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Does everyone have writing meltdowns?
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in less offensive terminology, it's what I call "the magic".
I can assure you your books, even though I haven't read them, are not the worst in the world. If you're having meltdowns, it's a strong indication that you care enough to get it right. Embrace those meltdowns!
No meltdowns but an occasional roadblock that will last a couple of hours. My secret is to write every day if only a paragraph, It keeps me with a writing rhythm that helps to avoid meltdowns.
I certainly reach those kinds of writing impasses but I don't have emotional trauma over them. I typically just put the book on a shelf for a while and let my subconscious mind work on the problem ... sometimes for months. Not having an external deadline placed on me (self-published) helps.While the problem is unsolved, I often get diverted on side projects. But usually I wake up one day with a sudden flash of inspiration and the problem goes away.
Oh. But saying that reminds me that I've been editing/re-writing one novel off and on for over 3 years. I'm uncertain about the whole book. I like what is in the book but I question if it's doing what I think it could/should do.
I'm ignoring my first completed manuscript, which I've pretty much given up on.
No, can't say that I do. I'll think 'hmm. . .' and go do something else and come back to it later. :)
Just me then... ! I think I have an irrational fear that one day there'll be an issue with a book that I just can't solve. I actually did have to give up on a novel once because there were so many issues, so maybe it's a hangover from that...
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I don't know if I'd call it a meltdown, but yes, I can get very frustrated when writer's block strikes and just not even want to bother to write at all for a while. Always get through it eventually though.
Since I've finished my series and published the last book in April 2018, I haven't been able to write anything. I have ideas but no will to put it down. Reading could help if only the pleasure I had from it hadn't disappeared along with my writing will and the pleasure I had surfing Facebook and Goodreads... but I wouldn't call it a meltdown because I don't get all depressed about it. I'm not worried about it. When and if it comes back I'll have great ideas to work with. :)
Happens all the time. It's a phase in writing. Just let it go and write on. What's the life without a challenge anyway :)
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Nope. Looks like others go through it, too.
When I get frustrated like this, I read a new book or re-read an old favorite, with an eye to how the author works around the problematic parts of their story. Another technique I like is to rewrite the problem scene from a different character’s point of view. It keeps you as an interested observer, but lets you focus on a completely different aspect of the events. It also enriches your characters, especially the minor ones. Just give the reader a clue, like a scene break, to warn them of the POV change.
Oh, absolutely. Sometimes they happen even in between novels, when the royalty statements are pitiful (or nonexistent). I think I've quit writing one or two times? I can remember. Point is, I always came back. It's normal, so don't fear. Scream, cry, drink, isolate yourself with endless Netflix reruns, bleed it out, take a break, and get back to it. It's part of the joy of being a writer!
You're not alone at all. Interestingly enough, I just realized, after FINALLY starting the new novel I've been meaning to start for a while, and writing five chapters of it pretty quickly, that I'm doing it all wrong, and that I need to rework the whole timeline/beginning part of the book. And I mean a HUGE rework in terms of the way it's structured and the major scenes that happen at the start.
But I'm not really having a meltdown, because I kind of knew deep down before I started that I wasn't really ready to start this novel. I had outlined quite a bit, researched a lot, but I knew something was missing.
The analogy I always like to use is that an idea for a novel needs to cook and simmer in my mind for long enough before I start writing it. This book has been kind of at the back of my mind for a while now. I even wrote the idea out as a short story once to make it stop bugging me, but it wouldn't leave me alone. It still wants to be written. I just have to be patient and let it simmer in my mind until it's ready to be formally put down on paper.
And no, I'm not one to force myself to keep on writing something out if the inspiration isn't there. I'd like to be writing everyday, but that's frankly not how my mind or my creative process works. For now, I'm going to go back to writing little notes in a notebook until I feel like it's ready. Maybe I'll even write something totally different while it's cooking.
However, this does means I have tens of half-formed abandoned ideas and beginnings of novels. Maybe something will come of them one day. Maybe it won't. I don't stress about it. You can't push creativity into a neat little box or make it follow rules!
And now I want to write about the nature of creativity.
*sigh*
L.K., I think you may have some brain toxicity. Do you eat too many processed foods? I think you will benefit from reading Steve Pavlina's "How to tell if you have a healthy brain" article.And no, I never have that kind of "meltdown" when I write since writing is a liberation/exorcism for me, but I do have some emotional reactions like that for my life in general when I eat too much processed food/refined sugar/caffeine/general junk, or someone sneaks too many GMO in my food. If I'm having those days I don't even think of writing.
Try eating only healthy fats (butter and olive oil), fresh organic fruit and meat for a few days and notice if you get better.
For me it's a freeze, not a meltdown: I realize I wrote a part of my book wrong: I freeze. I just can't decide what to do.I have written a few lines about a new idea and now is time to begin the novel? I freeze, I do not know where to start.
I can't seem to find how to write this particular moment in my book? I freeze, my brain goes blank and I don't know what to do anymore.
so, yes, I think we are some who are just too emotional when writing, but it's not really surprising, after all writing comes from us, and our emotions.
Nope. Writing keeps me FROM having meltdowns.
All the freaking time. But then I get over it and move on.
Chris wrote: "Nope. Writing keeps me FROM having meltdowns."Same here!
I'm not sure I'd describe it as a meltdown, but there have definitely been frustrations encountered in almost all of my books. Sometimes they last hours, sometimes days, and sometimes weeks. The solution seems to come when I'm not actually working on the problem (e.g. going for a walk, taking a shower), but my mind is probably continuing to work on the problem subconsciously. My latest roadblock was broken when I decided I had to rewrite everything I'd written so far in a different point of view.
In short, yes. But I like to think of it as a sliver of humility.
Not meltdowns, but I do sometimes feel overwhelmed trying to sort out what has to happen in what order, and what event triggers what action. These episodes last until I find a way of depicting the story's structure in a way that makes sense and that allows me to straighten things out in my mind.
Sherri wrote: "Oh, absolutely. Sometimes they happen even in between novels, when the royalty statements are pitiful (or nonexistent). I think I've quit writing one or two times? I can remember. Point is, I alway..."I've quit a couple of times too, or at least come very close to it! In the end I decide that not writing is a worse fate than writing, so I carry on, hehe! Most of the time I love writing but I do have the odd moment where I'm like, why am I doing this to myself?! Other times writing feels like the best thing in the world! Plenty of ups and downs that's for sure!
Chris wrote: "Nope. Writing keeps me FROM having meltdowns."This is usually how I feel too, I think that's why it's so frustrating to have a phase where I hit a problem and fall out of love with it for a day or two, because usually writing's a really positive thing for me :)
Just wanted to add, "meltdown" was perhaps too strong a word, I'm not having a nervous breakdown or anything!I'm fairly used to the process now and I know that these frustrating moments are part of the evolution of a story - in the beginning I expect there to be lots of unknowns, but I get more bothered by issues in a book when I'm near the end and approaching being ready to publish, so finding a problem feels more unexpected and ends up making me worried about the whole book! It's a short lived feeling though :)
No meltdowns as I don't have time for them. I may say a few nasty words mentally then move on with a first draft. When I hit that muddle in the middle, I keep going then worry about rewriting it when I edit. The goal is to finish the manuscript, then make it readable.I do understand your issue though. If it's your first draft, don't get too hung up on it. It's a mess anyway. Mark the area and redo it on the edit. You can do as many as ten or fifteen edits before it's decent or acceptable.
G.G. wrote: "Since I've finished my series and published the last book in April 2018, I haven't been able to write anything. I have ideas but no will to put it down. Reading could help if only the pleasure I h..."
G.G., I like your attitude. You may find the will to write again. When I turned 50, I lost interest in writing. I focused my energies elsewhere. Seven years later, I started writing again. I created a blog and then returned to my fiction writing after a few years.
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I don't think you could suck as a writer if you tried. You're easily one of my favorite Indie authors and I'm picky, as you know.
After I submitted my first draft of my debut to my editor, it came back all red with suggestions to restructure. I stressed a bit, because I wanted so badly for it to be good! So I took a little time off work and did what he suggested. I’m glad I did!
B.A. wrote: "No meltdowns as I don't have time for them. I may say a few nasty words mentally then move on with a first draft. When I hit that muddle in the middle, I keep going then worry about rewriting it wh..."As much as I do have to have a 'writing break' sometimes because some days I just can't do it, I have learnt to do this sometimes as well - to just write through the mess and worry about that part later when I edit.
If I know exactly how to make the next part work, but not the bit I'm actually on, I'll even leave a gap and just keeping going. Generally, when I come back to edit, I figure out how to get from A to across the space surprisingly easily.
I would attribute my writing meltdowns more to the technology I use while writing, for example, when an upload won't work or trying to embed an image that won't embed itself on my website, etc. That can drive me through the roof at times. A lot of that happened last year and to add insult to injury, my laptop died when my latest book was almost ready to publish.
K.C. wrote: "G.G., I like your attitude. You may find the will to write again. When I turned 50, I lost interest in writing. I focused my energies elsewhere..."Thank K.C. I guess it is not always a bad thing to focus on other things that seem more important at the time...even TV lol...
We only have one life to live so we might as well enjoy everything and not dwell on what else we could be doing instead. :)
I like that you are focusing in what is going right in your life rather than trying to force yourself to do something for which you have no appetite.During the period I quit writing, I went through some life-changing experiences that so captivated me I gave no thought to writing. I brought those experiences to my work when I began writing again.
I have what I like to call hitting-a-wall moment, where I'll be writing along merrily when all of a sudden I stop and my brain refuses to let me continue. This happens for one of two reasons - because I did enough writing for that day and need a break to plan things out a bit more, or because there's something not quite right going on with the story that I need to figure out. For example the scene needed to be from character A's point of view and not character B's; that kind of thing. When I do hit that wall, stepping back and doing other things always helps. In fact I have yet to hit a snag that I didn't eventually figure out.
I'm wondering, does this happen to other authors? Do you find you have at least one emotional meltdown per book?