satisfaction, and the compulsion to take it through to the end is really kicking in, a solid chunk of my emotional response is "oh no, now I'm actually going to have to write all those sex scenes!"

Not at all pathetic! I think if anything it means you're connecting deeply with your writing... and it's just so hot it's overwhelming?

The erotic aspects no matter what I'm writing always give me the hardest time... I'm either giggling like a schoolgirl or sweating like a fuckin' sinner in Church when it comes to writing sex, rushing my way through it, then lamenting that I have to go back and clean it up because I was trying to get through it fast!

 

[Euphony]

Does it make me pathetic that when the story outline all clicks in place, and the last logical impediment has been resolved to my satisfaction, and the compulsion to take it through to the end is really kicking in, a solid chunk of my emotional response is "oh no, now I'm actually going to have to write all those sex scenes!"

Many of us live in puritanical societies which is why Lit is sex forward b/c "sex" has been relegated to side spaces.

So, it *feels* like this place being a sex safe haven "side space,' the sex is paramount and should be what flows b/c it's the culture.

Personally, I find those who can write the story in spite of the sex, are rarer birds.

I truly believe it would make my sex scenes more organic if I built the characters and story and then could make the sex a more direct expression of who these people are.

I'm working towards it but not there yet.

Grass is greener and all that but I really do feel you've got some real pros in your approach I hope one day will find themselves into my toolkit.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I've got a story that now hangs together, and I think is OK despite the large cast, with our narrator describing it all.
I can describe a bunch of events as a stream of consciousness until the cows come home, but making that into a story, not just 'and this happened and this happened and this happened', aka 'why should anyone give a shit?' - that's the tricky bit.

In this case it's a mix of our narrator's feelings about what she's watching, and trying to describe a bunch of naked women very vividly indeed.
Two scenes to go, then lots of editing. Trying to remember what each of them was wearing and how much had been removed at each stage, was a right pain.