Need ideas about COMPLETING something...

does anyone have any ideas to help on pushing oneself to completing a writing project, you know, getting the last edit done, finishing the last few hundred words, calling something finished, knowing when it is finished...

I have started and even worked significantly on several projects but find myself moving to other stories/ideas before I am finished. Periodically I'll go back to something but rarely to the point of finishing it or calling it finished.

What is wrong with me?

Vetty

 

By the way, I'm headed out to work. I'll respond later tonight! Vetty

 

Dunno, but do the getting-someone-else-to-look-at-it first, because if you put the finishing touches on it now and they pick holes in it you'll feel like a right dick.

Wisdom from an unlikely source though: I read an interview with some guy who works for GAINAX (a Japanese Anime company) who said that they threw out the majority of all their ideas, because they didn't have legs. I found that quite reassuring, to know that. I always start things and then lose momentum, and generally it's because I don't really know where I'm going with them. I'm not saying that's necessarily what's happening to you, but it's worth examining what you're writing, how you feel about it, and see what motivated you to do it in the first place. Get back to that reason if you can. I don't want to say "abandon it", for all I know this is years of work, but if you try everything and it's still not inspiring you... I guess try reading it, as if you were reading any other book. If, having read what you've done, you like it, then actually, you probably don't need to do anything. A perfect book is ok to read, but the best ones are those where a metaphor is a little confusing or you're occasionally a little lost and want to reexamine what's going on. There's limits to that, but often the flaws are more enjoyable than perfection ever could be.

 

I think you, excuse the cliche], hit the nail on the head. I am quite anal and that's probably not a good thing for a writer. I'll evaluate on the other idea about something having legs. Thanks for the input. This was good. Vetty

 

Actually, anal can be good; you tend to notice the fine details that others miss and therefore your imagery is better defined. I have a real problem with mood blocks; I have to be in a certain mood to write different pieces. I do best when I start in handwritten form, then edit & clarify as I type. I was using an electric typewriter until we got a pc 5 months ago. The pc makes it way easier to keep track of all my different stuff; short stories, novels, ect.Only thing is, I'm backlogged of stuff that's in piles of notebooks

 

Vetty, in my opinion what is happening to you is perfectly natural and as you converse with other writers you well discover that this kind of thing pretty much happens to everyone. I will bet you that even the prolific Stephen King has an abundance of material that has never got off the ground, but may well have helped him explore other avenues. Obviously it goes without saying, judging by the tone of your frustration, that you are a keen reader as well as someone who enjoys using the canvas of writing to express yourself artistically. That can only mean that you are critical and not casual about your work. That is surely a good thing. The most beneficial approach to your problem is to continue developing as a writer, pretty much as any other artist would, and not give up. Try not to concentrate too much in making a living like one of the best-seller authors, so that you will have a definate reson-d'etre and uncompromised style that will not sell itself short just so that you will be sold out by a busy publisher down the line. If fate smiles on you early, good for you, but don't hang up your quill because a few dickwads shut their door in your face. Always go back to your work and see if YOU like it. If you don't, see what you can change to improve it and if you don't think it can get any better, either show it/publish it, or save it on your hard disk and start something new. Nothing wrong with that.

 

Anal is ok (hehe), but you do tend to spend hours writing a few lines when you'd do better to write ten times as many crappy ones and then go back and edit them later. Unfortunately, it's really hard to stop being so critical and do that. I'm getting better at it, but I used to be a complete ass who could only write while drunk, and that really does no good to no-one.

 

I'm finding this feedback helpful to me in various ways... hippiestead calls it "moods" and I call it not knowing what I really want to focus on. Novelist? Short stories? Song writing? Poetry? Write for peace of mind, sanity or just to keep doing what I've been doing for longer then I can remember? On many days I think I should just reflect and write on new experiences so I can capture the smells, tastes, emotions and such of the moment for when I do need it for some writing piece. White Scorpion I am definitely a reader and very critical of my work and perhaps that's why I move on and don't follow through. I'm a huge Hesse fan and Steppenwolfe is my favorite. I've been considering the following tactic and anyone tell me their opinion: (by the way I also have those tons of notebooks but also seem to do pretty well on my pc) Pick 3 or 4 publishing houses that look at short stories and understand their requirements for accepting unsolicited work (do they?). Take a piece I would call 75% complete and work on it straight for four weeks and set the deadline in my calendar. (Anal details - yes I know, I've admitted it already!) Then just package the piece and mail it to the publishing house in whatever form they need even if I don't think I've quite completed it (okay, yes beginning/ending clear but not perfected). Grab something else I've got going and do the same thing over and over again. When I get the "no" I just re-package the same item for house #2, then #3, then #4. If I actually do this what should I expect? The real question is WILL I actually do this. Suggestions? Does this even make sense? Vetty

 

It does make sense(in a way), but try and look at it from a different perspective. Someone who loves football, but is still developing on skills, goes into the pitch one day and has a rotten day; everything goes wrong. The ref gives him a red card, his coach yells at him and his fellow players snub him. Does this person give up football? No. Why? Because he loves what he does, it's not just a job to him, it's his life. And what does he do to combat this negative aspect? He perseveres. You have certain obstacles in your way. If you love what you're doing then it's only a matter of time before every Trojan wall crumbles. If you continue to tackle these problems and not back down, you will develop experience and then the current problems will look minor and like all human beings you will develop advanced ones. Evolution. Hope this makes sense. Now go get 'em!

 

Hi, I'm rubbish at finishing things. I'm half-way thorugh several stories but I don't really know where they're going. I'm kind of hoping that they'll all eventually join up to form one big novel! I am EXTREMELY anal and find it hard to complete a sentence without criticising it to death. And then I lose the flow of it. I get frustrated with myself quite easily.

I wrote my first poem EVER recently though I've been creatively blocked for some time now and wrote a poem about that. Its not great, but it felt so good to have finally achieved something. (And it 'unblocked' me and boosted my confidence too) Poetry had always seemed like an alien concept to me in terms of writing it myself (always preferred prose) but lately I find it easier to write poetry instead for some reason.

OK. I've rambled myself off the subject. Ignore me

 

I would suggest planning stories in advance so you know how they are going to go. Having a final purpose for the story (a competition or market with a deadline) and networking with other writers and encouraging each other.