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BPAL Madness!
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Writing Frustrations

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Macha

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I can hardly go into a bookstore these days. It's too heartbreaking; a reminder of things I have not finished.

 

In this case, I haven't just not-finished one book — I haven't finished TWO.

 

Ah, isn't it nice to be self-indulgent and whiny?

 

Seriously though...I really need to shake these birds lose. Both books are dear to my heart, and both were begun almost a decade ago, when my ex-husband and I wanted to do something to 'bond' together and thought 'hey, we could always write a novel...'

 

Both novels were written, and both novels were even finished — and both novels were absolute, unmitigated crap. Plot holes so big they could have been used as fallout shelters, themes and characters that were borrowed from RPGs (orcs, elves, etc.) for no other reason than because we'd always played RPGs: the best thing I could say about those books is that they were, for the most part, well-paced.

 

So after the divorce, intellectual property copyrights in hand — I decided to re-write them. And that's where I've been ever since — rewriting. A whole lot of world-building, and a whole lot of self-editing, of "this isn't good enough." Now I'm stuck in both books, in almost the same place, with solid first halfs and good endings, but a little fuzzy on the last third.

 

Guess it's time to break out the the notes and go back over things. I'm going to finish these, damnit.

 

Wearing today: Obatala (creamy, milky goodness)

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Kudos to you for undertaking such a task. Writing isn't easy. I've often thought of writing a book myself, but was always stumped by the "What in the heck would I write about?" question. Was it difficult for you to come up with a plot, characters, etc.? Here's hoping you get "unstuck" soon.

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Kudos to you for undertaking such a task. Writing isn't easy. I've often thought of writing a book myself, but was always stumped by the "What in the heck would I write about?" question. Was it difficult for you to come up with a plot, characters, etc.? Here's hoping you get "unstuck" soon.

 

I've generally found that the initial concept is easy (in fact, I have more of them than I'll likely ever turn into books,) plot is tougher (mainly because you will come up with something you like and only realize later that you missed something very important -- part of my current problem) and characters aren't usually very hard (although they take work to make interesting.)

 

What I've found most challenging is the entire world...Hmm...more on this later I think.

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Just wandered back in to check out the blogs today so this comment is a bit on the late side. But I thought I'd lend some moral support, since I know a little of where you're at with this. I've invested two years in this project of mine, so I dread how I would handle it if I didn't finish--but frankly, I feel like giving up. At least I do today. I'll snap out of it--and don't you give up either :hug: It will simply take as long as it takes.

 

If ever start a blog here, it will be to whine incessantly about my stupid book, with the hope that there are others out there willing to commiserate. In the meantime, if you ever need to gripe and moan for a bit, I'm your girl :D

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