I have some ideas, but I have a problem =(

[Anon22]

This is in regards to my personality, I suppose.

You see, the thing is I'm overly-critical. Normally, I can only finish really, really short projects where I can do this "quick critique -> quick fix" kind of things, like poetry. I've written a handful of poems, and generally poems are nice because they aren't long (well, usually), and I can write around twelve lines, I suppose. Somewhat 12 - 20, and when I'm focused, a lot more. Though, in that case, as I am writing poems, and even after I finish, I can quickly critique it, and quickly fix anything I find kind of wrong, or off, in terms of how it sounds and the choice of words (well, not always fast, but within the hour usually).

The problem is that this is much harder to do when you're ideas revolve around writing books (that's definitely more than 12-20 lines). For the most part, I find myself starting off the story (stories), and never quite finishing it, because I'm unsatisfied with it. So, what occurs is that I often find myself starting from scratch. Over and over again. I've written around 2-3 pages of a story, and then looked at it, thought, "hmmm... this could be better," and started over from scratch. I just kind of never finish anything.

Does anybody know what I'm talking about? Is this just part of the process? I mean, to be honest, I guess I am developing my ideas further and further every time I decide to start over, but... bleh... >_<

I guess maybe I just need to be more dedicated? Has anybody else gone through the same thing? That "oh boy, how will I ever finish this?" thought?

[Veva]

Hey,
well I could be wrong here, but I don't think that you are overly critical, I think you are lacking self-confidence. Maybe if you believed in your own words, in your own creation, in you, it would go well.

[Dinkleberry2010]

I think what you're going through comes with the territory. I myself have started writing things which I was convinced without doubt I knew everything about the story and how it would end, and the result was that I would get stuck on one thing or another, and the result would be that the work would remain unfinished. I learned that the best thing to do is just to leave those things alone for awhile, let them germinate, go on to something else, and then later come back to them.

[Lumiere]

You're not alone.

"When I face the desolate impossibility of writing five hundred pages a sick sense of failure falls on me and I know I can never do it. This happens every time. Then I gradually write one page and then another. One day's work is all I can permit myself to contemplate and I eliminate the possibility of ever finishing."
- John Steinbeck

"Don't think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It's self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can't try to do things. You simply must do things."
- Ray Bradbury

"All writers I know have trouble writing."
- Joseph Heller

[DickZ]

I'm sure your problem is one that is shared by many of us. The fact that you keep trying is encouraging, though, and you should continue in your quest to write. Maybe if you were to post some examples of your stories, it would be possible for others to come up with some more meaningful suggestions.

Let us see something specific in the way of actual stories, and then we could take it from there.

[Anon22]

Thanks, guys. Your replies do make me feel better.

Trust me, I want to continue trying. I definitely have confidence in my abilities. Like, I *know* I can do it (do it well, I might add). The only thing that kind of hinders that confidence is the pressure that I want to do it well. In addition, I guess I do hold the belief that ideas are kind of like fruit, and you have to pick them when they're ripe.

Like, if you have an idea at one point, but hesitate to act on it, and wait... then, years later, it might not remain the same idea. Thus, you may end up writing something that you didn't intend to write. Hmm, I guess, now that I think about it, it may not be so bad. Though, the main thing is having to carry the feeling or thought of, "I had an idea, and this isn't exactly what I was looking for before." So, it's like, wanting to write it, before I forget bits and pieces of the story, and turn it into something else (?). Something along those lines. Hmm... though, as I said, now that I think about it, I guess it isn't that bad either.

The only other thing that worries me is that I'm still rather young. So, it kind of worries me that if I hesitate too much (getting distracted with college and stuff), that I might let time fly by, and before you know it, I don't have the time anymore. So, I just kind of want to make sure I finish this. Especially because I hear that as you get older, you have less time, and I believe it (because why would the majority of the people say that if it wasn't true?). So, I guess that's the only thing that worries me.

Though, yeah, I guess you guys are right. Other than that, I should probably just try to write. Umm, in regards to actual stories, I haven't really written many (complete) stories. Actually, I've only written one complete story, but that was a while ago (when I was 15, I believe). My writing style has definitely changed since then, and I've grown more serious about writing.

As of now, my stories mainly exist as ideas waiting to be written. I continue to hesitate in writing them (as I said, I have started, only to find myself continuously starting over), but, even though I hesitate, they still remain in the back of my mind all the time. I don't mean to say that they are a burden - of course not! - rather, I mean to say that they're just germinating. Whenever I come up with something new to add to the stories, I make a note of it in a blog (or rather blogs) I have. I guess maybe I need to continue developing the structure as I'm currently doing?

I also tend to keep them secret for the most part, as I don't really want to raise expectations. >_< Lol. So, I guess I don't really have a story to provide as an example. Though, I might post the first chapter of a story I'm working on... if I can find it (I've been contemplating about whether or not I should rewrite it, but maybe I should just stick with it). x_x Eh, I'll post it later on.

Anyhow, thanks for the replies guys. It certainly does make me feel better.

[blazeofglory]

This is a common phenomenon that goes on with most new writers. I have this problem too.

Of course we must be unsatisfied as a writer and the day we become satisfied with the writing we have we cease to progress. Successful writers write hundred times and throw them and start again and again they get troubles with publishers and some writers cannot cope with publishers for the latter are commercial and the writers do not choose to be commercial.

Kafka wanted his books to be burned and he became popular posthumously.
A great writer must have so much endurance and one can think about Tolstoy's war and peace and how many times he might have altered, modified and of course through very careful deliberations he came publicly.

To be a writer is not a joke. You just not make people comprehend what you scribble but what you write must arrest or appeal or else why should the reader read you.
Creators are close to God and to be close to God you must qualify

[Dinkleberry2010]

I've been seriously writing for forty-one years; there are things I wrote forty-one years ago that for one reason or another I did not finish or complete, but I didn't throw them away. I have never thrown away anything I wrote--no matter how bad or crappy I thought it was, because there are numerous occasions where I have been able to use and incorporate unfinished or incomplete things I wrote in the past into something I may be writing.

[Veva]

The only other thing that worries me is that I'm still rather young. So, it kind of worries me that if I hesitate too much (getting distracted with college and stuff), that I might let time fly by, and before you know it, I don't have the time anymore. So, I just kind of want to make sure I finish this. Especially because I hear that as you get older, you have less time, and I believe it (because why would the majority of the people say that if it wasn't true?). So, I guess that's the only thing that worries me..

That is righ, college sometimes makes you waste a lot of your time , so 2 days ago I made a healthy New Years resolution to party more, study less, write more and regret less....

[Anon22]

This is a common phenomenon that goes on with most new writers. I have this problem too.

Of course we must be unsatisfied as a writer and the day we become satisfied with the writing we have we cease to progress. Successful writers write hundred times and throw them and start again and again they get troubles with publishers and some writers cannot cope with publishers for the latter are commercial and the writers do not choose to be commercial.

Kafka wanted his books to be burned and he became popular posthumously.
A great writer must have so much endurance and one can think about Tolstoy's war and peace and how many times he might have altered, modified and of course through very careful deliberations he came publicly.

To be a writer is not a joke. You just not make people comprehend what you scribble but what you write must arrest or appeal or else why should the reader read you.
Creators are close to God and to be close to God you must qualify

Heh, right. You must have some standards.

I've been seriously writing for forty-one years; there are things I wrote forty-one years ago that for one reason or another I did not finish or complete, but I didn't throw them away. I have never thrown away anything I wrote--no matter how bad or crappy I thought it was, because there are numerous occasions where I have been able to use and incorporate unfinished or incomplete things I wrote in the past into something I may be writing.

Well, I only discard things I have written. Though, I never ever discard the ideas behind what I write. As I said earlier, the ideas behind the stories I want to write at the moment are stored in notes that can be found within my hidden blog.

I'm really good at coming up with ideas, imo. Writing them, and coming up with the little details that help support those ideas, on the other hand, that's a different story. Like I can have the idea of "Ok, I want to write a story about this guy X and how he finds himself in location P, and he slowly has to endure through problems N to eventually discover how he must come to terms with P," but then, when I start writing it... well, I realize I need more information; I need more details to the story, otherwise it won't be good. So, it's mainly those (small) details that I have more trouble coming up with. Like, there are generally paragraphs, in books, that visit something that may not be revisited later on, or aren't really central to the book, that, too the reader, may seem unimportant, but, as I am slowly learning, everything written should be important. So, though the reader can't spot the importance of the paragraph immediately (as it may just be a paragraph about an action -- such as a character just standing up and getting a cup of tea), to the writer, that paragraph is actually in fact important and does (in the cup of tea case, it would be important in helping depict the character's lifestyle).

So, it's those ideas that I have trouble coming up with, and that I end up redoing (like I say, "No wait, maybe the character should do this instead of that"). Nonetheless, the bigger ideas behind the story itself, such as the personalities of each character, and the main themes/motifs/etc., those I keep stored away in notes, and I never choose to redo those. So, I never actually discard my work either. I just put it off, and I might re-incorporate those bigger ideas in future works.

That is righ, college sometimes makes you waste a lot of your time , so 2 days ago I made a healthy New Years resolution to party more, study less, write more and regret less....

Lol, nice. xD Yeah, I think I'll definitely write more this year. Hopefully.


Hmm... ok, I found the first chapter of a book I wanted to write (I outlined it, and I predict that the book might have around 20 chapters, I think; nothing for certain though). To avoid idea-stealing, I kind of don't want to state what the book will be about. >_< It's definitely an interesting concept. The title of the book... eh, I'm still undecided. I'm thinking of a specific title, but for now, let's just call it Story X:

It all started one day, a morning, two years ago, when times weren't so pleasant. At least not for work. Many jobs simply shut down and many people lost those jobs. My father was one of them. He had always spoken about how much his job meant to him. The people he met, and the trips he made. He was a(n) (uncertain about what job to choose for him; it's pretty irrelevant for the rest of the story line -- I can make it relevant though); you could only imagine the horror on his face when he realized he had to give it up. Immediately, he set out to recover what he had lost. Days and weeks passed, until one day, he arrived, relieved and content. Apparently, a tourist had suggested if he could work with him. I was just as overwhelmed with joy, after all we had resorted to using money that I had saved to pay for the bills. Though, it later became clear to me that we were going to have to move. I was going to have to leave the place that I had grown up in, and grown fond of. Instantly, the air filled with nostalgia. I began to wonder what the other town would be like. Would it have the same kind of people that this town has? How would they be different? It would be something that I would eventually have to come to terms with. Still, it was to early to say for sure what to expect.

For my last day in town, I decided to take a walk around the place. To revisit and rekindle old memories that I shared with friends and family. I took a trip to the park. I remembered the first time I had gone there when I was about 7 years old. It was my first encounter with a homeless man. A rather quirky man, actually. His sudden appearance rather took me by surprise. It occurred just as I was exploring the many plants and creatures within the park. Always loving and enjoying the world, I was granted with a strong curiosity, and so I was circling this tree, observing its inhabitants, when suddenly I noticed the man sleeping beneath it. He woke up, yawning obnoxiously loud, as I just stared at his crooked teeth. Then, he paused, looking at me through his messy and frizzy hair, before there was a short break of silence. When he slowly got up, and started to approach me, shocked and freaked out, I ran away.

I went directly to my dad. He made a gesture showing a pique of interest, as he smiled and then asked for the location of the man. I pointed him in the right way, and he followed me, as we went to that aforementioned tree. Though, when we reached it, the man was gone.
"He was right here..." I said, frustrated. Not really finding enjoyment in being proved wrong.
"I believe you. Well, how'd he look like?"
"He was sooo scary, Dad! He had this weird fuzzy, grey beard, and these crooked teeth! As if... as if he was ready to eat someone! Plus, he was really skinny, too!"
My dad gave a hearty chuckle.
"Oh son, you needn't be afraid of him. What happened was that you came across a homeless man. Really, he's more of someone who needs help."
"A homeless man? Well... so... he doesn't have a home?"
"Yes, exactly."
Not having considered the possibility of not having a house before. I just had to inquire.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Well, son, there could be several reasons. Though, the main reason is that he more than likely doesn't have any money, and has too much trouble finding a job (especially considering the state that he's in). He's probably really just making a living off whatever he can find by wandering the streets."
"Oh..." I was wide-eyed and curious.
"Though, you see, the important thing is to not be afraid of these people. No matter how different they may seem. Remember, they're still people, and deserve to be respected, just like any other person."
I remember his words loud and clear. His words were carved directly into my brain.
"He's just someone under unfortunate circumstances"
Of course, I remember having just taken his word for it. Not really questioning it, and feeling as if I had learned a valuable lesson from my parent. Afterward, I set out to explore the park some more, but, after that chat, I could help but having regretted running away from a man who I could've probably helped.

After crossing the park, I found myself face to face with my school. I wondered what my new school would be like. Curious as to whether they'd teach the same way or not, and how different the students there would be. I know for a fact that I may not be the most outgoing person, despite being rather extroverted in nature. I just found myself hanging out more with my best friend, especially, as opposed to just hanging out with random people (though I did go out from time to time). I thought about it, and I realized that I would be the "new kid." I had never really been the "new kid," of course, but it seemed awfully awkward. I figured I'd eventually find my way around though.

I was about to chain my bike, and take a walk within the school, when suddenly, I heard a voice.
"Wait up, man. Aren't you going to say good-bye?"
It was Jordan. A couple of years after the homeless man incident, about 3 years to be exact, when I was 10, I found Jordan, alone, walking through the park. He seemed rather depressed about something, and I couldn't help but ask him what was wrong. Apparently, the poor guy had just gone through the terrifying experience of losing his mother in a car accident. According to him, he tried hard not to express his sorrow, as he didn't like complaining. So, I was pretty much the only one he had opened up to at that point. What do you know? A complete stranger. I will say that he seemed really depressed at that point, and plus, after getting to know him more, it became apparent that he didn't have anyone his age to talk to. I became his shoulder to cry on on that day, and ever since then, we have been best friends. Helping each other out whenever we can.

"When were you planning on telling me?" he continued.
"I was going to stop by today, actually. I kind of... just got caught up in visiting other areas of the town"
"Ah, I see. Heh... aww, man..."
After that, there was a slight short pause. An awkward moment of silence. To be honest, I kind of had been hesitating to avoid this man.
"Well... umm, it sure sucks that you're leaving, huh? Now we won't have you around next year for that senior prank."
"Yeah, I know." we tried to act as cool and collected as possible.
"Eh, I'm sure you'll have fun in the new town. No, need to worry, right?"
"Of course not! I mean, we'll still keep in touch."
"Right! I promise, the prank will be great!"

The prank was actually something we had excited our class about. We were initially challenged to come up with one by this one kid named Devlin (Lol, this is actually an allusion to another story I'm trying to make; the main character's name is Devlin. On another note, I'm trying to avoid naming the name character for this story -- so, he's just the narrator) and his group of friends. Then, later, when we were asked to let them know what we had come up with, we lied and told them that we preferred to leave it as a surprise. Thus, everyone thinks that we have a prank set for next year, but, truth be told, we really don't.

We decided to go to Old Geezer's Cafe afterward. It was a routine thing to do after class was over. Every Wednesday, anyway. We would often talk about secular matters, and tried to keep up with the latest gossip. Generally, about other people in school, and tried to keep updated on parties and such. It was nice place owned by this old man named Gregory. [insert a short biography about Gregory here; this is one of the small details that I have yet to make. There's a moderate likelihood that this may be important later on in the story].

[On another note, I'm guessing that M.C. (Main Character) and Jordan have a light chat over a cup of coffee at Old Geezer's, before heading off their separate directions. I'm still thinking about how to go about making this part of the story. In keeping with gossip and news, I'm thinking that Jordan will mention a man-made lake that had opened up recently. Either that, or M.C. already knows about it.]

After Jordan left to go back home, I decided to check the lake out. I had never really gone to the lake before. It was something man-made that only opened up recently (this sentence might be redundant, depending on whether or not this lake was mentioned before by Jordan or not). For that reason, I was eager to check it out, before leaving to go home. As I stared at it, I found myself hypnotized by the sunset as it cast its light upon the water, and made the lake sparkle, almost as if it were weaved together out of tiny diamonds, and crystals. It was pleasant sight that eased my soul, and made me momentarily forget about where I was heading. Each diamond seemed to rock back and forth in a nice, soothing fashion, in no particular pattern whatsoever. Random and unpredictable. It was what made the lake so astoundingly beautiful, and mystical. I just stood there, suspended in the moment, allowing it to swallow me whole, slowly bracing myself for the things yet to come, and somewhat, after the sun had set, feeling hesitant to go back home.

I guess that's what I have thusfar. As you can see it's incomplete, but... what do you think?

[xtianfriborg13]

A little confidence won't hurt you.