I always envision it as so much cooler than what it really is and it causes me to lose motivation.
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Man, I feel this a lot. Sometimes when I’m stuck I’ll go read or watch something that I love for inspiration, and it only makes things worse. Like what am I even writing about? It feels like the only way it could be interesting is if you were in my head. Then I’m worried I’m not a good enough writer for that. Luckily my existential side breaks through and I just say, “Who cares. I like writing this story, so I will.”
I just have to remind myself that fame has come to shit stories, and obscurity to greats. So, the main battle is to just finish something. Do you find anything helps you cope with this feeling?
I’ve tried many different things when this feeling hits… I wish I could recommend something that works, but anything I try just makes it worse.
I keep on starting novels. I get what I think is an amazing premise, but a few chapters in the story is so dull I feel as if it’s irredeemable.
One novel I powered through all 46 chapters. I spent a year writing and rewriting, then put it away for a month. Came back and realized it was crap.
I can only conclude I don’t have the skills to write the stories I want to read. I just need to keep practicing, I guess.
I keep on telling myself that a concert pianist will spend hours upon hours doing scales and drills – and that’s the way I view the hundreds (thousands?) of pages I’ve thrown away. It helps a little.
I’ll keep writing, but it’s just hard to know that my current skill level is so far below where I want to be.
“Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” - Michelangelo
I take the approach that the first draft is the rough stone of which the story will, eventually, be hewn. If the first draft is rough, that’s perfectly fine, and if it isn’t awesome, that’s something i can fix in the editing phase. So long as the fundamentals are good and the premise is workable, it’s worth pursuing.
That’s a great perspective, and it’s liberating to remember, first drafts are rarely perfect.
I have a novel that I’ve been setting aside for years because it has some major flaws I don’t know how to fix. Someday I’ll figure it out!
Lose* 😅
Fixed it 😆. Thanks!
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