Picking Up the Next Day

[Rigger]

So I have a slight problem, and I was wondering if anyone else can relate to it.

I will get a fantastic idea in my mind, and I'll start writing. Things will just flow out and before I know it, I have nearly two thousand words down. Usually this happens to me in the evenings, and I finally pry myself away from writing so I can get some sleep to tackle my day job the next morning.

However, when I finally do have time to write again, I just sit in front of my story. I peck at it here and there, I might churn out a few more words, but I'm stuck. I'll think about the story, fantasize about what I want to write, but for some reason I just can't get past that initial burst.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Am I alone with this problem?

Thanks!

[Listener]

You're not alone.  This problem SUCKS.

Usually what I try to do is hit a logical stopping point and maybe make one or two notes (very brief) as to what I want to do next.  Sometimes it helps.  Sometimes it doesn't.  Rereading the last few paragraphs helps too.

[DKT]

That's rough but I think it happens to everyone at some point and everyone's probably got different advice.  All I can say is to keep writing.  Seriously.  Since this happens to you routinely, first try and figure out what excited you about the idea initially, and what you can do to get yourself excited about it again.  Then, plant your ass in a chair or whatever and grind out something.  What you write down may suck, but at least you'll know that and probably have an idea as to why it sucks and what to do instead.  I'm a firm believer that no word is wasted, no matter how bad.  For me, writing through my problems (or around them) works best.  But everyone's different, and your mileage may vary.  

Good luck!

[Alasdair5000]

So I have a slight problem, and I was wondering if anyone else can relate to it.

I will get a fantastic idea in my mind, and I'll start writing. Things will just flow out and before I know it, I have nearly two thousand words down. Usually this happens to me in the evenings, and I finally pry myself away from writing so I can get some sleep to tackle my day job the next morning.

However, when I finally do have time to write again, I just sit in front of my story. I peck at it here and there, I might churn out a few more words, but I'm stuck. I'll think about the story, fantasize about what I want to write, but for some reason I just can't get past that initial burst.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Am I alone with this problem?

Thanks!

   You're very far from alone in this problem, believe me.  One of the things that's worked for me is to write a skeleton for the piece, just a series of single sentences featuring the high spots and write those first.  Then go back and do the connective tissue the following day and odds are, revise the high spots some.

Any help?

[Rigger]

Acually everyone's advice has helped quite a bit. I think I will revisit the stories where I've had my creative bursts, and then try and create some outlines.

Sure that is probably not the "correct" order to do things, but whatever.

So how far do most people do outlines? From start to near end, or just to capture as much as the story idea as possible?

Thanks!

[bolddeceiver]

The crazy thing is I come across this thread with a story I wrote half of almost a week ago sitting open and minimized in RoughDraft.  I almost feel that for short-to-medium short stories I really need to write the first draft in one sitting.  The mood never seems to strike twice on shorter works (oddly, I get none of this with longer works, possibly because I approach writing them in a much different way).

[Rigger]

The crazy thing is I come across this thread with a story I wrote half of almost a week ago sitting open and minimized in RoughDraft.  I almost feel that for short-to-medium short stories I really need to write the first draft in one sitting.  The mood never seems to strike twice on shorter works (oddly, I get none of this with longer works, possibly because I approach writing them in a much different way).

I know that feeling. I am currently working on my novel project and starting with the history of the world. I have a hard time writing without something to reference, and I work better from a historical standpoint. But what can you expect? I want to teach history.

Rather than writing out the story I am building a time line of events, and creating different eras for me to explore. Once I've finished the time line, I am going to choose an era and write from there. So far so good, I am up to two thousand years of history. I just need to switch gears soon.

And thank you for all the advice on writing my short stories. I managed to sit back down with one of them last night and churn out another thousand words (most of it was re-writing, but on a different scale from the first draft). I finished with another 200 word outline for the rest of the plot... and I've been waiting to get to work so I can spend some free time at the computer with the story.

This is the first time in ages that I've been able to return to something that is smaller scale than my time line. Thanks everyone!

[DKT]

And thank you for all the advice on writing my short stories. I managed to sit back down with one of them last night and curn out another thousand words (most of it was re-writing, but on a different scale from the first draft). I finished with another 200 word outline for the rest of the plot... and I've been waiting to get to work so I can spend some free time at the computer with the story.

This is the first time in ages that I've been able to return to something that is smaller scale than my time line. Thanks everyone!

Cool!  Let us know how it goes

[wakela]

You could try stopping short of finishing your initial burst.  If at your first sitting you don't completely satisfy your urge to get your awesome idea on paper, then you'll be dying to get back at it the next day.  And a night's sleep may help to expand you idea into the next phase.

My father was a writer and he advised not stopping at a logical stopping point.  Stop right in the middle of the action. 

If you do get stuck you can always skip ahead to the next good part. 

[Rigger]

You could try stopping short of finishing your initial burst.  If at your first sitting you don't completely satisfy your urge to get your awesome idea on paper, then you'll be dying to get back at it the next day.  And a night's sleep may help to expand you idea into the next phase.

My father was a writer and he advised not stopping at a logical stopping point.  Stop right in the middle of the action. 

If you do get stuck you can always skip ahead to the next good part. 

I like your suggestion. I rarely stop at a logical point; but I might take it further and try stopping mid sentence. Mostly I stop when my mind starts doing "the fuzzy" as I like to call it, and I start saying things like, "I have a curious for you honey."

The problem was that I just could not see where I was going from the previous session. However writing out major plot lines while I was still in the mood helped a TON.

[Heradel]

I usually start by reading what I'd written the previous session and editing it as I go. Once I get to the point where I finished last time I'll either be able to pick it up again or I just won't be able to get back into it and then I'll go take a walk or write something completely different (usually a article for the school paper) or read something.

Lately I've been trying to... I guess the right word is key the story to some bit of particular music to help get myself back into that mindspace. So for the long-form piece I'm writing I've basically put together a Miles Davis playlist that helps me strip out everything else that's going on. I've also been writing the first draft in a notebook to minimize the distractions (such as the act I'm committing here).

I haven't written enough to really say if this is working yet, but I'm hopeful. I've also been doing the skeleton thing.

[Rachel Swirsky]

"I usually start by reading what I'd written the previous session and editing it as I go."

That can be a killer on long projects. Octavia Butler recommended putting in a strict limit -- frex, allowing yourself to read only 5 previous pages, and then forcing yourself to go on.

[raygunray]

I'm going to revise and edit the story several times before publication, so I prefer just picking up where I left off and go blindly.  Once you place a character interacting with your idea, the storyline will morph a little or a lot.

Also, I am a muse atheist.  Writers have dozens of ideas for stories all the time, but cobbling a coherent story is nothing but hard work and craftsmanship.

My advice is give yourself permission to change the story halfway as it unfolds.  It works better with short stories.