Friday, September 14, 2012

I'm stuck

I've never found the beginning of books hard. For me it's always been the middle part, but right now, the beginning is where I'm stuck.

Stuck at the part where I'm establishing character and relationships, where it's all about dialogue and introducing characters seamlessly and I'm finding it so hard. I get a sentence done and get distracted and this is the part where discipline takes over. I need to find some to help me work through the parts I find difficult.

It might suck, and I'll probably have to go back and fix it, but I'm lacking right now the 'sit my butt in chair and write through the pain' focus to get me to the parts that are action and adventure and really, really fun to write.

And really all I'm missing is discipline. There are so many other fun things to do when the writing is hard. I could surf the web, have a chat with my cat, do some laundry and then surf the web again and at the end of a couple of hours have a whopping 200 words written...

So today, I'm writing through the pain. Putting words on the page is enough for now, even if those words aren't great, they will do, at least for now.

Because I think it's the only way I'm going to get through this section. And then at the end, I get to watch some TV. Right now it's season 4 of Breaking Bad and it's great... my frustrations with previous seasons are a thing of the past because I'm back in and loving Walt and Jesse and the most interesting character arcs on TV right now and of course counting the days until the return of Vampire Diaries.

Anyone else frustrated with their writing progress? Is it just I'm out of practice after a lazy, lazy summer?

4 comments:

Stephanie Doyle said...

I hear you. I had a few of those moments with the book I'm starting - but then suddenly out it comes and I have this idea and now we're rolling again.

It really is all about the discipline sometimes.

Molly O'Keefe said...

oh my god - all day yesterday I am working on this plot logistics scene - no fun, just who where and how says what and how do I get from A to B to C and make sure D is set up the way I need it to be - all day I'm sweating through this thing. Start stop, four different kinds of scenes. Decide to throw in the towel, go brush my teeth - BANG! the solution hits me.

THis job is so weird.

And yes, the discipline, I think I'm over the worst of the hump and I'm back at it in a good clip. Which is great considering this book is due in two months and I'm at 37,000 words...

Maureen McGowan said...

It is so true that every book is different. I struggled so hard with the start of both of my last two projects and normally the beginning is easy for me.
You'll figure it out. Jump to the fun stuff. :)

Eileen said...

Sometimes it feels like I"m throwing myself against a wall over and over again. And then suddenly, the wall disappears and I'm hurtling through space. Keep throwing yourself against the wall. You'll get there.

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