Writing in bits!

Hi guys, I'm new to this forum!

I have a problem when it comes to my writing. Heres out it goes: I get an idea for a great fiction novel; i see the scene like in a film, i quickly write it down so i dont foget it, and thats it. Next time an idea pops up, i see the scene, i get some great ideas for what each character would say, the tone, the metaphors i would use etc, i quickly write it down, and thats it. It doesn't ever seem to get beyond this, its driving me crazy! So as a result i end up having (and i still have) lots of sheets of paper over the last 2 years of ideas for one or two parts of a novel, and another idea jotted down for another, another for another novel, etc etc! Unchained, unlinked, randomness! Its as if theres a storm of litrary ideas going on in my head, and every now and again, a few slip out when really without the rest of the idea none of them make sense. I feel as though this has inhibited me from perhaps writing a good piece over the last few years, and it will continue to do so if i dont gather my thoughts together, and actually figure out what i want to write!

Firstly, i'd like to know if anyone else has had or is having the same problem and secondly, if anyone recommends anything to solve this litrary predicament!? Thank you in advance.

Well, really I think the only thing you can do is write. You have the ideas, that is a good start. Some people can't write unless they have everything set out beforehand. That's understandable. I suggest writing an outline of your story. Get your ideas organized into a framework before you start writing. But once you have a loose outline (don't try to make it too specific or you'll get stuck in the same rut your are now), start chapter one. It's the only way.

Write. Who cares if its crap at first? It probably will be. I understand that you don't want your precious ideas to come out that way. But they will. The only thing you can do is keep writing. You can change things later if you need to. Editing is a long, involved process. It includes several efforts at several different times to get everything right.

Another good idea would be to read material of your genre or of your influences. See how the structure works, and then incorporate that into your story. Don't copy them, learn from them. Published authors mostly know what they are doing.

And my last piece of advice: write. Don't dawdle on every detail as if it is perfect and untouchable and you might fear you'll mess it up if you try to write it. Just do it. Get it over with. If it's crap, fix it. Make it better. But first it must be written. Otherwise you sit for years and years with bunches of papers, but nothing ever happens.

Writing sucks, yes. It's so hard to actually sit down and do it. But once you do, it can be the most rewarding thing in the world. Force yourself to write. It's the only way. Once you get started, you'll find it's not so bad after all.

Tell me if this helps at all.

Try taking some of your different ideas and slotting them together into a single novel. Of course, they'll need altering so they fit together coherantly...

Once you have your idea, write it. If you get another idea, try and ignore it, and instead focus on the one you have already started (or perhaps see if you can incorporate the new idea into your current project).

Try giving yourself a daily quota of words (say, 500) to write on your novel. You'll hopefully find the novel begins to build up and you'll get absorbed in it.

See what works best for you - indepth planning, or very little planning (everyone's different).



Anyways, I have a similiar problem to you. I'll get an idea for a novel, and may write a little (usually only the first chapter) before getting distracted by the next shiny idea that pops into my mind. I found NaNoWriMo really helped me (which is why I suggested you giving yourself a daily word quota to fill).

Hehehe, then write bit by bit! Write little scenes that you see in your head and keep on writing these scenes. It's nice to see someone as creative as you -- now you have to harness this creativity into something useful. So ALWAYS write.

Thanks for your replies; with all seriousness they kind of inspired me to...WRITE! And that is exactly what i need to do , just write, thanks Trident I like the idea of the 500 word a day thing too, i'll try and do some whilst on the train or bus to college which is the time i get most of my ideas. I think part of me is actually scared. Scared that i might write and find im not so good as i thought i was, but i guess i'll just have to take that risk!

Also, can i just ask you guys: Do you find everything you write always tends to relate to one thing, just expressed in different ways? This one issue that you always end up incorporating into your writing one way or another?

Oh yeah, definitely. Typically, I have the same characters and stuff, albeit tweaked, and they are all searching for Freedom, or something like that. So yes. But that doesn't have to make the stories less original. Just remember to have a broad subject.

Well I seem to write about a little bit of everything, but that doesn't mean anything. Some authors write about the same thing over and over again only with different storylines. Heck, that was genre is.

I'm glad you started writing. Now once you have chapter one finished, post it here in the literary forums if you so wish. Now I suggest you only do this if you want us to give you an honest opinion on how to fix up some of the things you have done wrong. I recommend it though, as it is the best way to improve your writing. Good luck!

thanks guys

I like to write one of my Phiona stories atleast every two weeks then one short story like a two - three pager every week and atleast three-five essays poems each week.

Keep writing guys and =) happy reading (=

Okay, so whats even worse? Having something written down, say, two or maybe twenty, as in my case, pages, and twice the notes. One day you just sit in front of the computers, ideas buzzing in your head louder than in a hive, you know hwat you want to write then... WHAM. You don't write anything at all. It's horrible. Not that you forgot (forget forgetting, you'll forget that tomorrow and have a pretext to just throw the whole thing away) but that you don't want to... I don't know why...
After those 20 pages, I delete the whole thing, and start over on a tottaly different topic. The situation the repeats and repeats...
-WHY can;t i ever finish ANYTHING???

eeh, that was a bit mellodramatic..

Oops, totaly is with one 't', isn't it? Sorry, lol. Try learning english as a second language, sheesh...

Eep! Never delete!

But, if you ever want to get anything finished, you have to finish it. It's simple and the advice might sound ridiculous, but it's true! Just keep at it.

Or, try to write short stories and get good at those. Then you can move from project to project and not feel so guilty.

The same thing happened to me. I got all of these ideas in my head, but there wasn't enough for a story. What i did was I took all of my ideas and combined them. Though, you my not want to do that because it took me 2 years to come up with the final idea, but it my work out for you. I hope I helped.

I have that all the time... Its horrible... I have loads of ideas and scenes, but they're all in a jumble and in like 30 different notebooks. When I actually make myself to do anything about it, I end up having this brilliant idea (which of course I never use...