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Am I the only one who has lost interest in their WIP?
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I don't see much point at slogging away at something that doesn't capture your attention 100%. It will certainly be transparent in the writing.I always have several projects going so that I can move from one to another as the spirit moves me. Just don't let it die in your head. Go back every so often and read it at least. At some point the clouds will part and you'll be happy to work on it again.
Michael wrote: "I don't see much point at slogging away at something that doesn't capture your attention 100%. It will certainly be transparent in the writing.I always have several projects going so that I can m..."
I surely hope so, at least, people I run into do. It's been hard to see their disappointment when they realize I haven't really worked on it.
I find that I'll go through 3-4 ideas that don't catch fire before I find the one that will work. A good idea isn't always a good book.
Java wrote: "I find that I'll go through 3-4 ideas that don't catch fire before I find the one that will work. A good idea isn't always a good book."I've also had a lot of those too. Unfortunately, the one I'm talking about is actually in demand.
S. wrote: "I wrote my first, a YA action and adventure, paranormal. While I was writing the sequel, my brain was hijacked by a romance story. 18 mos later, I have 3 more books out and doing well, but totally ..."Two cents from a readers point of view: I would suggest not to give inn into fans demands if you, the author, is not feeling like writing the book 100%. It's really easy to see when a book is written by an author who's heart is not in it. I've read some series where it seemed that the story ended after the second book, the rest 2, 3 books where just words with no passion or interrest from the author themselves. Then you read on their website that "Because you, fans, asked for more..."
Don't write for someone else, write what you love and for yourself.
Good luck!
It's a very common feeling. I suspect that most authors go through it.IMHO, when we write commercially we are doing it for ourselves but also for our readers. And that means sometimes having to be professional and produce something that helps to generate profit without necessarily being what we would want to be writing.
True, we probably write our best stuff when we are dealing with a subject we enjoy. But we also need to treat this like a business and be able to "write to order" when the situation calls for it. Think of it as another skill to develop.
The trick, maybe, is to look for ways to make the sequel less of a chore. I'm doing exactly the same thing at the moment - writing a sequel to my first book - and I am livening it up by telling the story from a different character's perspective. Plus a few other twists.
So, yes, what you are feeling is perfectly normal. Unless you are absolutely hating it, I'd recommend carrying on and looking for ways to make it fun.
I lose interest in WIP's frequently, and the last thing I do is slog away - when I have, I've deleted everything I wrote. Keep the manuscript open, but move onto the story that is lighting your fire - your fans will thank you for it in the end.Sometimes, it signals that you need a complete break.
Alp
Discovering options is helpful. Approaching the sequel through a different perspective, a different character sounds good. Or a different point of view. Perhaps third person goes to first in the sequel. There are many ways to skin el gato and many creative ways for a writer to tackle a problem. Also, sometimes writing a complete nonsense segment will open up a new plot line.
I've found taking a NaNoWriMo approach helps. Open a new file, pick a character, any character, from your old book or a setting and write like crazy for a couple of days, no stopping, no looking back--with the idea that nobody but you will ever see it. Then read it over. You'll be astonished at what's opened up. Maybe write from the villain's POV with the idea that the villain is the hero of his own story. S/he may still be the same sleazy SOB but you'll get a different perspective on the jerk.
I agree with Will - writing is a business and if you have a demand from your readers then you need to not only write it, but make it a priority - IF you are trying to make a career of writing. Good business takes good planning and discipline.I always have several projects on the go and write in at least three different genres.The only way I'm able to stay organized and keep myself in each different story is to write detailed outlines and know exactly where each story is going well before I ever try to write it. If you depend on your imagination to plot as you go along - it becomes hard to stay on one project. Everything piles together.
Writing is a business and it is also a passion and an art and a means of expression in life when life takes its toll. I think it is a good idea to keep a detailed storyline and that you are well organized. Taking a different slant on characters is a good idea and sound like you have a great plan for your books. I do that also and it works for me.
I, too, am struggling with a sequel. I got not quite halfway through, and have been stuck. Thanks for posting this. Makes me feel that we're all in the same boat, and I'm going to take some of the advice of these other nice people and forge on! After all, the story isn't going to write itself :) Good luck to you!
If writing fiction is a business then it's a non-profit organisation!
Alp wrote: "If writing fiction is a business then it's a non-profit organisation!"I wouldn't say that. While I don't make enough to live on, it does generate a useful stream of income.
Alp wrote: "If writing fiction is a business then it's a non-profit organisation!"I find writing fiction profitable - but it's a business for me. Making it in any business takes training, hard work, planning, funding, and a commercially viable product. It also requires time and patience - nothing happens overnight.
@S. - My apologies for going a bit off topic, but to circle back to the issue at hand. A WIP should be a planned and executed. If you are writing to earn profit, and since you have published that would be the assumption - that new story waiting to come out - would have to wait. Since you do not feel you can write two stories at the same time, then write out a brief outline of the new story and get back to it when you finish your sequel.
Christie wrote: "I've found taking a NaNoWriMo approach helps. Open a new file, pick a character, any character, from your old book or a setting and write like crazy for a couple of days, no stopping, no looking ba..."Just wanted to concur with Christie. Throughout my writing 'career' have found many times, especially when not feeling like it, myself surprised by what comes out when I just sit down and write. I believe every author should do this particularly when suffering what some refer to as 'writer's block'.
The key ingredients to success in any undertaking are self-discipline and establishing challenging goals. With few exceptions, those who do the things that should or must be done only if and when they want and attempt to create a quick and easy methodology toward achieving success seldom become successful.
Great advice. It works. Leaving the next scene you have in your mind for your next session to start with also is a good practice. It worked for Hemingway.
The best advice I ever received about writing is ...Don't waste time writing a story you don't love.
I don't know what your writing routine is, but I know I run into problems when I take too many days off from writing. Sometimes it can't be avoided due to life commitments, but too many days off in a row and I lose interest in what I'm writing. It's much the same when I'm reading a book--if I can only squeeze in reading a few pages at night before bedtime, it's hard to get into the story.
I like "don't waste your time writing a story you don't love."I also realize that life interferes with schedules sometimes and that makes it unpleasant when you aren't able to keep the flow going.
When it happens i just start writing and write until i come to a place that has meaning for me and that works.
I'm in the middle of the exact same problem. I really want to be on a road less traveled that has really swept me up. And, I'm really tired of my sequel. Frustrated really. I want it to be done. I want to swim in my newest passion. But, like others have said, this is a business and much has been invested in The WIP. I think I owe it to myself, to my characters, and to a few readers, to follow through and get it done. Maybe I am both helping to develop as a writer and building a little character. Best of luck. Get it done.
Writing is an interesting, rewarding and enjoyable experience. That said; if it ceases to be interesting and enjoyable, it may be time to stop writing, if only temporarily, and expend some time enjoying some of the many other interesting and rewarding experiences that life has to offer.
I think you have to be a monster of determination to be a writer.Possibly obsessive. Sometimes you have to make yourself take a breather.
D. wrote: "The best advice I ever received about writing is ... Don't waste time writing a story you don't love."That sounds a bit indulgent for me. As I've already stated, I consider writing a business. I love to write, but writing only stories I "love" is very restrictive. What if the best story I have, is one I hate?
Basing my work on an emotion does not lend to building a profitable or practical business. For me, it's all about planning, hard work, dedication, and discipline. All those things required to create a story my readers will remember.
Christine wrote: "D. wrote: "The best advice I ever received about writing is ... Don't waste time writing a story you don't love."That sounds a bit indulgent for me. As I've already stated, I consider writing a b..."
Christine, if you want to spend weeks or months with characters and settings that you hate, knock yourself out.
Personally, I'd rather spend my time in a world that I've created, that causes me to lay awake in the middle of the night, wanting to get out of bed and get back to the keyboard. I want to have the story running riot in my imagination, even when I am not at the keyboard.
To force myself to write a story I'm not excited about would be as bad as the daily slog I used to put up with before I retired. Now that my time is my own, I intend to spend it in worlds of wonder and mystery that I didn't have time for when I was working for a living.
And I consider my writing to be the same as my painting. When it becomes work, it will cease to be fun and in the words of Renoir, "if it wasn't fun Mr. Gleyre, I wouldn't do it."
I think we all have reasons for writing. Writing as a business is a valid thing to do and there is no need to love a story. I have hated a lot of things i wrote so i really do understand your point of view. I write seven days a week so I don't think that it means i am not working hard. Far from it. I must say that emotion is part of writing and the feelings of the characters, if you have a character driven book it will be different from a plot driven book. I write because i need to and love to. If you look at the money people make who write good and even great books you will see writing is often not a good way to make money. Why don't we just have our own reasons and respect and enjoy each other as we move through the writing because most books never sell. I hate to say it. And I hate the fact that so many are badly written. Maybe you will dislike me when I say that writing must include love. But Christine, after doing this for a long time and keeping the writing and the marketing kind of separate but necessary I don't have a lot of feeling about writing except that if you do not write for need and love writing for business will not put a person in the realm of success. The arts have been historically supported by the wealthy. At this point we can publish anything we want and good, bad, or ugly, it can be published. So I don't write for business. I hope we can respect each other as far as point of view about why we do it. Let's just be friends. Can we do that? Is is possible?
I do know a number of people who find topics that are money makers and they also have their books ghost written and enough money to have speeches and sales and who want to be famous. This can work. The question is how much to you love or hate the topic?Best to you and I am sure you will do great.
I can't see ever writing a book that I hated. That doesn't mean that every book has to be a work of insane passion either. But if I as a writer and a reader don't like the story or the characters, why would I think anyone else would like it either?As for the OP's question about losing interest, no, I've never lost interest in a WIP. I'm telling a story to myself and my readers with each book, and how could I possibly stop half way?
On the other hand, I have created story outlines that I later decided were not something I wanted to actually write about and abandoned. But once I've actually started a story I've never failed to complete it.
Perhaps I should clarify. I love writing and I have numerous ideas for books and stories. I consider my writing a business, but not so much in the sense of making money - more in the sense of planning and organizing the way I do things. I am a retired accountant and business manager so the mentality comes naturally. I write horror, literary, thriller, and romance, and will write a variety of stories using a variety of methods. All of these genres require research, detachment, and emotional diversity. Various methods require study, and practice. If I had spent my life, only done what I loved to do, I would have never accomplished or learned anything new.To require me to “love” a story does not make sense to me. I’m more interested in how my readers will react to what I write, than how I react. Reaching my goals through hard work and discipline is how I’ve always functioned. I find many new writers don’t even have goals or a plan of any kind. IMHO Assuming most new writers will fail anyway is defeatist - setting the bar way too low. I prefer to emulate highly successful writers. I get excited about new story ideas, and I’m very sure best-selling authors do the same. Whether they love those ideas/stories or not is probably never as important as the reaction they get from their readers.
Back to the question - I don’t lose interest in a WIP. I have already plotted out the story and the characters, so all I have to do is write it. I’m usually working on several projects at the same time.
We're all different. Each of us needs to find an approach to writing which works for us and our particular life circumstances at the time.Where I think we should be very careful is when we pass judgment on other people's approaches. Some will persevere with a WIP that they no longer "love". Others will move on to something else. Neither approach is right or wrong. It is a highly individual choice.
So when we answer questions like these perhaps we ought to stick to comments like "This is how I do it" and not "This is how it MUST be done."
And we do all realise that we are answering a question which was first asked more than seven months ago, don't we? The OP has probably long since moved on.
Will wrote: "We're all different. Each of us needs to find an approach to writing which works for us and our particular life circumstances at the time..."Very well said. I agree completely.
Will wrote: "We're all different. Each of us needs to find an approach to writing which works for us and our particular life circumstances at the time.Where I think we should be very careful is when we pass j..."
I had been about to make a similar comment when I came across yours Will. You have stated the situation clearly. I hope everyone takes the point.
Some topics are evergreen (or, in this case - boredom with current WIP - ever-parched). I don't know that I've suffered boredom, but I have set aside more than one piece of work, for different reasons. Some might define this as boredom.Perhaps what one calls boredom is really a symptom of two or more causes. Is it writer's block? Is it the result of not knowing where the story is going? Is it because the story arc hasn't been fully developed? Is it because of insufficient conflict - (1. Man vs. Nature, 2. Man vs. Man, 3. Man vs. Himself, and/or 4. some combination of these) - to hold not only the reader's attention but our own? Is it fear of writing because we don't know HOW to write a particular scene or chapter? Or is it that we are paralyzed with the magnitude of writing a whole book? Or is it ___ (you fill in the blank)?
I can't say I have any definitive answers for anyone else, but for me, my best solution to these questions is to write down, stream-of-consciousness style, everything and anything that pops into my head as I ponder the subject or problem. I do two things: 1) talk with writer friends about my dilemma to see what ideas they have for a way out and 2) noodle around with scrap paper and refuse to engage in any self-editing. These activities have enabled me to find the resolutions - the endings - to my published novel and my WIP, which is a complete story that I am reworking sections of in preparation of going to print in the fall.
Write, write, write! If you don't have anything written down, you have nothing to work on, no wheat and no chaff to separate. (And I can manufacture lots of chaff!)
I am now trying to finish the sequel to that first one, but I'm really struggling because I'd rather be writing romance. If it weren't for my fans begging me for that sequel, I'd not worry about it ... so, in the meantime, I'm plugging away at it (Ugh!) while 2 more WIPs would rather take center stage in my head.
Am I the only one who has this problem?