My
first draft was flying along, and then … it stalled in midair.
Everyone
I know was happily announcing word counts and numbers of chapters completed.
Facebook friends proposed plans for extending their creative spurts. My nosedive
accelerated.
None
of my usual methods for banishing a writing funk worked, so I tried to figure
out why my ideas were gridlocked.
Sometimes
writing bogs down when the characters aren’t doing anything. (That wasn’t my
problem.) Writing blocks may occur when there’s an inherent problem with the
story, and the subconscious mind won’t let the conscious mind continue. (That
was closer, but not exactly it.) I finally decided I didn’t know what I was
talking about. My research was incomplete. I was trying to describe things that
I had no knowledge of. I had too many questions about the climate,
architecture, artwork and topography to write a scene. So I spent a couple days
combing the internet to learn all that and more. Yesterday, I revised the last
two chapters. Today I’m eager to soar.
4 comments:
I will remember this when my own flight starts to take a turn! Thanks.
Glad you figured out what to do. My word count is moving along, but SLOWLY. I like revising much better.
Good for you! You can't break through and start writing again until you ID the problem. Not knowing enough to write about something is a big one for me too.
--SueBE
I still have one WIP that is stalled at 100 pages. I think it's a plotting problem - I still don't know where the story should go - what's the point of the narrative. It's been set aside - I hope not permanently - but other stories are calling.
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