I've been feeling kinda down lately. Things have been kind of at a standstill when it comes to the editing front. I was doing so well during my staycation but I just couldn't seem to keep that motivation going. I'm stuck on Chapter 11. It's a really tough one. I think I either need to break it into two chapters or combine two scenes. Mostly because I don't think one chapter needs TWO make out scenes (but what do I know?). But I'm also trying to sneak in some subplot stuff and I always have a hard time with that. I feel like I'm forcing it and no one's going to care. Basically I know this chapter is difficult and I've been avoiding it.
I know motivation isn't my only problem. If I could just get my brain to focus on Chapter 11 during my free thinking moments, I could start to figure it out. Times like before I fall asleep, in the shower, at work. I do my best brainstorming there. But I just can't focus. I'm distracted. By another book.
Yeah, you guessed it. Book 3. It has seduced me into some sort of mind-numbing oblivion. Now, I'm pretty much the last person on earth who would have a real life affair, but I think this is what it feels like. It's new and exciting and kinda dangerous. I think about it all the time. I know I shouldn't be thinking about it, shouldn't be working on it, but I can't help it. It's just where my passion is dragging me. But then I feel guilty about it because I'm not working on the book I should be working on.
Plus--hello! I can't actually get through Book 3 without finishing Books 1 & 2! But I can't be reasoned with! I know the basic structure of 1 and 2 so I know what happens and what leads to 3, which has me telling myself it's ok to work on it.
I just like Book 3. There's something about it. I don't even think it's anywhere near perfect but I guess that's part of its appeal. I want to figure it all out way before I actually write the whole thing out. There's just more emotion in that book, or as I like to say, it gives me all the feels. I already have an entire playlist for it. I listen to it more than the playlist for Book 1. Book 3 just kinda drives me crazy, but in a good way, whereas Book 1 just frustrates me.
Maybe sometimes it's good to have a distraction, when you're not getting any writing done, when the passion just isn't there. But I can't seem to shift my focus back to where it should be. I can't get back with the book I'm supposed to be with.
Have you ever been seduced by another book idea? What did you do?
Hi Sarah. That happened to me last year. I couldn't finish the second chapter from the end. Nothing felt right. Another book kept twisting in my head too, and what I did was take notes, then set it aside. I kept mulling over my chapter and hand writing my thoughts. I did lots of free streaming brainstorm and finally, two months later I got past the ending. I'm not sure if it is as vivid as I would like, but it does work. Do you have a writing partner who might be able to help?
ReplyDeleteYes. And then like you said, my brain starts hip hopping all over the place. I would go where my muse took me. But one thing that I've learned, I'm the type of person who can only concentrate on one ms at a time. If I try to flip-flopping to another project, I'm lost. Possibly work on book 3, where your passion lies. Then go back to book 2. Possibly it will enlighten and help you with book 2.
ReplyDeleteWhen another book demands attention, I glare at the characters grinning at me from their perches around my writing room while I make notes (write entire scenes) until they finally leave me alone. It frees up my mind to return to the writing I'm supposed to be doing. Talking out a difficult chapter usually helps me - and my dogs don't mind listening to me ;-)
ReplyDeleteOh, I am going through this right now in a HUGE way. I have a book I need to finish and a three book series in my head. And I want to write Book 2 before I write Book 1, and before I finish what I'm currently working on lol!
ReplyDeleteI get stuck at least once a month. The more I force it the harder it gets. I even resorted to a spot of self-hypnosis (it wasn't that successful as I kept falling asleep). Walking away (for a while) and doing something that sparks my interest works for me.
ReplyDeleteYes, and my fixation with my sequels and trilogies tend to bulldoze my current writing, so I get out a notebook and write everything down. It's okay to dream about the next book, but sometimes you can just write a new one without it being a sequel. I did. And I'm loving the brand new book I wrote:))
ReplyDeleteOh....shiny! :)
ReplyDeleteMaybe try writing down everything you're thinking about Book 3, get it out of your system so to speak, then turn your mind back to editing? That way you've kind of caught the shiny in a jar, like a firefly.
I'm seduced by new ideas all the time when I know I should just focus on the project at hand. Easier said than done though :-(
ReplyDeleteI tend to have quick flings with short stories, but I tend to stick with one book at a time, obsessively so...
ReplyDeleteLOL! I think sometimes you just have to go with it. Unless you have a SOLID deadline with people waiting and money ready to exchange hands, let the writing take you where it wants. I find when I step away for a pet project, it usually doesn't keep me too long--just long enough to get down the scene burning up my brain.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Crystal. Set book 2 aside (if you can) and work on book 3.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I've been there. My own book 3 happens to be one of my love affairs as well. I've actually heard of this happening with quite a few people. Enjoy your fling!
ReplyDeleteI third what Crystal said! :) Book ideas take hold of me all the time. I have so many. I try to go with what I'm feeling passionate about at the moment, but sometimes I do have to set deadlines for myself or else series wouldn't get finished!
ReplyDeleteI get seduced by other stories all the time. There are lots of unfinished drafts that were the result of a shiny new idea butting in. Sometimes I don't mind because the first story didn't have much of a plot and I have yet to figure it out. Other times it's like "SHUT UP AND WAIT YOUR TURN!"
ReplyDeleteI've been working on my own Book Three pretty much nonstop these days. The only problem is that I can't do anything with it until I work out what I want to do with Book Two. I also want to concur with Crystal. Just go with it. Follow that path and see where it takes you. Perhaps you'll find that it'll help you with your Book 1 issues...
ReplyDeleteThe next book in my series are always seducing me, but I put them off. When it is time to write them, that seduction has gone away and I wish it was already done. lol
ReplyDeleteOh yes I have been distracted by another book! Thing is, when the muse strikes you sort of have to go with it I think. Write what you want to write and it might just strike an idea to help with your chapter 11 issues. Good luck and happy writing.
ReplyDeleteI hear this! When I'm in the middle of a book that's just not working the way I want it to, that new idea is very tantalizing. I'd be lying if I said I ignored that temptation and stayed the course. Hope you get through those three books!
ReplyDeleteWrite some on the third book. You won't be able to do it all but it might give you inspiration and excitement to return to the second one and finish it.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness. It's so easy to think about the next book because it's often more fun to think about what's going to happen than it is to actually write it down. At least that's the way it is for me. If you start imagining a particular scene in the third book, then by all means take some time and get it down on paper. Then go back to your current book.
ReplyDeleteI agree: write some on Book 3. Actually, it may well help clarify what happens in books 1 and 2. I've found it so, certainly. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI usually start a new notebook for an idea I have so I can make notes without abandoning the book I need to be working on. It helps, because I get a bunch of brainstorming out of the way before I get to start writing it.
ReplyDeleteI had several stories vying for attention. That's why I'm working on a book with four possibly five novella length stories. I couldn't decide!
ReplyDeleteI have trouble with focusing too. Once I get to a certain point in a novel and the going gets a little tough, I always have bright shiny new ideas that I want to move on to. I find that going back to the beginning of the novel and reading it straight through gives me a better perspective. This works especially if it's been a while since you started the novel and aren't writing much. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI have trouble focusing sometime too. Maybe give yourself permission to go with what you're passionate about for a bit and see if resting the chapter you're struggling with will help you figure it out.
ReplyDeleteI don't have advice on this. I do know that if I'm thinking about something, a creative work, I need to get that out in order to move on. Write what is "talking" to you, then go back and work on the other novels.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog today!
I am absolutely a "new idea" philanderer. I finally wrote in my goals plan NO MORE CHANGING IDEAS. FINISH THIS ONE. Yes, I wrote it in all caps, with the title of my WIP so there was no fudging on it later. So now, the new ideas get a page of notes, saved in a folder called NEW IDEAS. So good to know this is apparently *normal* behavior for writers.
ReplyDeleteYES - purposely shouting out with frustration with myself. I would never have an affair in real life, but the "sexy new book" ideas are seriously hard to resist. I've been tempted off on rabbit trail ideas more than once and there's one percolating in one of my journals right now that I'm really having a hard time avoiding (I really don't need a new idea that I don't know how to right about - teen spy novel, what?!).
ReplyDeleteI would say that since yours is book 3 of your current series (right?) that it might be okay to take a fling with it - that way you can get all the foreshadowing right in book 1, right? Maybe book 3 will fix chapter 11. Sorry, that's probably just my own tempting muse talking.
Stuck is not fun. Hoping it works out soon for you.
ReplyDeleteJuneta @ Writer's Gambit vvvv
Yes. My current project is like that, as it was created from a rewrite of a rewrite of a rewrite (yes, it sounds dopey, but I assure you it's very true).
ReplyDeleteAnd the sad part is that after I'm done with this, I have to go back to the 3rd rewrite mentioned and rewrite that.
I Are Writer!
I think the good thing about write-cheating is that your books don't have feelings haha. If it's pulling at you, there's a reason. Go for it! Maybe it will help mold Books 1 & 2, too!
ReplyDeleteWhat a predicament. Some writers actually face a blank computer screen. Not most of us here. We have the book we're working on, plus another that's calling like a siren beckoning us to leave the 1st and work on it. I'm there right now. I know I should finish the one before tackling the next. But sometimes I give in. I open a new file and write until it's out of my system. Then I return to the 1st book. Sometimes all I need to write is notes or an informal outline before returning to the original story. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI am constantly bombarded with new ideas. If I live to be 100 I probably won't be able to write all the books I want to (not to mention the short stories). While it's important to stay focussed, otherwise you'll never finish anything, taking a break now and then to work on something else is sometimes the best medicine. Especially if you're really feeling stuck or bored with your current piece. Time away will help you recharge and come back with a fresh set of eyes.
ReplyDeleteIWSG June
I'd say: follow your muse. Maybe book #3 is really your story, and everything that is supposed to come before is just a backstory? You subconscious is trying to tell you something. It sparks your imagination and emotions. Don't resist. Write that story.
ReplyDeleteI always do if a story beckons, while it is still alive and fresh in my head, even if I have to abandon some other project temporarily (or for good).
Case in point: I was writing a romance novella a few months ago, but another story kept bugging me, so I switched. I still haven't returned to that romance, but the new story is finished. I put on wattpad, and in the last couple months, it gathered over 400 reads. It was what my muse wanted, and I obeyed.
I think I mentioned this before, but you could just think of it as one big story or one big book. I would see it as an advantage that #3 is so well worked out. Give yourself permission to spend time with it, and hopefully that will help everything that comes before fall into place.
ReplyDeleteWhy not just write Book 3 if that's what you really want to do? At least you'd get it out of your system. Maybe Book 1 is not working out story-wise and you need time to figure out what to do to change it and make it exciting. Some authors write backwards--and it works! You could be one who benefits like that, even if it's across a series and not just from back to front of one book.
ReplyDeleteHere's hoping you figure it all out!
If your passion is with book 3, I'd stick with it. Something may happen that turns books 1 and 2 on their heads or at least makes them more exciting to you.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing wrong with writing Book 3 without having Books 1 and 2 edited. I sometimes find later books in the series help me with the earlier books. Each one adds on, and I can usually figure out what to fix earlier in the books. As for editing Book 2, you could make a note on Chapter 11 and continue on editing too and go back to Chapter 11. Books don't have to be written or edited in order. :)
ReplyDelete