A to Z Challenge 2013

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Has Your Writing Run Its Course?

I hope everyone enjoyed the courtroom drama. I thought about putting up another post to finish things up, but then I realized there was nothing else to say. For one thing, the courtroom series was more for me than anything else. If you didn't catch on, the unnamed defendant was myself and the witnesses were main characters in my various WiPs. The purpose of the exercise was to do some characterization, to feel out my characters for a bit. It worked well I think, and I got a clearer idea of who these people are.

I've never been one for making lists. Sitting down and listing my character's favorite color or personality quirks is not my thing. I'd much rather put them in a situation and watch how they move through it. I also have a very short attention span, so I envisioned how my characters would feel knowing that I have put them to the side for a while. In their mind, they probably felt abandoned though in mine they are still a character I'll come back to. I also got some really awesome feedback from Kat that identified some phrasing I need to tighten up. Thanks Kat, I appreciated the insight.

What I mean by the title of this post is that my courtroom scenes have run their course and I don't really feel like writing more about it. I get this way from time to time, where I start a scene or story and get into it for a while. And then I'll come upon a place where I just don't feel like continuing. Either I don't like where the story is going, or I'm not feeling the characters. See attention span comment above. Yeah, it's a serious problem that my eons of life and experience has not eradicated. Okay, maybe not eons. Just a few decades.

Have you ever been writing a story and decided that it's over, before you really expected it to be?

9 comments:

Michelle H. said...

Yes. I've done that exact thing where I stopped midway and knew it was the end. I was working on an urban fantasy series. There was going to be four or five books to the series. I wrote the first and second one, then quit. I knew the genre was not for me.

As for doing the character lists, it works for some people. But like you, those aren't for me.

Travis Erwin said...

Almost always. My ending are never when or even how I first envision them.

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

There are some stories I'd like to get back to, and then there are some stories I think I ought to get back to but am no longer inspired by them. I guess they don't speak so much to me as they once did.

Eric said...

Michelle - Heh, glad I'm not the only one. As far as genres, I imagine romance is probably not my thing. I don't think I'd try it either.

Travis - I know how you feel. Thanks for stopping by, dude.

Sandra - You said it much better than I did. The story doesn't speak to me anymore either.

joe doaks-Author said...

You know, I'm lucky. Projects I started, two actually, I managed to finish. Now, that's not to say I didn't get stuck, or dreaded opening the ms, but, I did get them done.

Best, Galen.

Kathryn Hupp-Harris said...

Glad I could be of help. :-)

I will start reading a book but put it down at the drop of a hat if it doesn't keep my attention.

Writing is a whole 'nother animal. Once I start writing something, I may not finish it right away, but the characters will gnaw at me until I finish.

(It's kind of painful.) :-)

Michelle McLean said...

lol definitely. In fact, I have 4 or 5 (I think) books that have anywhere from 1 to 5 chapters. I started out strong and excited and it went downhill from there. Most of them I'd still really like to finish one day. The passion just wasn't there to carry me through. Not yet anyway :) I don't like to think of them as over...just as over for now :)

Glynis Peters said...

Eric, I challenge you to try romance, you might enjoy writing it.*grin* A change is as good as a rest, my Gran used to say, lol.

I enjoyed your courtroom writes, thanks for sharing.

Matthew MacNish said...

Hi Eric, I found your blog after seeing your comment on Michelle's (McLean, above). I thought I would stop by, read, comment and follow. Feel free to do the same for my blog.

Anyway as to your post it's an interesting question. I'm too new to writing to really speak to this but it was an interesting feeling when I came to the point where my novel was done. When I say done I mean the story, the narrative that was in my head and heart. The MS is still not finished because so many words poured out at first that I am still editing for length months later.

I hope I can polish it to the point of being worthy of publishing before I decide that it's run it course. I realize you weren't really talking about novels but that is the only thing I have to apply to myself.

Thanks for making me think about my writing!