...with my writing, that is.
I've been working on a big story for awhile now. I have a strong main character, an intriguing antagonist, a controversial issue for them to wrassle with, and although the outlining process was slow-going because it's a bigger story than I'm used to writing, it was going along pretty well for awhile.
Until it stalled and deflated.
I got to a point where there wasn't anymore strength or tension in the story to move it forward. I thought it was a temporary setback, but even after trying to approach it in different ways to resolve the problem, it's still stuck, and I don't think there's anything I can do about it.
I hate that.
So I think I may have to stop working on it and work on something else. Maybe the characters aren't in quite the right story? Maybe I just need to put it away for awhile to simmer until a new fix occurs to me? I don't like to leave it unfinished, but I don't know what to do to keep it going.
Have you ever had to abandon a story and not finish it? Do you think there is such a thing as an unfinishable story?
5 comments:
I work almost exclusively in poetry but my poetry tends towards the narrative so I feel ok answering this with - yes - there are times when I have just "retired" a piece. Sometimes the character or image comes back and gets reworked later or even the piece that I "retired" but if it is staled and stalled I'd start something completely different or go read your favorite book :) IMHO
I started a story for my niece when I was in Slovakia. I had a feeling that as soon as I was out of the Carpathians, I was going to loose the thread - and that's what happened.
Maybe you just need a change of scene? (i.e. YOU NEED A VACATION!)
Nonsense! Anything can be finished, and spun out into several sequels, all before the end of the year. Just ask Kevin J. Anderson.
Jessie, I agree, and I think I need to put it out to pasture for awhile and see if anything develops while I work on something else. And it is time to re-read Persuasion.
Yes, Heather, I need a vacation, which is coming in a month. I think I need to go on one of those London literary walks. Minimum, I will pay my respects at Oscar Wilde's house in Tite Street.
Joe, sometimes, I can't tell if you're being serious or you're joking. This is one of those times. And I've never heard of Kevin J Anderson.
Holy Frijoles! Never heard of Kevin J. Anderson? The author who publishes 700,000 words per year (literally)! He is the bane of the SF/F community. He writes Dune novels and Star Wars books and even some of his own titles, and they are awful, but he publishes tons of stuff, continuously!
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