Unfinished tales
- Thread starter peterpan
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Whispersecret
Clandestine Sex-pressionist
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- Feb 17, 2000
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I wish I had better advice for you, but I don't. I either force myself to work on the piece, or work on something different. I think we all have a pile of unfinished stories that we intend to go back to someday. So, you're not alone. 
TheEarl
Occasional visitor
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- Apr 1, 2002
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- 9,808
You've either got to forget them or just run at them and try and finish them quickly, cause the longer they stay unfinished, the less likely it is that you'll do any work on them.
Pick the best one and just work on it. Do you know how it's going to end? If not think about it. Maybe a change of story direction or a twist, maybe something unusual will save it.
I will give you what has helped for me in the past:
Loud music (to drown out everything else)
Lava lamp (keeps distracting me, so I don't concentrate too hard)
Change of working ocnditions (Do you write on computer? Maybe try writing pen to paper. Vice versa also)
Asking someone else's advice on where to go from the point in your story where you're stuck.
Go an write something else. When/If you get stuck on the new hting, go back to the old one and see if the words flow easier.
Start a diary. Don't write what you did today, just write what you're thinking about, straight from head to paper. It'll help with your writing as you'll get more used to articulating thoughts.
Read and see how someone else has done what you're trying to do.
Hope this helps.
The Earl
Pick the best one and just work on it. Do you know how it's going to end? If not think about it. Maybe a change of story direction or a twist, maybe something unusual will save it.
I will give you what has helped for me in the past:
Loud music (to drown out everything else)
Lava lamp (keeps distracting me, so I don't concentrate too hard)
Change of working ocnditions (Do you write on computer? Maybe try writing pen to paper. Vice versa also)
Asking someone else's advice on where to go from the point in your story where you're stuck.
Go an write something else. When/If you get stuck on the new hting, go back to the old one and see if the words flow easier.
Start a diary. Don't write what you did today, just write what you're thinking about, straight from head to paper. It'll help with your writing as you'll get more used to articulating thoughts.
Read and see how someone else has done what you're trying to do.
Hope this helps.
The Earl
My problem is in the coming together busness. Its easy to add stuff, but I get to the point where it has too much stuff and adding more is not going to fix anything.
I was wondering if there was any way to get input on that sort of thing. The problem is that asking and editor to look at a sprawling tale is asking more than asking them to look at a peice you have somewhat polished, especially since it requires them to care about the stories' purpose, but at the same time it really needs brainstorming.
Apart from submitting to an editor, I guess I could submit a couple of pages and ask for brainstorming on some particular problem. Where would be the best forum for that?
This is scifi stuff so I suspect it is of fairly narrow interest. (I love that comment from one of the editors: (something like) 'no bestiality, paedophilia, snuff or Sci-Fi please'..
I was wondering if there was any way to get input on that sort of thing. The problem is that asking and editor to look at a sprawling tale is asking more than asking them to look at a peice you have somewhat polished, especially since it requires them to care about the stories' purpose, but at the same time it really needs brainstorming.
Apart from submitting to an editor, I guess I could submit a couple of pages and ask for brainstorming on some particular problem. Where would be the best forum for that?
This is scifi stuff so I suspect it is of fairly narrow interest. (I love that comment from one of the editors: (something like) 'no bestiality, paedophilia, snuff or Sci-Fi please'..
toffeegyrl
Really Experienced
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2002
- Posts
- 262
have yo u tried....
Astroglide?
Sorry - - couldn't resist.
There are some really nice folks in the 'author's hangout' forum, I've seen. Also, what helps me, strangely enough, is editing. Printing out and going back over not only helps with little stuff like antecedents and missed spellchecked words, but about 80% of the time, I find myself getting back into the flow of the story enough to at least finish enough to get to another stopping point. I know there's a certain mystical rythym/zone to writing, and you want to wait for that to return so you can write as it was meant to be written, (okay, maybe that's just me), but sometimes getting reinvolved with a work via dissection may be an option.
Hope that helped!
Astroglide?
Sorry - - couldn't resist.
There are some really nice folks in the 'author's hangout' forum, I've seen. Also, what helps me, strangely enough, is editing. Printing out and going back over not only helps with little stuff like antecedents and missed spellchecked words, but about 80% of the time, I find myself getting back into the flow of the story enough to at least finish enough to get to another stopping point. I know there's a certain mystical rythym/zone to writing, and you want to wait for that to return so you can write as it was meant to be written, (okay, maybe that's just me), but sometimes getting reinvolved with a work via dissection may be an option.
Hope that helped!
Re: have yo u tried....
A problem with reediting is that it is easier to add than remove. You keep adding and adding, trying to get things across better when the problem is bloat.
Anyway, I just submitted a tale. Am not happy with it because it is just bigger than I think it requires. Maybe I will pester advice out of people once it is up and then reedit.
A problem with reediting is that it is easier to add than remove. You keep adding and adding, trying to get things across better when the problem is bloat.
Anyway, I just submitted a tale. Am not happy with it because it is just bigger than I think it requires. Maybe I will pester advice out of people once it is up and then reedit.
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