Feeling trapped by my book

[PamC]

Some years ago now, maybe four, I wrote a short story for a course, and it received good feedback. I've since moved on, but ever since that story, I haven't been able to focus my creative attention on anything else, which is a little annoying! I can't help but keep going back the that one story and think about the possibilities it has to be a good book. Now, I've never written a book before; so I've obviously decided to dive headfirst into high fiction and world building. Great. Loads of fun. (I've grown more sarcastic since I started this - something to do with banging my head against the wall thinking "does any of this make sense!?", I think.).

Even when I try to write something else; a short story or some other little creative tidbit, I can not for the life of me concentrate on it long enough for it to become its own thing. It all spirals down into "Oooo that could work in the book!", and then I get annoyed, because I was trying to have a break from the book! Does this happen to anyone else? With writing, is it an all or nothing? How do you divide your creative time?

[DustinPBrown]

Some years ago now, maybe four, I wrote a short story for a course, and it received good feedback. I've since moved on, but ever since that story, I haven't been able to focus my creative attention on anything else, which is a little annoying! I can't help but keep going back the that one story and think about the possibilities it has to be a good book. Now, I've never written a book before; so I've obviously decided to dive headfirst into high fiction and world building. Great. Loads of fun. (I've grown more sarcastic since I started this - something to do with banging my head against the wall thinking "does any of this make sense!?", I think.).

Even when I try to write something else; a short story or some other little creative tidbit, I can not for the life of me concentrate on it long enough for it to become its own thing. It all spirals down into "Oooo that could work in the book!", and then I get annoyed, because I was trying to have a break from the book! Does this happen to anyone else? With writing, is it an all or nothing? How do you divide your creative time?

Do you want to stop this book? Maybe you're really into the book because the story got so much positive feedback in the workshop? But just because that one story got good feedback doesn't mean it's your only good story.

Is the book done? Even if it's not, to move away from it, you really just have to put it away for like a month or two. Don't open it, don't read it, don't add anything to it, just leave it where it is to give yourself some distance from it. In the meantime, force yourself to work on other things. If you get the idea of adding it to the book, don't! Just keep writing. And if it ends up being similar to the book, that's okay too! I've got a friend who's writing process involves completely rewriting things to get a new version of the story. There's lots of different ways to write, no any one correct way.

If this book is so important to you, I think you should make a plan to actually sit down and finish it. That'd be the best way to get it out of your system. If it's already finished, then you need to decide if you wanna publish it or not, and then work on the steps involved in getting that done.

[KS Crooks]

I agree with DustinPBrown
"If this book is so important to you, I think you should make a plan to actually sit down and finish it. That'd be the best way to get it out of your system. If it's already finished, then you need to decide if you wanna publish it or not, and then work on the steps involved in getting that done."
Whenever I work on a story I get this feeling like they could get on with their lives and tasks if only I would stop holding them back...meaning I need to write their story. To me it feels like your characters are calling to you. Continue to write their story or if it's finished write a sequel.
If neither option feel right to you then perhaps try writing a story in a different genre to break your mind away from things that might connect to you short story.

[PamC]

DustinPBrown, KS Crooks,

Your comments gave me a lot of food for thought - very helpful, nutritional food - so thank you!

From what you have said, my instinct is to continue writing the book, but also take a more "go with the flow" approach. I think I have been hard on myself with regards to all the technicalities of writing a book, making it feel like a chore and a job because I'm thinking about too many things at once. This ruined the fun and started to ebb into my other projects. When really, all of the stuff I'm worrying about, is something to think about in post-production!

"...I think you should make a plan to actually sit down and finish it." - DustinPBrown (this will be my mantra from now on)

[kegoffeney]

Hi PamC,

I definitely get what you mean about wanting to "go with the flow." Some stories I write *have* to be plotted out, blow by blow, but others I know that if I so much as make a tiny outline, it'll kill the story. That said, there are many ways that you can plot out your basic story trajectory. Not even a plot line, it's way more broad and general than that. Figure out a general "ending-ish point" that you want to reach for, and then let your story go toward it. And if you find the story diverging toward a different ending-ish point, then let it. But I've found that even with my "go with the flow" stories, it's helpful to me (and makes me more productive) if I at least have something I'm working toward.

And it doesn't even have to be the end of the story. In one story I wrote, it was the point where a man and his adopted daughter finally were able to admit they genuinely cared for each other -- and that occurred midway through the story! But it gave me something to write toward, and once I got to it, I picked a different point.

You could really think of them like checkpoints, I guess.

Hope that helps!

[[kp]]

I'm an all or nothing person. I have to finish a project from start to finish or I'll never go back to it if I stop. So if I'm focused on one thing, I work on getting it all written, even if it's in its roughest form or doesn't make sense. If I get stuck on one scene, I write a note to myself what I was thinking and then skip it. That's what editing is for.

[PamC]

Hello Kegoffeney!

The checkpoints idea really appeals to me! I will have to implement that asap and see how I go. I will admit I have found that I'm struggling to write this book because I don't know how it ends yet, and so I flit from one idea to the next as I write, which may result in a very disjointed book! Putting down at least one major (or minor, depending on how I go) checkpoint to reach sounds like I've set down a path already, and I just need to find my way along it. Which is much less daunting!

So thank you very much for the advice, I dare say you've inspired me!

(Also your story sounds very intriguing, is it published anywhere? I'd definitely give it a read!)

[PamC]

Hi Kp,

I'm starting to understand the important of the "write first, edit later!" mentality. Something I definitely took for granted when I started this process. I shudder to think of all the writing hours I wasted staring at one paragraph thinking, "maybe I should remove the adverb here? Or reword this sentence here? Ahhhh I'll just rewrite the whole thing, no biggie." -- Oh god! *facepalm*

[kegoffeney]

Hi PamC,

I'm so glad I could help! As of right now, none of my fiction is published anywhere, but I'm hoping to change that in the next few years or so.

And as for the story being disjointed - don't worry about it! Smooth it out later; that's what drafts are for. It's like Kp says above. When I get stuck, I basically throw some words at the page and move on. I know that so long as I get SOMETHING down on the paper, I'll be able to polish it up no problem later. So long as you don't let the inertia take hold and freeze you, you've already won half the battle.

[maggiechap]

I had the same problem. I have a novel I finished when I was 14. I keep editing and keep editing. Never have the nerve to publish. I go on to writing other things, but I always come back to that one story. Everyone likes the concept, but I always feel like there is just that one perfect thing missing from the story.

[Morgan Jones]

You're just like me. Currently, I can't concentrate on any new projects unless I finish this one book I began writing a few months ago. Right now, I'm trying to distract myself by book reviewing and just taking it slow. Whatever bugs you about the book, I suggest you find a way to end it (take as much time as you need to do so) otherwise, it will remain as a tough distraction for you.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

Same thing happened to me earlier. So, I adopted to it by just writing and finishing a fiction as soon as possible and publish it. So after that if I get the thought that it could have been a better work, I know that nothing can be done now and so, I can move on

[lisalynn]

Charge through and finish the book. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be the first draft. More importantly, it's done. Then let it rest. Close the file and work on other things. After a month or so, you can come back to it and really see if it's such a good idea or not.