I thought that coming up with the perfect title for my story would be the answer to all of my problems. In some ways, it was. In other ways, it created new ones. At Teen Book Con, at least one person asked each panel how they deal with the dreaded writer's block. Everyone of course had their own way to deal, but it was what I believe Rachel Hawkins said that stuck with me the most. If you're stuck, it usually means the foundation is broken. I have come to this realization in my own WIP.
With that said, my previously untitled project is now being filed away under "nice try". My new titled project is getting a fresh start, with some remnants finding their way in from the old project. New characters, new conflicts, but same underlying theme. Hopefully it works this time! If not, I guess I need to re-think what I am writing about.
Is it too early in my "career" to be going through this? Is it better that it's happening now and not later? What are your thoughts on this? How many times have you written a few chapters and then just scrapped them all and started over?
Happy Wednesday, folks! We are halfway there!
I think if it's the story lacking foundation (as in completely beyond fixing with more plot, higher stakes, more tension etc.) and not basic writer's block, not knowing where you're going next and afraid to make mistakes, starting over is fine.
ReplyDeleteYou don't want to get into a habit of not finishing things, though. I've heard one quote that suggests you finish everything you start and while that's a tad extreme I do believe finishing is important. Beginnings tend to be so full of the fun of a new idea that usually the middle can fall to saggy middle syndrome and that's just the time shiny new ideas like to show up.
It's definitely better to get your 'mistakes' out of the way sooner rather than later, and in future hopefully you'll be able to recognise earlier when an idea isn't going to work, much as you may love it.
- Sophia.
I think what happens sometimes is that we start writing before our idea is completely formed, and it throws us off. Maggie Stiefvater lets an idea sit with her for a couple weeks before she writes anything. She gets to know the characters, and develops the whole story in her head--she makes sure it has an ending. Worth a try!
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