04 September 2019

I'll Figure It Out Eventually

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!


What am I insecure about this month? Well, probably the fact that I haven't been doing much writing. At all. For those of you keeping score at home, I'm still on Chapter 27. I don't know what is so difficult about it. It's not really difficult at all. I know exactly what needs to happen. I even made an outline for it! And I'm a die-hard pantser, so you can imagine how difficult that was for me. It's just, for some reason, actually sitting down and making myself write just isn't happening. 

I guess I can't be too hard on myself because I have *occasionally* gotten some words down. I've got 3 pages done on Chapter 27, which is something, at least, but I don't feel like I've gotten very far with it. I think it's going to be a very long chapter. I'll get through one chunk of it and then get stuck, and just stay stuck for days. 

I've been working on Shiny New Story a bit as well, which I swear will get a title someday, especially since it's not really new anymore, but is still very shiny. Sometimes I like to dive into that when I'm feeling blocked, to try and get the creative juices flowing a bit. It helps to work on something that's a first draft and I don't have to think so much about getting all the words perfect. I just wish it would lead me back to my main project. 

Something I'm not insecure about? The aha moments! One of my favorite things about writing is figuring things out. When you have a problem that you can't see your way out of and eventually it comes to you. I was working on Shiny's first chapter and I was trying to create this suspense between my two main characters, like you think they're just friends and there's a reveal where you realize they're actually a couple (which is probably silly because the blurb would totally give that away, but I digress...). My problem was that I was starting the chapter with the characters not seeing each other for a week. Wouldn't they immediately run into each other's arms and start smooching? That sort of killed my suspense. But since the scene took place on a farm, I had one character working on something, and figured out...his hands could be dirty! The character has to wash up first, which gives time for the two characters to talk before anything romantic happens. It was such a simple idea but I think it really made the scene work the way I wanted. 

I love those moments because it makes me think I'll always be able to figure things out eventually, no matter how impossible they may seem. I just would like that to be sooner rather than later when it comes to the rest of Uneven Lines. Please?? I'm talking to you, brain. 

Here's some really good news! I'm on vacation starting this Friday for a week and a half. Another vacation?? you're probably asking. Yeah, I took a lot of time off this year because I always have way too many hours accumulated by the end of the year. But anyway, that is lots and lots and lots of writing time! I'm hoping it'll be like my boot camp for Chapter 26 back in June, where I just spent all day every day (mostly) working on it. Maybe I could even...dare I say...finish the whole third draft? No way, right???

29 comments:

  1. Even if you know what happens in a chapter, trying to figure out exactly how it happens can be difficult sometimes. I just finished (finally) a chapter like that and it wasn't a pleasant experience--at least not until I worked it all out. All I could do was keep throwing myself at it until it came together piece by tiny piece. It's roadblocks like this that can really sap a writer's will to write. Good luck with the week and a half of writing time!

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  2. It's difficult to get the story done when you have shiny new ideas pulling you in another direction. Good luck with that pesky chapter 27!

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  3. Love those a-ha moments. :)

    Enjoy your vacation!

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  4. Great blog. I enjoy those a-ha moments, too!

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  5. Lots of writing time!
    I know my wife wouldn't let me hug her after I've been working outside. And I can hardly blame her.

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  6. Sounds a little like procrastination to me. At least, that's what it's like when I procrastinate. And maybe also exhaustion from working on the same project for so long. That's why that Shiny New Story bit you...to give you a reprieve and a chance to be creative again.

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  7. Maybe you've been putting too much pressure on yourself to be perfect and it's blocking you. I know that happens to me. Once I allow myself to accept no writing is ever perfect then I can get going.
    Those ah-ha moments are great.

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  8. Have a great vacation! It sounds like you're working on your writing and have an outline of the chapter you need to write. You will get it done. You're just busy.

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  9. Trying to figure out those type of things can be tricky but love the AH HA moments when the answer becomes clear. With lots of lovely writing time coming up soon I hope you manage to finish your draft.

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  10. I love those aha moments! And, sometimes three pages are just as important as thirty pages - it depends on the scene.
    Have a wonderful vacay!

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  11. I love aha moments! I just had one today when I adjusted a character's age in book 3. It's such a burden off the mind when things start to click.

    I hope you get more progress on your chapter!

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  12. First for the important thing: VACATION! Hurray. Enjoy it and use the new energy to get on to Chapter 27.

    I went for months without anything in the writing department, so I understand how you feel trapped in the Sargasso Sea. It passes, but it will pass, and one day you'll be finished, looking back at how you could have ever doubted yourself.

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  13. Sometimes it's the simple solutions that elude us.

    Enjoy your week of vacation.

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  14. those AHA moments are just the best!
    I'm stuck in one MS because I made a major change and now the Black Moment is eluding me. Hoping for the subconscious to take it on!

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  15. See. You can do it, Sarah. Don't get discouraged. We all have those moments.

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  16. Go you! Having all those days to write sounds like a plan.

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  17. You know, I sometimes have *more* trouble when I planned (instead of pantsing). I start to feel penned in by the plan and miss that discovery feeling that comes when the story is the one bossing me around instead of vice versa. Still, I hope you find a more satisfying flow soon! @samanthabwriter from
    Balancing Act

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  18. Good for you using your vacation days! I know too many people who let them slide and that's just crazytown - there's a reason we get vacation days. They make us more productive employees.

    Enjoy your writing camp! But don't put pressure on yourself to finish that draft. Any progress is progress. And what a great lesson you have learned - you will always be able to figure it out. Now, go forth and write!

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  19. Enjoy your vacation. Relax, give yourself permission to take some "me" time. Then, work on the writing. I feel like I'm never going to finish my sci-fi romance--the one I've been writing since last year. Gah!

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  20. I have had no time to write, so I hear you on the writing in bits and pieces. So good you get to take vacation days--you seem to have good plans for them!

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  21. Vacation? Lucky you - enjoy it and I'm sure you'll get done with Chapter 27 soon enough. Thank you for sharing about your writing process - it felt a lot like mine and made me want to return to my characters instead of writing blog posts.

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  22. Enjoy your work-ation! I usually have my a-ha moments when I'm walking, washing the dishes, or taking a shower. Now I just need to get in the habit of jotting them down because my short-term memory is kaput.

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  23. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
    I get it. Sometimes writing just isn't ready to be written.
    Those aha moments are the best.
    Vacation sounds nice. Hope you get all the writing done that you can.

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  24. Shiny new ideas distract me sometimes but I do love them. I have stories I started but just not ready to be finished. Have a great vacation.

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  25. Yes, those a-ha moments are worth all the frustration that comes with writing! I hope you have a wonderful vacation. :)

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  26. Ah, yes. That moment when you've figured things out, sometimes after weeks. That's the best feeling!

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  27. Enjoy your vacation and good luck with chapter 27!

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  28. The aha is like getting to be a super sleuth. You get to solve the mysteries and fix the problems. Good luck with Chapter 27!

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  29. It is amazing how hard it can be to write at times – we want to, there's nothing really stopping us, but somehow it doesn't happen.

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