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edited January 2006 in - Writing Tales

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  • I have always loved writing and I am desperate to write stories again but at the moment I am having a bit of trouble.  I either get as far as the beginning and then give up, or I don't start it altogether. It's silly because I know I can do it. I just find myself stopping writing and thinking either "where is this going?" or "That's just not good enough because I'm doing x and I should be doing y. I like reading magazines such as Writing Magazine to read about other writers and to get tips.  I think the problem may be that I read so much of this that it is filling me with self doubt when I actually try to write something of my own.  Because I have already said I lose track of where I am going, you might advise me to plan more but whenever I do, I get so bogged down that by the time I finish planning, I'm bored of the idea.  You could say I'm in a bit of a pickle! Any ideas on a way forward? I know I can do this. I just need to get back into it. 
  • I hate it when i feel like you are feeling...but you answer your own dilema "I know I can do this. I just need to get back into it." Knowing you can do it is the most important thing. Put whatever you are working on aside for a while and try and write something else.Try the January Exercise on Talkback or one from writing magazine, as soon as you start writing again your confidence will grow and you will be able to face whatever it is that you are stuck on. It happens to the all writers so don`t worry. Just carry on writing and dont doubt yourself. Get somebody to read your work and give you positive feedback. Positive advise always makes you feel better and makes you think "I am good at this" Just believe in yourself and aim for the sky! Hope this helps you to motivate yourself. Good Luck x x x
  • Don't know if this is any help, but maybe you could start off just writing for the sheer enjoyment of it, not worrying about whether it's good or if anyone else'll want to read it. At least that way you'll get words on paper, then you could come back to it later and edit and rewrite.
  • Writing may be seen as a therapy.

    Minuting an event/meeting, factual report or description, describing a fantasy. Just scribe what you fancy as an exercise of self indulgence.

    From simple beginnings great works may grow. Betsie's monthly challenges are a good stepping stone for practice and criticism.
  • Thanks everyone, I can see how just writing for the sheer pleasure of it, ie for myself and concentrating on doing so might help me get over my self doubt. Once I've got back into it, then I can start thinking about sending things off. May well try the writing exercises. Great advice everyone, can feel the weights lifting off my shoulders already. x : )
  • Hello Jen - why not try another genre.  Have a go at something quite different.
  • and if you're still stuck, write to all of us on talkback. You'll always have an appreciative readership!
  • Hi Jen, Have you had a go at writing yet? Hope its got a bit easier for you. xx
  • Jen, Have you tried; 'Free Writing?' It's easy... Sit down in a quiet place, and write whatever comes into your head. It doesn't matter what you write, cos you're the only person that's going to see it. Writing is a fluent thing. If you are between projects, keep those juices going... FREE WRITE! I hope this helps? Best of luck!
  • Hi Jen

    I heartily with Slopey, try free-writing, its the most liberating, inspiring thing to do... You can take any topic, e.g. just write about something you've seen recently, e.g. an act of kindness  or about how you feel at the moment you start writing. Try writing in capital letters or on every other line, doing something different frees you from your inner critic, and removes the pressure. It will have you running to your desk to write down the ides that spring to your mind after doing it.

    Best
    Lizzie
  • Stuck in a rut? Don't start at the beginning.  Plan the last chapter.  Not as nutty as you think.
      Annie looked at the room/African safari park/ Skegness, as if seeing it for the last time.  So this was it, the culmination of all her dreams.  And now, here she was going off into the sunset with...
        This should bring you back to the beginning in thirty seconds...

      As Gordon Wells says in WM 'It works for me.'
  • You can always try the "what if?" strategy. Take any  fictional situation you want to write about and ask yourself that simple question. What if this character was actually related to the other?.... or what if this wasn't the first time ?... What if x was in love with y? It 's the simplest of formulas that gets things moving.
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