I’m in a little bit of a rut. I know I can easily write 1000 words a day (I only have about an hour a day to write) but for the past few days, I just can’t seem to do it.
For some of the time, it is because my thoughts keep straying to a different story that I want to write. I KNOW that if I followed my muse I’d be spitting out 1000+ words an hour. But if I did that, I know I probably would never get back to what I’m writing.
Is there anything wrong with what I’m writing? No. It’s just not “calling to me”—You know what I mean?
The funny thing is, I am around the bend of the “rising action” and I am staring my climax in the face. Just two more scenes until I start blowing things up. Oh, Yes! This one will make the Little Blue Lady from Mars very happy! It will make me happy… but I’m just “bored” in the process of getting there.
Is my story boring? I don’t think so (of course no one has read more than the first 500 words during Sunday Snippets.)
I know, I know… set it aside for a while and follow my muse… but I can’t. I’m writing to a deadline again. I have only a few more weeks to finish, go to beta, revise and submit… and I’d like to give myself a little extra time in case they ask for a re-write before the deadline.
Ugh.
I think part of it is that I can’t motivate myself to start, and once I get the motivation, I only have about 25 minutes of writing time left… so I dump about 450 words on the page and then have to stop. If I had more time in a sitting, I would probably be able to keep going. I guess that’s the sob story of everyone with a full time job, and a part time job plus a family to take care of.
So what about you guys? Have you ever tired of something you were writing when you were so close to the “good part?”
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Jennifer M Eaton 
Jennifer, I’m so glad I woke up this morning, I can’t wait to write and finish what I’ve started. Maybe it’s age and experience but I say get over yourself and stop making excuses. Just do it. Women can and do accomplish so much in a day. Set reasonable goals, yes goals and do them. Best to you from Charmaine.
Totally… And benefitted from the break. Follow the muse. Always..
Yes –this happens to me to sometimes. It probably happens to all writers.
When I’m working on something and I stall out, I take it as a sign that something’s not quite right and I’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere. Then I go back to the point where I was really excited about the story and try to figure out what wrong turn I took along the way and how to get the story back on track.
That’s a good idea. I think I am on track though. I’m just wanting to write that climax. It’s been a while since I exploded something. 🙂
I’ve skimmed through all the comments and agree with debyfredricks. On the other hand, I wonder if you aren’t bored with the lead up to the climax. Plow ahead. You’ll get there.
This is exactly why I put “The Keeper” in the vault for another time. It got to the point where I was doing ANYTHING else, just to avoid writing. It’s an awful place to be and I can empathize with you. Good luck. 🙂
That stinks. I hope you get your muse back on that one, because the little bit I read still haunts me. I think you definitely have a winner there.
Thank you Jenn. 🙂
Yes and that’s why the book I’m finally releasing Monday took two extra months to finish. I was so stoked to get it started and then after I got halfway another story line hit my brain and I was lost. The other story poked into my dreams and probed my brain until I finally had to get it started. After getting the other story started I was able to get my mind back on my old manuscript and finish it. Just take a deep breath and maybe spend one or two writing times on the muse. It might help.
I know that once a story grabs, though, it won’t let go until it is done. I felt this way fo this one initially. But I also don’t want to “lose” the new one, because I know it rocks!
If I recall, you are working through having a difficult time with one of your kids, correct? In that context, your art is somewhat of a refuge for you. You do it for yourself, for pleasure and relaxation, and it’s crucial for you to have that private accomplishment. So in addition to trusting your muse, I urge you not to work on anything that will make your writing seem like a chore. Write the story you’re excited about, and trust that you’ll come back to the current project when the time is right.
There’s a bit of wisdom in that. Writing is my “escape” not enjoying that escape probably is not all that good on the old psyche.
Oh my gosh, I’m there now! Just about to my grand climax and I’m stopped for almost a week now after pounding out 50k in 2 weeks. Though for me, its also that I’m daunted and a little torn how I wanna get there and need a good time of serious sit-down time which I have not had lately. Does that count? Muse seems to have abandoned me at a crucial juncture.
Sounds like you need a long car ride with no radio. That always works for me 🙂
Heh, actually for me it was always car rides with radio. Music helps my imagination go. Many of my best fight scenes get coreographed to music, and worship songs at church always get my mind going as well. It’s always embaressing to have great story ideas in middle of church and wanna write them down. 😉
Ha!
Sure. I’m already bored with writing my blog. But I keep thinking, “Quality over quantity.” I know I’ll get back to it soon. And you will get back to your writing sooner!
Hmmm… my blog is a bit of a distraction, I must admit.
I need passion to write. Like wild daydreams that get put onto the page. So far so good.:-)
So you are always daydreaming? Lucky you!
I have. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of needing a break. Other times, I’ve realized my heart’s not in the story. But if you’ve committed this work to an anthology, for example, then, like the day job, you’ll have to plow forward to meet the commitment. As others have already said, just get the ideas out. You can edit or replace them after you’ve finished the first draft.
Sometimes, the areas I’ve struggled with turn out to be other readers’ favorite parts, which usually leaves me wondering why!
Even the activities we love most can’t be fun and exciting all of the time. But the funk or blahs or whatever you want to call it doesn’t last long. Maybe you can try mixing up your routine? Even if you can’t change the time you write, can you change the place? Even to another room in the house?
Ha! I wish. Kiddies always seem to find me. I’m scooting ahead slowly though. I haven’t come to a dead stop… just 500 words instead of 1000 for a few day in a row.
I’m at the same point in the novel I’m writing… I’ve been stuck about two chapters ahead of the action for weeks now just cos I can’t muster up the enthusiasm to get my characters where they need to be…
If you figure out how to get through it, please share 🙂
I know exactly what I need to write. I have an outline, but this is the more boring part of the story(for me) that takes you from point A to point B. I think it will be interesting to see how she works this all out… but all I can think about is the climax at the end of it. I just want to teleport her there!
Keep going and inspiration will strike again.
My inspiration is there… it’s just for another story! Erghhh!
Lol. That always happens to me.The itch to write a new story comes way before I’ve finished my current WIP.
Pesky isn’t it?
Sometimes ya gotta suck it up (:
Writing is a business and an art. This is the business side of it … what emperort said …
Yeah… and it’s stinky.
Oh man – I’m with you! I was SO into my WIP for the longest time and now all of a sudden I’m just not interested in it at all. Fortunately I’m not on a deadline. I’ve been up to writing for clients and class and all that jazz.
But since you’ve got a hard deadline, the best thing to do is slug through. Get those 1000 words out and edit them later. They may be crap, but at least crap is better than a blank word document. Good luck!
Ha! Actually it’s turning out to be more like 500 fairly descent words, rather than words-for-words-sake. At least I’m moving forward.
I do get bored with what I’m writing sometimes, but I just keep plowing on. The part I’m working on may not be great in that frame of mind, but at least if I get the bare bones down, then I can tidy it up later. Eventually, my enthusiasm will return. Hopefully. 😉
I’m getting more excited te closer I come to that climax. 🙂
I felt like that when I was doing NaNo, I really believed in the story, but because I was having to force a lot of words out every day, I found it a real struggle sometimes to get to the next plot point. I kept losing interest, and constantly checking my word count to see if I had reached that day’s word goal, rather than just enjoying writing.
That’s why I don’t do Nano. Why aggrivate yoursef with that kind of a deadline if you don’t have to?
I have moments like that. It is very frustrating. I get them when I am being too strict on which direction I want my novel to go, ignoring what my heart/muse tells me. It takes a lot to trust that writing instinct because you want your story to be good, and letting go can be risky. But for some reason, that is our only choice as writers 🙂
I’m chipping away and moving it forward, but it’s slow when the story doesn’t “write itself”
I’m amazed you write as much as you do with such little time!
I don’t think I’ve ever lost interested but I tend to do most of my writing late at night due to other commitments so it’s often a case of can’t be bothered doing it now, I’ll do it another day. But generally I always want to come back and finish everything I start – I just haven’t managed to do it! At least the things with self-imposed deadlines.
Part of it might b the pressure to finish on time. It’s probably not the story I would have choosen to write at the moment.
Write what you want to write and leave the other writing for later. Oh and don’t be so hard on yourself!
Yeah, bu I hear so many people complaining about having half-written manuscripts. I don’t want to be one of those. I want to finish and move on to the next.
Hi Jennifer,
The only thing I can think of is that what you’re writing at this very point in your story (article, etc.) is not very interesting/inspiring/motivating to you. When we write a draft we should never stop to think too much about what we’re putting down. Are you writing a draft? Then stop thinking about what you’re going to say in revision and just get the words out. Muse be damned! Writers can only write. If you have an hour and you think you write about 1,000 words an hour then make that your goal. Just tell what happened, and then what happened next, and then next after that. You can always change it later – there is nothing in writing that cannot be changed. But if you aren’t interested in this part of the story then skip it and get to the parts that will interest you. You have to do the revision anyway so get it out of your head so you don’t feel like you’re wasting time.
You know?
Yes, this is the slower part of the story, and I wish I was at that climax. I don’t want to “skip” it though, because I want to keep the flow of the story going.