Writing these past couple of days hasn't been particularly smooth for me. I just can't seem to do it. And what's worse is that I don't think the usual "hump" is the cause.
I think I'm second guessing myself to death. Is the story right? Are the characters being portrayed correctly and well? Am I covering everything I need to cover?
And I know that I need to just do it and then worry about all of that, but I can't seem to stop!
What do I do? How do you deal with feeling unsure of your own writing?
April
PS I just had to laugh because I just realized Coldplay's Scientist is playing on my itunes. And for those who aren't familiar, the chorus is... Nobody said it was easy... No one ever said it would be this hard. How perfect.
Edited to Add: Tommorrow is the launch of the Pink Heart Society Blog. So you should stop by and say hello!
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9 comments:
What do I do? How do you deal with feeling unsure of your own writing? I am going through this exact thing right now. I hate my current wip. I'm 1/3 finished and it blows because I know I need to scrape what I have and start over. Good luck.
I've had a hard time too, this week. Now that I think back on it, I've done other writing stuff - editing, rereading, revising, etc. but no writing. So how weird is that! We're all having a hard time.
I say walk away from the computer for a couple of nights, relax and it'll probably come back. I can't force myself - it makes me MORE frustrated. :)
If I can't make my way past a plot point, inevitably it means that I'm off track somewhere. If I can unravel what's wrong, I can go full-steam ahead. Good luck!
I've learned to stop and think about my characters.. close my eyes and make sure I am really in their shoes. Do a quick check on my plot, and if I still can't write, jump ahead and write a short scene I know I'll need to write later, anyway.
Remember: you can always go back and add in story linkages or character revelations. Just write.
I LOVE Coldplay :)
I second guess myself all the time. But... IMO the best thing is to write through it. You can work with crap, but not a blank page. I know, I say that a lot!
Hey! Stop worrying! WRITE! Cause no matter how thoroughly you sit and think it all out - I'd be willing to bet you'd still find something afterwards that needs to be in there. So if your stuck on a certain spot - do as Stephanie suggested - I do it too - I have other scenes just waiting to get put down and I write those. Yeah they probably are going to need to be tweaked afterwards because other things will happen changing things but for now... you'll be writing and getting out of that muck!
Have a great weekend!
Cole
That's funny. I'm actually a functioning writer this week, after a two-week hump. How did I deal with it? I did nothing. Probably not the best strategy, so ignore me.
I put the story aside for a little and revisit other projects. Or I simply skip a chapter and keep going.
Hang in there! I know exactly how you feel. It'll get better. Maybe not easier... but better.
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