What you want to write VS what you write

[Bryan Russell/Ink]

It did, I admit, take him a long time.

I think the trick (and it's not an easy one) is distinguishing why you stop and start over. Is it because of honest story problems which you're correcting, and thus in the end building a stronger narrative? Or is it for other reasons? Psychological, emotional, etc. If it's fear of completion, doubt, simple uncertainty... these are things to push through. Get it written.

How to tell the difference? Never easy. I suppose everyone has to find their own path. If you're never finishing anything... maybe it's better to simply push through. Don't go back and read the old stuff. Eyes forward. Give yourself permission to write a shitty draft and then actually write it. And then revise!

I don't think there's any easy way through. Might as well embrace the challenge. :)

[Down the well]

I think the trick (and it's not an easy one) is distinguishing why you stop and start over. Is it because of honest story problems which you're correcting, and thus in the end building a stronger narrative? Or is it for other reasons? Psychological, emotional, etc. If it's fear of completion, doubt, simple uncertainty... these are things to push through. Get it written.

That's an important distinction, and a great question for writers to ask themselves. I'm no expert on Tolkien, but I always got the feeling he was never concerned with publication. That was never the goal. Lord of the Rings was more like therapy for him.

Give yourself permission to write a shitty draft and then actually write it

Yea, that's what I do, and if I'm lucky I eventually get it polished up enough that it passes for crap. :)

[Jsee]

I also find a big difference between what I want to write and what I actually write. My goal is to write thought-provoking, complex, meaningful literary fiction. My reality is pretentious trash (hopefully, that is a genre). Fun, entertaining, interesting, well-written, but pretentious trash none-the-less. Lucky for me, the genre I end up with is probably more publishable than what I had originally set out to do. We shall see...

I also very much have the experience of having no idea what I am about to write. I sit down at that laptop with some limited spark of an idea of a scene that I wish to write and then, almost immediately, as I type, the scene goes in an entirely different direction. Elements I had no idea were going be incorporated into the scene appear, a character I had no clue was involved hi-jacks the scene entirely, taking it off in a new direction and adding in four more scenes that I need to write. So fun, I love it!

[J. T. SHEA]

Jsee, Pretentious Trash could be the Next Big Thing.

My own series is turning out much as I planned. Maybe I'm doing something wrong!

[Jsee]

To J.T. Shea:

I am willing to bet on Pretentious Trash. I love reading it myself. Nothing better than fabulous characters, sexy settings and scintillating plotlines all spelled out with big words that make the reader feel oh-so-smart! Style is not chick-lit, more the classic, naive outsider looking inside to an elite institution experience in NYC. Stereotyped, but in an entertaining way. Light reading, some multi-syllabic words, interesting and accessible topic presented in a more nuanced fashion, i.e more than just clothes, dating and money. Only question - am I allowed to leave in the literary references?

[Heather B]

My own series is turning out much as I planned. Maybe I'm doing something wrong!

You have to be. An author in control? It's unheard of!

My biggest problem is not being able to 'see' what I've written. It so often turns out that what I intended isn't what I've shown. Usually this is a good thing, but when it comes to plot I could kick myself!