I know - the entire story has just been slowing down and I hate to say but I think part of it IS because the excitement wears off a bit. I mean, I've been living with this story (or versions of it as it has a tendency to change) for years now. I still like it, it's just not fresh and I'm not simply dying to write it.
Bah.
Oddly enough though I actually love it when new scenes pop in. Sure, it throws my outline off a bit but the unprompted scenes usually come out pretty interesting and will actually sometimes bring up plotpoints or interactions that I hadn't even considered before. Yay subconscious! It's only annoying in that it makes this story grow and grow and grow until it seems like it has no ending. (I swear, every three chapters for a while I was giving a new estimate for how long the fic was actually going to be, having to extend it quite a bit each time. haha.)
The only thing I can find to help with writer's block - which only works sometimes - is reading. Sometimes a way a character is described or how an interaction happens or some event or something majorly trivial will suddenly inspire me for a similar section of my story I need to write. Then again, when stuff like that happens I'm also just as inclined to keep reading, because, you know, I'm an addict like that ^_-
Other than that I just force myself, which is kinda lame because the stuff I write doesn't come out nearly as well and I typically just go back and rewrite it anyhow, so it's kinda pointless. So basically I just stopped trying to push, hence the long gaps of time between chapters. Bleh.
But yeah, I feel ya on the waning enthusiasm for other stories - sadness. I have to actually force myself to stop thinking about them, stop outlining them in my head, for fear I'll get sick of them. Then again, if I do that for too long I kinda forget about the story and it fades away anyhow. Yay Catch 22. But yeah, how lame am I - that's seriously what I do at night when I can't fall asleep. I'm a resigned insomniac (I'd guess average 2 hours to fall asleep every night) so I spend my time either plotting stories in my head or reliving other stories I've read (and sometimes re-writing how they go, haha!) What I wouldn't give for a mind-reading typewriter that would write everything I think when I do that! Ah well, one can dream ^_-
But very good luck on BWM (almost called it BMW - haha. like that hasn't happened to you before) and hope you get inspired for it a bit more. It's never fun to have something looming that you just feel you cant get to. Gah. How much longer you think that one's going to go?
I'd probably enjoy an impromptu scene more if I wasn't trying so desperately to get the story finished. LOL! Before this last chapter, I told everyone there were just two more chapters--I had every intention of ending this chapter with the big reveal of the murderer. But, as I started working on it, I realized that in order to get to that point, this chapter would have to be like 80 pages long. LOL! There are just so many threads I need to be sure to tie up, and every time I think about them, the list seems to get longer. *sigh* So, I think I told everyone that NOW there are two chapters left, and ... Well, I'm just not 100% sure I can hit that spot in just one chapter. I have written a 63-page chapter before, and several 50-page ones, but I'd really like to keep it to between 30 and 40, if at all possible. I would really love to get the story finished this Summer. I have a feeling my writing time is going to dramatically decrease this Fall and Winter.
I may have to try doing more reading. I really have been absorbed almost completely in fanfiction for a long time now, so maybe it's time to pull out more books. I have a tendency to read the same books over and over, though, so maybe I need to make a trip to the bookstore for some fresh inspiration. ^_^ Hmmm. That sounds like fun! Of course, I also tend to get completely lost to the world when I read, so I probably wouldn't jot down any ideas even if they hit me. LOL! Like you, I would keep reading. ^_^
"I'm a resigned insomniac (I'd guess average 2 hours to fall asleep every night) so I spend my time either plotting stories in my head or reliving other stories I've read (and sometimes re-writing how they go, haha!) What I wouldn't give for a mind-reading typewriter that would write everything I think when I do that! Ah well, one can dream"
Wow! We really have a lot in common. I think it usually takes me an hour or more to fall asleep, and that's exactly what I do. (And it's so darn tempting to write up those alternate paths in certain stories ...) I'll go halvsies with you on one of those typewriters. ^_~
Thanks for the good wishes! I wish you much luck on SP, too!
Bah.
Oddly enough though I actually love it when new scenes pop in. Sure, it throws my outline off a bit but the unprompted scenes usually come out pretty interesting and will actually sometimes bring up plotpoints or interactions that I hadn't even considered before. Yay subconscious! It's only annoying in that it makes this story grow and grow and grow until it seems like it has no ending. (I swear, every three chapters for a while I was giving a new estimate for how long the fic was actually going to be, having to extend it quite a bit each time. haha.)
The only thing I can find to help with writer's block - which only works sometimes - is reading. Sometimes a way a character is described or how an interaction happens or some event or something majorly trivial will suddenly inspire me for a similar section of my story I need to write. Then again, when stuff like that happens I'm also just as inclined to keep reading, because, you know, I'm an addict like that ^_-
Other than that I just force myself, which is kinda lame because the stuff I write doesn't come out nearly as well and I typically just go back and rewrite it anyhow, so it's kinda pointless. So basically I just stopped trying to push, hence the long gaps of time between chapters. Bleh.
But yeah, I feel ya on the waning enthusiasm for other stories - sadness. I have to actually force myself to stop thinking about them, stop outlining them in my head, for fear I'll get sick of them. Then again, if I do that for too long I kinda forget about the story and it fades away anyhow. Yay Catch 22. But yeah, how lame am I - that's seriously what I do at night when I can't fall asleep. I'm a resigned insomniac (I'd guess average 2 hours to fall asleep every night) so I spend my time either plotting stories in my head or reliving other stories I've read (and sometimes re-writing how they go, haha!) What I wouldn't give for a mind-reading typewriter that would write everything I think when I do that! Ah well, one can dream ^_-
But very good luck on BWM (almost called it BMW - haha. like that hasn't happened to you before) and hope you get inspired for it a bit more. It's never fun to have something looming that you just feel you cant get to. Gah. How much longer you think that one's going to go?
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I may have to try doing more reading. I really have been absorbed almost completely in fanfiction for a long time now, so maybe it's time to pull out more books. I have a tendency to read the same books over and over, though, so maybe I need to make a trip to the bookstore for some fresh inspiration. ^_^ Hmmm. That sounds like fun! Of course, I also tend to get completely lost to the world when I read, so I probably wouldn't jot down any ideas even if they hit me. LOL! Like you, I would keep reading. ^_^
"I'm a resigned insomniac (I'd guess average 2 hours to fall asleep every night) so I spend my time either plotting stories in my head or reliving other stories I've read (and sometimes re-writing how they go, haha!) What I wouldn't give for a mind-reading typewriter that would write everything I think when I do that! Ah well, one can dream"
Wow! We really have a lot in common. I think it usually takes me an hour or more to fall asleep, and that's exactly what I do. (And it's so darn tempting to write up those alternate paths in certain stories ...) I'll go halvsies with you on one of those typewriters. ^_~
Thanks for the good wishes! I wish you much luck on SP, too!
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