Good Evening All,
A little secret for all of you, most writers struggle with writing even after being published and told they are good enough. Not being good enough is not what causes us to struggle. It’s our ability to process our ideas and organize our thoughts. I struggle with this a lot. Sometimes I can’t get the ideas to come out the way I want them to or an idea sounds great inside my head, but once I put it to paper and begin developing it, it seems totally different than what I pictured in my head.
This is what usually turns me off from writing, it makes me not want to continue, especially not with that idea,. But instead, I have forced myself to reword things and change things up a little to keep myself engaged in the writing process. If the words I used don’t seem to give the picture that I wanted, then I take some time, go back and try to figure out what might work better for the story and for me.
When I struggle I try to push through some of the tough stuff if I can. If I feel stuck then I will skip ahead to a different scene or a different paragraph just to keep the ball rolling. Then at some point along the way, something will click and I will go back and finish the section that I left unfinished because it was too difficult. I trusted that it was still brewing inside my mind. Just like when I can’t seem to come up with any ideas to put onto the blank page, I go back to edit what I’ve already written, that way I’m still getting some work done, but I’m not trying to force and the idea that will only push it farther away.
Or, if this is the first novel you’re still struggling with, then I would instead suggest you turn to another book. Read something you enjoyed reading before, something that inspired you. Or try reading something entirely new and entirely different. I have read many books from the genres I enjoy writing about, but I also read from genres that I don’t think would be a good fit for me. Because reading and consuming content is the best way to fill your head with the tools it needs to build you new ideas.
Trust yourself, trust your mind, everything is not going to fall apart, sometimes people just burn out, especially when trying too hard to complete something that isn’t ready to be completed. The first novel I ever wrote is still untouched. I’m not quite finished it because I didn’t, I don’t have the knowledge yet to complete it. But it’s there waiting for me when that time comes. I haven’t forgotten about it and I do plan on going back to it, soon I hope. It’s a great idea and I want to share it with others.
Rose Marie