When the writing doesn't come easily...

[Zenith77]

...do you struggle around every word, trying to get it if not perfect, then as good as you can in the moment...

or do you go for volume, as fast as possible, and come back to it to finesse later?

 

[EmilyMiller]

I get fucked. Deals with writer’s block without fail. I should write a book about it

Em

 

[Djmac1031]

...do you struggle around every word, trying to get it if not perfect, then as good as you can in the moment...

or do you go for volume, as fast as possible, and come back to it to finesse later?

Just write. Fix it later .

But seriously, I get it. Even going back after, that struggle to pick the perfect word, the right phrase, the proper descriptors. That tendency to second guess everything.

It's a bitch sometimes.

 

[onehitwanda]

I get fucked. Deals with writer’s block without fail. I should write a book about it

Em

Biologically or Alcoholically or both?

 

[ronde]

Trying to be perfect while you write is a lost cause. You'll get bogged down and lose the flow of what you're writing. Just keep writing your plot as it plays out with your characters. Fast isn't important. What is important is to stay on the road you decided on when you started.

I do go back from time to time and read what I've written to see if I've done that, and also to change things a bit if my plot changed. I don't edit until at least a week or so later. If you try to edit too soon, your brain remembers what you intended to write and will change any errors to that. You need to give your brain time to forget.

 

[lovecraft68]

Biologically or Alcoholically or both?

I've written blitzed, not half bad story wise, but the editing task is daunting.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Biologically or Alcoholically or both?

Well at least biologically. Alcohol is an optional extra.

Em

 

[ElectricBlue]

My raw flow always comes easily, and my edits are minimal - I'm a stream of consciousness pantser writer. If I'm not in the mood for writing, I'm either reading or doing something else. I never get writer's angst. Lucky, I guess.

 

[lovecraft68]

I often force it until I 'catch' then go back and repair the absolute crap the first part was. But I've been at this a long time, not sure its the right answer for anyone starting off.

 

[Djmac1031]

not sure its the right answer for anyone starting off.

I still consider myself a "new" writer, only been at it just under two years.

Only way I've learned is trial and error.

My suggestion for newbs: just write.

Write the best you can, but get those ideas out. Don't fight it, don't fix it. Not yet.

Once it's finished, THEN go back at it with fresh eyes.

Read it and compare it to stories you like; look for the differences, look for the obvious mistakes.

But if you're too worried about perfection early on, you'll never finish a story.

I still see the imperfections of my early stuff. I see how far I've come. And I still acknowledge I have a long way to go.

But if I let my flaws bother me too much, I'd never get anything finished.

 

[KeithD]

or do you go for volume, as fast as possible, and come back to it to finesse later?

This, but it isn't going for volume, it's going for resolution, to get a whole draft out and then to do any necessary polishing in review--knowing where it all was intending to head (which, of course, can change).

 

[Voboy]

Trying to be perfect while you write is a lost cause. You'll get bogged down and lose the flow of what you're writing. Just keep writing your plot as it plays out with your characters. Fast isn't important. What is important is to stay on the road you decided on when you started.

For some, not for others. I correct myself as I go, and I very seldom change anything later. It doesn't ruin my flow. And my road unspools before me without a great deal of planning; usually, when I start writing, I've not decided what that road will be. At all.

Everyone works differently. OP, when the words stop flowing for me, I generally just back off and work on something else for awhile. If the offending WIP is good enough, I'll come back to it soon enough; if not? It'll still be there whenever I decide what to do with it.

 

[SamScribble]

I only write when I am in the mood. And I currently make sure that I am in the mood at 7am each morning.

I used to start at 9am, but then I committed to writing two books at pretty much the same time. My solution was to work on one book from 6am until 10am, then take a break and work on the second book from midday until 4pm. Once I got that little drama out of the way, I went back to a 7am start. Much more civilised.

 

[NotWise]

I struggle with every word, and there's some level where I enjoy that. I don't wish it on anyone, but when the writing becomes a struggle I can at least get that small measure of enjoyment out of it.

Like @Voboy, I don't think it hurts the flow of the story. In fact, pacing and flow are things I work on when the writing gets slow.

The up side is that there isn't much editing to do when I'm finally done.

 

[Comshaw]

...do you struggle around every word, trying to get it if not perfect, then as good as you can in the moment...

or do you go for volume, as fast as possible, and come back to it to finesse later?

The stories come easy to me. I've been a daydreamer since I was a kid, living in worlds made of imagination that no one ever got to see. I can construct an entire story in my head. But the process of putting that story down is a challenge. I'm mildly dyslexic. I have an injury to one hand that slows my typing to two fingers, consequently, I make beaucoup mistakes while putting the story down. I try to correct the mistakes I see as I go, but there are always a lot more that I miss, so I have to go back at least two or three times to catch most of them. I do use Grammerly which helps tremendously.

Comshaw

 

[LongDraw]

Yeah, I've had about 5 sections in chapters 14 and 15 of VY that I have been stuck on for about a solid 6 weeks. But I just highlight the in-text note and look at each note once every day or so. If I can't add anything significant in the first few minutes, I leave it alone.

 

[LongDraw]

The stories come easy to me. I've been a daydreamer since I was a kid, living in worlds made of imagination that no one ever got to see. I can construct an entire story in my head. But the process of putting that story down is a challenge. I'm mildly dyslexic. I have an injury to one hand that slows my typing to two fingers, consequently, I make beaucoup mistakes while putting the story down. I try to correct the mistakes I see as I go, but there are always a lot more that I miss, so I have to go back at least two or three times to catch most of them. I do use Grammerly which helps tremendously.

Comshaw

Yeah, Dyslexia can be a real itch with a capital B! For me I don't realize I'm going up and down lines of text mid-line.

And similar to your hand injury, I have arthritis and reduced sensation in my finger tips thanks to frostbite from my teen years.

 

[alohadave]

I still see the imperfections of my early stuff.

I learned a long time ago as a photographer that most people don't notice the things I see as mistakes. They either don't care, or they don't see them as problems. Even other photographers don't see the problems that I see.

We are always our own worst critic. We are emotionally invested and we have this idea of what we were trying to accomplish, and how it doesn't match what you actually create. When others see it, they have no preconceived notions about it.

 

[NoTalentHack]

...do you struggle around every word, trying to get it if not perfect, then as good as you can in the moment...

or do you go for volume, as fast as possible, and come back to it to finesse later?

You can't edit things you haven't written. Put something down, even if it's crap.

 

[mantonrichards]

If I'm struggling with a certain section I have two strategies to keep me working. I'll either:

1) Go back and do some editing on the earlier text.
2) Start writing some later sections.

Once enough time has passed doing either, then I find I'm back in the flow when I return.

 

[Duleigh]

Like @Djmac1031 said, just force your way through it and come back and clean it up later. It works

If you can't find a way to get through it, try working on your outline.

 

[Zenith77]

If you can't find a way to get through it, try working on your outline.

I'm terrible on outlines. A lot of the stuff I write grows organically - which is fine for short stuff, and poor for longer stuff. I end up making mistakes because in chapter 3 the characters take the story in directions I hadn't anticipated (no prob with that) but then contradict a premise I'd made in chapter 1... and I don't spot it for ages (major prob with that).

Also, now that I'm aiming to write a novel again, I know that I won't finish it (again... been here before) unless I have a story/plot that I can get behind. And that requires an outline. I can world-build just fine, but pulling together even the skeleton of a story with a beginning, middle and end before I start is a struggle for me at the moment. Maybe I just need to be more disciplined.

Any tips, though?

 

[onehitwanda]

I've written blitzed, not half bad story wise, but the editing task is daunting.

write tipsy, edit sober.

 

[LongDraw]

I'm terrible on outlines. A lot of the stuff I write grows organically - which is fine for short stuff, and poor for longer stuff. I end up making mistakes because in chapter 3 the characters take the story in directions I hadn't anticipated (no prob with that) but then contradict a premise I'd made in chapter 1... and I don't spot it for ages (major prob with that).

Also, now that I'm aiming to write a novel again, I know that I won't finish it (again... been here before) unless I have a story/plot that I can get behind. And that requires an outline. I can world-build just fine, but pulling together even the skeleton of a story with a beginning, middle and end before I start is a struggle for me at the moment. Maybe I just need to be more disciplined.

Any tips, though?

OneStopForWriters

No doubt about it, you are having the same problem I had before I was recommended to the category of service they offer.

 

[Duleigh]

I'm terrible on outlines. A lot of the stuff I write grows organically - which is fine for short stuff, and poor for longer stuff.

Same here, but I do generate what can only be described as a "Guideline outline" When I start I (generally) know where I want to end so I mark that out with two sentences separated by several blank lines. Between those two lines I'll put a few "road marks" that I want to hit along the way from Point A to Point Z. Everything between A and Z is fluid for me and it is kind of fun keeping my muse (and my ego) on track.

OneStopForWriters

I looked but those dreaded words "Sign up for free trial" stopped me in my tracks. I do this because writing is cheap. If I was going to spend money on a hobby I'd have one of the greatest model railroad layouts that you have ever seen.