What do you do when you're stuck?

[Isabelle]

Hello fellow writers,

I'm currently struggling with a story I'm writing... I see the potential, I know there's something good hidden in the mess the characters made of my original plan, but I just can't seem to get the ball rolling...

Serves me right for wanting to get out of my Blue/Green streak. Ha!


So what do you do when you get stuck? Do you hold on to one story no matter what and painfully lumber along? Do you stray to other projects and take the risk of not coming back? Do you get away from your pen and paper/computer and go do something else completely?

[chrisbishop]

All of the above!

I'm notoriously known to have two, three and even four stories on the go at the same time. Some of them are thought of or even started years in advance. In the middle of Murky Waters I even stopped for a certain number of years and put it aside. I returned to it often, but found I couldn't see it through without some rewriting in the previous chapters... which were already posted at the time.

Tin Soldier, which was finally posted this year, was a very long time coming. I still have a few other stories waiting in the wings for the right moment to appear. I'm sure those in the know are still wondering what's happening with 'Damascus' Way'...

If I can't find inspiration for another story, I do something else. I tinkered with the site, do some photo-manips, or, of course, do something not related to the site at all. I have other passions that I can indulge into, so I don't force a particular story more than I feel I should, because then I become annoyed with it. In times, something might come along.

What helps often, story-wise, is that I would at times discuss the plot with someone. Of course, someone who has to share the same interest! The perspective of someone else on a story could help. I sometimes follow suggestions, or other times, those suggestions and constructive criticisms helps me se where I have it wrong, gives me a direction to follow or simply, sparkle a flash that might restart the story.

[Marion]

I used to be able to write through such problems. Like Chris, I usually have a couple of things on the go - especially a 'Comfort-blanket' story - which is generally full of all the bits I'd love to be writing for posting. (Some Comfort-blanket stories have reached the website - after MUCH tweaking and editing).
Sometimes I had a scene in my head that I have to write and once I'd done that it freed up the block about the thing I was supposed to be writing.
Lately, things have changed and I have written myself into dead-ends or simply lost interest with where the story's going on several projects, so those are sitting in limbo and may continue to do so until Real Life gets less intrusive and I have time to devote to them.
Writing should be fun so there is no point in struggling with something that is no fun whatsoever. I'd suggest you write something else and go back to the problem piece when you can see the way through the jungle.
Good luck!

[Skybase Girl]

I agree with both Marion and Chris, Isabelle, although their approaches to writing are different to mine. I struggle with it all the time and rarely find it 'fun' until it's finished to my satisfaction ( or as close as it gets to satisfaction). I've been writing for a good few years now, but I still couldn't say I have a failsafe plan of action. What works for some stories doesn't work for others.

What I have learned is that discipline and perseverance usually pays off in the end. You just have to bash on. Sometimes, if you're struggling to understand where the story is going, it helps to look at it from a different angle. For instance, if you're writing third person, changing it to first person may give you a whole different perspective. "Child of Destiny" started in the third person and it wasn't working because I was struggling with too many points of view. That can be a big responsibility if you are dealing with lots of characters. Switching to telling the story from Destiny's perspective was much easier. I lost some stuff I liked, but gained a lot more.

I'm not really a fan of detailed plot outlines and character bios because once I've got into the writing, I rarely look back at them. I did find it a very useful exercise for "What Remains", however. I'd written half of the first draft and it wasn't working out. The writing was poor and I realised it was because I was using someone else's characters and I didn't really know who they were. So I worked on them and wrote a synopsis for every scene. I didn't look back at it much ( although I should have done because the synopses were better than what I ended up with!). But still, it got me going again.

I used to fret about not being able to write, but I realised that going away and cleaning the bathroom can be useful because invariably things are popping into your head while you work, so you are still writing, even if it's in your head. You just have to make sure you jot it down before it disappears!

[Marion]

Chris and I do indeed write in wildly different ways - so much so that we simply couldn't write a story we had concocted together.
I have never had a synopsis - especially a detailed one - as I would probably lose interest in writing the actual story if I did. Part of what keeps me writing is finding out 'what happens next'. This can lead me into complete dead-ends and I have had to back track to the last viable tangent (If that makes sense) and start again.
I have started writing with no more than a scene or a vague idea or even a phrase in my head - in the past it was mostly enough. Now I fear I have said all I want to - or can - and the inspiration isn't there anymore.
Another thing I learnt the hard way was that, unlike Chris, I can't write part stories. I suppose, if something was long enough it might have to be posted in parts, but never again would I allow anything to be posted before I had finished the whole thing! That way madness lies...

[Isabelle]

Everyone's varied methods seem to work considering the high quality of the stories that come out of them.

So I'm not the only strayer with more than one project at a time... I just hope I don't forget stuff on the back burner, I still think I can do something really nice with it...

I sometimes have a bulleted list for the outline of the story, but if the characters take control and it changes, that's fine too. I guess I should say when the characters take control rather than if--it's almost a guarantee each time. It just gives me more trouble afterwards to finish the story!

[Skybase Girl]

Yes, they do wander off on their own. And it's hard to shut them up. There are times when you think, " Where on earth did that come from?"