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Post by darrelljoyce on Jun 17, 2010 6:50:11 GMT
I've just started writing a new chapter of something I began work on three-and-a-half years ago, but never got round to completing. For various reasons (mainly personal dramas that some of you know about), I haven't written a word of this novel for over 18 months, even though I'm only a couple of chapters from the end. It's been so long since I added anything to it that I'll have to read through the entire manuscript, and the related Word documents of notes I wrote, just to remind myself of all the complexities of the plot. But I'm sure I'll tie up all the loose ends eventually, and I'm very much looking forward to getting it finished and posted for my friends on another writing forum to see.
Have any of you ever waited as long as this before returning to an unfinished manuscript? How do you motivate yourself to continue working on a piece of writing that's been unfinished for such a long time?
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Post by steppedonwolf on Jun 17, 2010 8:42:06 GMT
Good question, Darra.
Motivation - self-discipline is the key, without a doubt. Giving yourself a daily quota helps - or a weekly one, because real life does tend to get in the way!
What motivates me with short stories is seeing the market's calls for submissions. When they specify a certain theme or plot, that fires me up to write something original and completely new. The deadline is a help as well, knowing there's a time limit prevents manyana setting in.
Novels are a different kettle of fishmen's heads, though. My first draft of The Caretakers languished uncompleted bar the last three chapters for over four years in a manky drawer. In many ways, the writing break helped because I was a different person when I wrote it, and looking back on it last year I thought "Jesus, no wonder I couldn't finish it, it's dreadful."
Too much semi-autobiography and all that. I went back to it with a more objective state of mind and cut (most of) the shite out.
But what fired me up to get it rewritten was, again, a deadline. The spinetinglers.co.uk deadline for novels was 31st October and I wanted to see if I could achieve that. So I started work on it in May and plugged away at it, sometimes getting as much as 5000 words a day done.
I met the deadline with hours to spare, but because they wern't accepting emailed submissions I realised there was no way I could get a posted MS over to Ireland in time...
Still, I set myself a target and I achieved it. Without that deadline I'd probably still be working on it...
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Post by rakie on Jun 17, 2010 10:49:05 GMT
glad to hear that work has resumed, Mr Joyce. shoes count as motivation, don't they? Get a couple of people who're willing to smack you upside your head if you're not writing fast enough, that'll motivate the hell out of you. ;D hee. Apologies if that sounds flippant. It's actually the technique that's worked the best for me. As for picking up old stories and finally getting them finished... i agree with Steppy above, half the fun comes from going "omg, how rubbish did i used to be? i'm so glad i'm a much better writer now." ;D
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Post by darrelljoyce on Jun 18, 2010 12:47:37 GMT
Ade - I'd agree that daily targets for word count are often unrealistic, and that weekly ones tend to be better, allowing you time to get the real-life stuff out of the way before settling down to write. And yes, deadlines are always a good motivator, too.
Rakie - it doesn't sound flippant at all, shoes are a writer's friend. And weirdly, as I've been going through the old chapters to re-familiarise myself with it all, I've seen things that are so clunky I've just had to change them. But I can't be a better writer than I was two or three years ago, because I haven't written anything else since, apart from later chapters of this same story.
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Post by shaun on Jun 18, 2010 14:27:31 GMT
I use a daily word count, but I keep it low at 500 words, then if I write more than that (which I often do when in full swing) it's a bonus. I make a chart and at the top it says something like "I promise to write at least 500 words a day until I have finished the project I am working on" and then I sign it. Underneath this are a series of boxes to write in how many words I wrote that day. Eventually it all adds up and making a contract with myself inspires me to continue.
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Post by williemeikle on Jun 18, 2010 14:32:58 GMT
I use a daily word count, but I keep it low at 500 words, then if I write more than that (which I often do when in full swing) it's a bonus. I make a chart and at the top it says something like "I promise to write at least 500 words a day until I have finished the project I am working on" and then I sign it. Underneath this are a series of boxes to write in how many words I wrote that day. Eventually it all adds up and making a contract with myself inspires me to continue. Almost exactly the same for me... mine is set at 1000 words though.
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Post by rakie on Jun 21, 2010 9:54:16 GMT
But I can't be a better writer than I was two or three years ago, because I haven't written anything else since, apart from later chapters of this same story. I disagree (how very unlike me, i know, disagreeing with everything... ;D). I think you've given yourself a sabbatical, come back to it with fresh eyes, and now you're seeing little flaws you would've never noticed when you were "close" to it. Ergo, imo, you're a better writer than before, you just need to get back into the flow of writing. ;D and you know we're always quite willing to offer encouragement-shoes if it helps...?
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Post by steppedonwolf on Jul 14, 2010 13:53:03 GMT
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Post by shaun on Jul 14, 2010 19:45:19 GMT
It was interesting that the same agent had already turned him down until one of the agents client's put a word in. The novel was the same, so it makes you (me) wonder how much was a form of nepotism rather than anything to do with the quality of the writing ...
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Post by steppedonwolf on Jul 15, 2010 11:30:11 GMT
It was interesting that the same agent had already turned him down until one of the agents client's put a word in. The novel was the same, so it makes you (me) wonder how much was a form of nepotism rather than anything to do with the quality of the writing ... You could be right, Shaun. He didn't spend too much time on that point, did he? Alas, like so many businesses a lot of it comes down to who you know.
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Post by ian on Sept 14, 2010 10:12:31 GMT
My motivation at the moment is to complete one short story a week. I used to keep a word count but I kept breaking the damn thing.
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Post by steppedonwolf on Sept 14, 2010 17:37:11 GMT
My motivation at the moment is to complete one short story a week. I used to keep a word count but I kept breaking the damn thing. That's why weekly word counts are a lot more...forgiving. How about deadlines, do they work for you? If you see a themed contest/market call (like the HorrorBound one I posted yesterday) does that inspire you to write on a theme you hadn't considered before? I've found that when the deadline comes closer I go into writing overdrive and get more productive.
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Post by ian on Sept 14, 2010 20:39:01 GMT
I joined the Horrorbound site when you posted the link but I haven't looked at in in any detail yet. I intend to do that tomorrow when my head is no longer full of lumps.
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Post by steppedonwolf on Oct 15, 2010 7:23:40 GMT
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