Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Dead 2 Me

This is topic Dead 2 Me in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by jaycloomis (Member # 7193) on :

You guys ever get this feeling:

I worked my butt off on my current short story WiP, and hit a snag. You know, the normal writer's block afraid to continue type of thing.

After a couple days of not working on it, the whole story became duller and duller to me until finally it just gave me a bad taste in my mouth every time I thought about it.

Is there some miracle cure for this? Or is the story dead?

-Jay

[This message has been edited by jaycloomis (edited December 06, 2007).]

Posted by annepin (Member # 5952) on :

There's no miracle cure. You might consider walking away from it for a time and returning with fresh eyes, or working on it regardless. i realize these two suggestions are opposite, but I think you hvae to figure otu what works for you. Sometimes you just need to take a break. Other times, I find I just need to get back up to speed on my novel after a break, so if I keep at it, eventually it all comes back to me.

(oh yeah, and check out the "inspiration lost" thread).

[This message has been edited by annepin (edited December 06, 2007).]

Posted by Balthasar (Member # 5399) on :

Yes, don't stop working on it. Write every day -- even if only a page -- until you finish. Write your way through the problem.

For example:

Just today I hit a snag, so I had my character go on a walk and think about the events of the story. I knew as I was writing that I'd cut all of it out, but I still wrote. But a few of things happened. First, I ended up with a different understanding of my story. Second, my POV character became clearer. Third, I figured out what was going to happen next. I'm still going to cut the sequence, but it will affect the rewrite.

Posted by Jon Ruyle (Member # 5943) on :

This happens to me all the time.

What I *try* to do (and it isn't easy) is figure out *why* my story is leaving a bad taste mouth when I think of it. Often, the bad taste is due to a problem I have identified without realizing it (or maybe I have realized it).

Once (or if) I figure out what the problem is, I try to figure out if the problem is fixable. Usually I decide that it is, but that doesn't mean I ever figure out how to fix it.

This may sound vague and obvious, but asking "what's wrong with this?" and "what can I change to fix what is wrong or bring in what is missing?" has been a helpful way for me to stimulate thought when I'm blocked.

Posted by rstegman (Member # 3233) on :

Usually something is wrong with the story, something your mind is telling you is wrong.

As an example, I had a story where a guy was stuck with an alien cat-like animal. I was going to have a ship come with several people. The cat would decide that the person it was with would still be the best choice.

The story froze, unable to move. I then realized that I did not want to write all those scenes and have all that dialog.

I changed it to a robotic ship and was able to finish the story quick.

Look back at where the story is going, at least reacently and see if it is where it should go. A change, can make all the difference in the world in the story.

Posted by TaleSpinner (Member # 5638) on :

I think one has to rekindle the passion. I just hit this with my current WIP which went totally flat. (Mind, it's flash for the competition so there's not a lot to rework, no big deal.)

This evening I did some more background research, rethought the motivations of the characters and found something new. The passion's back and the story's deeper. In the next day or two I'll know if it works but right now I'm optimistic.

Maybe a snag is an opportunity to step back, visit those places one goes to for inspiration (in my case, more research and a reflective beer) and rediscover passion.

Just 2c
Pat

Posted by JeanneT (Member # 5709) on :

Seriously it doesn't always mean something is wrong. Sometimes it simply means you've gotten to the hard part. They you just have to write your way through. Sometimes the parts I force are good and sometimes not, but it all has to be edited anyway.

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

It sounds to me as if the "snag" is a way for your subconscious to tell you that you may have settled for the first or second idea that OSC is always telling people to ignore.

OSC urges writers to dig deeper to find the third, fourth or fifth idea, and it sounds as if that's what others are describing from their experiences with this problem.

Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :

I've had lots of stories die, usually one or two pages in...probably some indication that I should've tried something else. It happens less often (because I usually start something new less often these days), but it still happens.

On the other hand, I'm a great believer in letting something sit for a while and then come back and work on it. The meaning of "a while" varies, usually months. Right now, though, there are some stories in my files that have sat for over a year...I think I'll pull some up after I finish my current thingy and see what could be done with them.

(There's a "school shooting aftermath" fantasy story in my files that's bothered me for nearly five years now---two different drafts so far---and I've wondered if I should even bother with it anymore. The fantasy element isn't very strong---and, besides, every time I haul it out, news of some horrific random shooting breaks and I worry about someone thinking I've glommed on to some tragedy. But, on the other hand (there's that other hand again), I like the situation I've contrived and I like the characters.)