Another one bites the dust.

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

I took 30 minutes out of my lunch yesterday and got another page down of the wip. I was right about Ben’s pov, the writing moved faster; but after that one page I got stuck again. I didn’t like the way I was making him so filled with thoughts of revenge. It felt cliché. So I spent the rest of the day examining his emotions closer. I wanted complexity in his reactions. Perhaps his acting out his revenge, without realizing it? Then I drew back and looked at the structure of the story, because the balance felt off; and realized I’d started in the wrong place. The story should be more focused on his bigger fight/mission. This scene with Ruby should come later. In simplified terms the story is a treasure hunt/thriller with paranormal elements, a strong romantic subplot, and a back-story (requiring quite a bit of research) told in alternating flashbacks, so there’ll be a double climax (past and present).

*sigh*

This is not how I thought the story would unfold, or how the romance element would balance out against the external plot. Why do I do this to myself? My stories always seem to morph into something that seems way more than I can chew. I do want to stretch my skills/abilities, but I don’t want to over-reach.

I have something else brewing...., I’ll talk about later.
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9 comments:

Katrina Glover said...

drops off a ton of chocolate...

Gorge, girl.

Don't push it. It'll come.

If this isn't what's twitching your hips right now, give yourself permission to take more time to delve deeper or work on something else.

Jordan Summers said...

I think it's really hard and beyond frustrating when you're trying to write something demanding and you have to worry about your skill level. (Can you tell I'm speaking from experience?) This has been happening to me lately with contemporaries. I realized I'm not skilled enough yet to write the kinds of ST contemporaries I want to write. Because of this, I've shelved all my contemporary manuscripts. (My frustration led that to writer's block.)

Another weird thing I've discovered is that my world-building/descriptive skills are actually better when I write historicals than when I'm writing ANYTHING else. What's up with that?

My advice is to chunk your story down into smaller pieces and attack it that way. Smaller sections may be easier to write when dealing with a complex theme and story structure.

Jordan Summers said...

Remove the 'that' from the writer's block sentence. (grin)

Stephanie Tyler said...

Stretching isn't a bad thing at all - even if you discover you're not ready for that big of a stretch yet. *said by someone whose stories morph into something uncontrollable all the time* It sounds like you've got a really good handle on what you need top do - and hey, you're writing, which is always good;)

But the story sounds awesome.

Anonymous said...

I always think I've bitten off more than I can chew, but it always works out. Go for it. It's how you grow as a writer! Doing the scary stuff!

Anonymous said...

Think I agree with Jordan & Suzanne above. Try breaking it down a bit. Chunks ARE easier to deal with.
And we do want to grow, don't we? (you're supposed to say 'yes').

Your muse is aiming for bigger things, girl! Scary? Yes. So what. Do it anyway.

~Dreamweaver

Anonymous said...

See, this is why I love visiting fellow writers. I learn that I'm not the only one who does these things to herself. :)

Well, there are a few things that help me in this situation:

1. Mint Oreos
2. Blowing something up
3. More Mint Oreos

Larissa Ione said...

"Another weird thing I've discovered is that my world-building/descriptive skills are actually better when I write historicals than when I'm writing ANYTHING else. What's up with that?"

Man, that is so true for me, too.

I say take a step back and remove yourself for a while. Something may come to you when you aren't pushing so hard.

vanessa jaye said...

Thanks guys, for all the encouragement. :-) I'm working this latest 'stall' thru.

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