Writer's block

[cheeksarerosy]

But not the kind that you are thinking of. I have written quite a few chapters of a story that will be broken into at least 5 sections (each section has many parts, it's a long story!)

My block is in the posting. I keep wanting to post and I end up doing revisions instead. At some point you have to just get this out there, right?

Anyone struggle with putting your first story online? Any advice on how to get past it?

 

[AlinaX]

Just do it. No matter how perfect you think it is, you'll still spot things after that could be improved. Not much point writing if it's not being read by others.

Do it. Submit. And discover how much fun it is waiting for someone, anyone, to tell you how amazing you are...

 

[gunhilltrain]

But not the kind that you are thinking of. I have written quite a few chapters of a story that will be broken into at least 5 sections (each section has many parts, it's a long story!)

My block is in the posting. I keep wanting to post and I end up doing revisions instead. At some point you have to just get this out there, right?

Anyone struggle with putting your first story online? Any advice on how to get past it?

A series is a pretty ambitious way to start, but that's what you're done. At least, you can concentrate on the first chapter and get that done and posted. There is a school of thought here that a series should be completed and then each chapter posted about a week apart. I've never had the discipline for that. In your situation, it would probably be best to do each chapter in turn and not get too obsessed with the timing. I assume you mean each "section" is going to be a separate chapter/posting? About how many words are in each section?

You may get some people comment that you are amazing, or somebody may say, well, the opposite, and about half the time there may be no comments at all. (Somebody just commented on one of my stories a year after it came out.) You will surely get votes, views, and possibly favorites. All of us look at the feedback we get, it's human nature.

Somebody else recently asked the same thing here: how do I know when it's done and I can stop revising it? That's hard to answer, I discovered. You have to rely on your own intuition.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

The perfect is the enemy of the good. Remember Camus's book The Plague? There's a character who's such a perfectionist that he spends the whole book rewriting the first line of his novel, over and over.

My advice is to accept that it will never be perfect, so publish now. If you're really concerned, find an editor or beta reader, accept their suggestions and publish as soon as you make the changes.

Good luck.

 

[Defluer]

Yeah, for a long time I got scared away from publishing because of the comments on my admittedly typo-ridden first couple of stories. I wrote stories and edited and then let them sit in a folder. Until my computer blew up and took all those (finished and unfinished) stories with it. Don't be scared. And if it helps, you can always get them all released, take the comments as beta readers, then fix everything and "repost". But I would just get them out there.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I have the deadly new-idea-ritis, where new story concepts invade my writing time. This can make me bounce from one started story to another new one, or between two, three, or even four stories in a single day. I find this frustrating. It makes me want to scream and shout but not in a fun way.

 

[gunhilltrain]

The perfect is the enemy of the good. Remember Camus's book The Plague? There's a character who's such a perfectionist that he spends the whole book rewriting the first line of his novel, over and over.

My advice is to accept that it will never be perfect, so publish now. If you're really concerned, find an editor or beta reader, accept their suggestions and publish as soon as you make the changes.

Good luck.

Now I want to read The Plague; somehow it's never gotten onto my list.

 

[Lifestyle66]

But not the kind that you are thinking of. I have written quite a few chapters of a story that will be broken into at least 5 sections (each section has many parts, it's a long story!)

My block is in the posting. I keep wanting to post and I end up doing revisions instead. At some point you have to just get this out there, right?

Anyone struggle with putting your first story online? Any advice on how to get past it?

I started the same way, with multiple stories for my own entertainment tied together in chapters which I thought would be worthy of posting. But I continued to add new chapter ideas and work on revising the earlier chapters.

Then I noticed the "750-Word Author's Challenge" last year and decided to take one of my shortest chapter ideas to try reducing and submitting it. I took a 1,500-word short scene and revised it down to exactly 750 words to submit as "He Missed You – (750 Word Project)". That word limit made it almost impossible to continue further revisions, and soon brought it to closure.

I submitted it to Loving Wives because that was my favored reading category. Besides the trolls saying: "Wrong category" (it was a sex scene with just the husband and wife, without extra-marital sex), it did fairly well for a first story and received some encouraging comments.

Those encouraging comments allowed me to better focus and submit the first 5 chapters within a few weeks. Then the real troll comments hit, and I re-evaluated by finding an editor to critique my writing. So, now armed with some objective reviews and advice, I started again and just allow the negative comments and 1-bomb ratings to roll off.

So, ... I recommend you try focusing on submitting a story to one of the Author Challenges, with their deadlines to force you to publish. Set that as your initial goal and do it! The rest will follow.

 

[MillieDynamite]

So, I just received a private email from one of my followers that my new story, A Dream, Wicked and Wild, should have been submitted for the Halloween contest. I sent back that it's too late now, as it's out there already, and I doubt my scores will hold up for very long anyway. Besides all that, I didn't find it all that scary. Erotic, I hope, but scary, not so much.

The tale was one of those that invaded my mind while writing another, it didn't let go of me until I finished it. Originally, I thought it'd be one of those 750-word stories, but it fleshed out at 1200 words.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Yeah, for a long time I got scared away from publishing because of the comments on my admittedly typo-ridden first couple of stories. I wrote stories and edited and then let them sit in a folder. Until my computer blew up and took all those (finished and unfinished) stories with it. Don't be scared. And if it helps, you can always get them all released, take the comments as beta readers, then fix everything and "repost". But I would just get them out there.

cheeksarerosy: I think you've must be noticing that when you ask for advice, people will say, "This is how I do it, and maybe it will work for you too." Maybe or maybe not, as I said to someone else.

The typo problem: you probably should have a grammar checking program. I use the free version of Grammarly, which is a bit quirky but it helps. Others here prefer different software. Look into it, at least.

So, if I may go into self-appointed pundit mode, you have to find a balance between rushing things and stalling too much. I can't remember what it was like to submit my first story more than four years ago, but it got a better score that I had expected which probably gave me unrealistic expectations.

The nuts and bolts of what I'm about to submit: 1. There is one going on another site that I will probably submit by tomorrow at the latest. It actually fits into the middle of an existing series, so I have to give it a "stand-alone" name. (That's a little secret: this is all digital, it's not going onto a printing press. Thus you have more wiggle room than you might expect.) 2. The next story is longer, about 9,000 words, and it will go onto Lit. I finished a draft of it and then I'll let it sit for a couple of days before going back to it. I'm guessing that it will be posted by next week. 3. The are two are stories that still being written and I'm sure it will take a couple of weeks at least more for them.

That's about the limit of what I can handle; actually a bit too much perhaps. Is any of this helpful to you?

 

[gunhilltrain]

I started the same way, with multiple stories for my own entertainment tied together in chapters which I thought would be worthy of posting. But I continued to add new chapter ideas and work on revising the earlier chapters.

Then I noticed the "750-Word Author's Challenge" last year and decided to take one of my shortest chapter ideas to try reducing and submitting it. I took a 1,500-word short scene and revised it down to exactly 750 words to submit as "He Missed You – (750 Word Project)". That word limit made it almost impossible to continue further revisions, and soon brought it to closure.

I submitted it to Loving Wives because that was my favored reading category. Besides the trolls saying: "Wrong category" (it was a sex scene with just the husband and wife, without extra-marital sex), it did fairly well for a first story and received some encouraging comments.

Those encouraging comments allowed me to better focus and submit the first 5 chapters within a few weeks. Then the real troll comments hit, and I re-evaluated by finding an editor to critique my writing. So, now armed with some objective reviews and advice, I started again and just allow the negative comments and 1-bomb ratings to roll off.

So, ... I recommend you try focusing on submitting a story to one of the Author Challenges, with their deadlines to force you to publish. Set that as your initial goal and do it! The rest will follow.

The Author Challenges: a good idea, but he's (or maybe she) already has that long, multi-section story that seems to be getting close to being done - or part of it is anyway. It probably won't fit into any of the challenges. It's something to consider in the future, however.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I have the deadly new-idea-ritis, where new story concepts invade my writing time. This can make me bounce from one started story to another new one, or between two, three, or even four stories in a single day. I find this frustrating. It makes me want to scream and shout but not in a fun way.

Millie, as I wrote, I went into self-appointed pundit mode (like I know what I'm doing either.) Do I have to start smoking a pipe now? So the new-idea-itis: if I have new ideas, like I have a few now, I try to limit myself to merely pondering them. I have to stop myself from actually starting to write them or, as you said, it would quickly get out of hand.

I think you did submit three new stories recently? So maybe the situation is not so bad after all.

 

[Lifestyle66]

The Author Challenges: a good idea, but he's (or maybe she) already has that long, multi-section story that seems to be getting close to being done - or part of it is anyway. It probably won't fit into any of the challenges. It's something to consider in the future, however.

My 750-word scene was pulled FROM one of my self-amusement stories which were a part of a series. But taking on that personal challenge to make it fit spurred me on to more afterwards.

I still suffered from "Repeated Revisioning Syndrome" and "Publishing Procrastination", which the OP seems to describe, after that first story posted. I posted the next five stories, due to the positive reception of the first one. Then I felt driven to prep a prequel to address the editor critiques and revised the posted stories, using the need to replace them as a compelling force.

I recognized that until I hit the deadline, my stories would languish in revisioning range. So, I focused on the Pink Orchid, On The Job, and Geek Pride challenges to help break that cycle.... until I focus on the next deadline.

For my submission to Pink Orchid, I pulled one of my series ideas and posted Her Bucket List: Strip Club, O reviewed it prior to posting and said she didn't think it really fit the challenge. But I submitted it anyway, and I'm pleased with the reception.

Even my next story will be one I've pulled from a potential future chapter of the series and augmented for the "Amorous Goods Author's Challenge" starting Oct 1st. So, my series has become more of an idea repository.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I'd say post your first chapter without further delay. You will never be satisfied with it, because it will never be perfect. I would also say to avoid writing too much ahead if you really plan to write a long story. Give yourself time to think it over more, to see how your initial chapters fare first. You might change your mind about some thing. You might see an improvement. But yes, post it already

 

[MillieDynamite]

Millie, as I wrote, I went into self-appointed pundit mode (like I know what I'm doing either.) Do I have to start smoking a pipe now? So the new-idea-itis: if I have new ideas, like I have a few now, I try to limit myself to merely pondering them. I have to stop myself from actually starting to write them or, as you said, it would quickly get out of hand.

I think you did submit three new stories recently? So maybe the situation is not so bad after all.

This month has four new stories and three new stories during the ten days of last month (though two were reworks of previously posted tales elsewhere). Question, why are we expected to type ten (not 10) but 11 (not eleven), is ten still considered a single digit number?

 

[gunhilltrain]

This month has four new stories and three new stories during the ten days of last month (though two were reworks of previously posted tales elsewhere). Question, why are we expected to type ten (not 10) but 11 (not eleven), is ten still considered a single digit number?

I'm not much of a grammarian. I could look it up, but I thought ninety-nine was the cut-off point. Or one-thousand is okay, but 1,435 is best for that number. As I said, I'd have to look it up.

 

[gunhilltrain]

My 750-word scene was pulled FROM one of my self-amusement stories which were a part of a series. But taking on that personal challenge to make it fit spurred me on to more afterwards.

I still suffered from "Repeated Revisioning Syndrome" and "Publishing Procrastination", which the OP seems to describe, after that first story posted. I posted the next five stories, due to the positive reception of the first one. Then I felt driven to prep a prequel to address the editor critiques and revised the posted stories, using the need to replace them as a compelling force.

I recognized that until I hit the deadline, my stories would languish in revisioning range. So, I focused on the Pink Orchid, On The Job, and Geek Pride challenges to help break that cycle.... until I focus on the next deadline.

For my submission to Pink Orchid, I pulled one of my series ideas and posted Her Bucket List: Strip Club, O reviewed it prior to posting and said she didn't think it really fit the challenge. But I submitted it anyway, and I'm pleased with the reception.

Even my next story will be one I've pulled from a potential future chapter of the series and augmented for the "Amorous Goods Author's Challenge" starting Oct 1st. So, my series has become more of an idea repository.

I'll tell you a dirty little secret - well, I've mentioned this before. It's digital, not printed. If after a while, like maybe a year, I don't like how a story came out, I'll redo it and post it elsewhere. Or post it here with a new title. (I usually leave the old one there anyway and on one notices.) I'll only do it for a story once, and I don't do it often - but I've done it. It's a back door, an escape hatch, that's always there.

 

[Lifestyle66]

I'll tell you a dirty little secret - well, I've mentioned this before. It's digital, not printed. If after a while, like maybe a year, I don't like how a story came out, I'll redo it and post it elsewhere. Or post it here with a new title. (I usually leave the old one there anyway and on one notices.) I'll only do it for a story once, and I don't do it often - but I've done it. It's a back door, an escape hatch, that's always there.

TarnishedPenny said it best above:

The perfect is the enemy of the good. ...

Post the story, ... await the responses and comments for it while polishing the next story, ... then either post the next one or edit and re-post the one you didn't like.

But the OP seems to need some external driver to get over that hesitation for the first post. In my case, the next driver is to post my Amorous Goods story (good enough for me was end of June) to publish ON October 1st. So, I need to click "Publish" probably no later than Sept 25th. I have until then to indulge my revision fetish.

 

[gunhilltrain]

TarnishedPenny said it best above:



Post the story, ... await the responses and comments for it while polishing the next story, ... then either post the next one or edit and re-post the one you didn't like.

But the OP seems to need some external driver to get over that hesitation for the first post. In my case, the next driver is to post my Amorous Goods story (good enough for me was end of June) to publish ON October 1st. So, I need to click "Publish" probably no later than Sept 25th. I have until then to indulge my revision fetish.

Maybe I shouldn't have even told him that - he seems to be having enough agita with the first one. And yes, he should keep looking forward, not backwards. The are two people on here with about the same basic problem, looking for advice. It's hard to know what's best to tell them.

 

[MillieDynamite]

gunhilltrain, I'm always looking, listening to, soliciting, and reading advice. I often ignore it, though.

 

[cheeksarerosy]

Hey everyone - I saw one response and then somehow I didn't get notified of any others, so I never saw any of them.

Good advice, and I appreciate the well-thought-out responses. I have another question about content and larger stories, but I believe it will be better suited for a new post, rather than trying to hijack my own thread.

 

[FifthEstate]

Cheeksarerosy,
I’ve read lots of great feedback on this thread. I faced a similar dilemma when I published my first story series “UCLA To Big D” several years ago. I’d actually written the entire story as one continuous 350k word novel, but I wanted to get more exposure so I broke it into 18 chapters before I published the first one. I naively thought it would take Literotica by storm…haha. While it scored well, it took a long time to get traction as I published the first five chapters in five different categories—something I would never do now and would encourage you not to either. But as far as your hesitancy to publish goes, I would make sure the first chapter is cleaned up grammatically and publish it. Perhaps give it a little time for feedback before releasing chapter 2. Also, keep in mind you can always go back and edit a published chapter by resubmitting, so holding off for perfection isn’t necessary anyway. Best of luck!

 

[gunhilltrain]

gunhilltrain, I'm always looking, listening to, soliciting, and reading advice. I often ignore it, though.

I do ask for advice here at times, although I try not to do it too often. There are people who come here asking for advice, often because they are stuck or have writer's block, and my keyboard fingers get itchy because I feel obligated to help them. But most of the responses they get, including mine, often are a version of, "This is how I do it so it will work for you too."

But I really don't know them or what they are going through. Maybe it makes them feel better to be listened to. By the way, in the post just above, a person basically suggests the same thing that I did - namely, that it can always be resubmitted, redone. Does that help the OP out of their stall or does it just reinforce the hesitation they are already experiencing?

 

[gunhilltrain]

Hey everyone - I saw one response and then somehow I didn't get notified of any others, so I never saw any of them.

Good advice, and I appreciate the well-thought-out responses. I have another question about content and larger stories, but I believe it will be better suited for a new post, rather than trying to hijack my own thread.

I often hi-jack my own threads, or someone else's thread - sometimes the original topic gets played out. Anyway, you can see that I was talking to Millie about you and whether we are helping you with all this. I wonder if we are all talking when you should just be doing. I probably made a hash out of what I was trying to say here but, yeah, start a new thread if you wish and tell us about it. You did say, "good advice," . . .well, that's a good sign perhaps.

 

[GarryTuck]

A series is a pretty ambitious way to start, but that's what you're done. At least, you can concentrate on the first chapter and get that done and posted. There is a school of thought here that a series should be completed and then each chapter posted about a week apart. I've never had the discipline for that. In your situation, it would probably be best to do each chapter in turn and not get too obsessed with the timing. I assume you mean each "section" is going to be a separate chapter/posting? About how many words are in each section?

You may get some people comment that you are amazing, or somebody may say, well, the opposite, and about half the time there may be no comments at all. (Somebody just commented on one of my stories a year after it came out.) You will surely get votes, views, and possibly favorites. All of us look at the feedback we get, it's human nature.

Somebody else recently asked the same thing here: how do I know when it's done and I can stop revising it? That's hard to answer, I discovered. You have to rely on your own intuition.

Cool advice! Very often, aspiring writers get stuck and can't finish a book. If you publish each chapter, you may see objective criticism or inspiring comments. I am an aspiring writer, my first work to be published was a literary analysis essay a rose for emily [Link Redacted] I was very nervous that I could not publish a quality book and constantly wanted to rewrite something . Because of this, I published it much later than I could. If I had the idea to publish the book in parts in separate chapters, I would have finished writing it much earlier.

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