I always have a problem with continuing stories. I always think of good, unique ideas, and the first few pages of my stories are always good, but I get a major writer's block at the same point, after the introduction. I can never find a way to get the plot moving along. I have about ten stories that I have written about three pages of but have not continued. Does anybody have any suggestions?
Write out a plan before you start the first draft. That way you always know what it is you should be writing next.
Then ignore your inner editor. Do not go back and edit anything you have written - leave it there, warts and all, and concentrate on getting the first draft done.
Then, and only then, allow yourself to go back and edit.
I totally know what you mean. Until last December, I'd never finished a story. I currently have eleven stories in a file that I started and stopped in the first couple chapters. There are countless others that I've lost or deleted over the years.
The only advice I can give you is to find a story idea that you feel really passionate about. Then sit down and just write. Don't worry about whether it's good or bad, what everyone else is going to think, or about any plot holes or mistakes. Just let the words flow onto the page. If the characters want to take the story in a different direction then the one you have planned, let them. It may seem crazy, but my characters do this to me all the time. If you don't like what they want to do, write it anyway. You can always edit it out later.
Writing "The End" on your first novel is one of the best feelings in the world. If you get writers' block, don't worry too much. Just don't let yourself start another story until you finish the first one. If you get the block, take a break, outline what you want to happen, or brainstorm possibilities for what could happen next.
Oh, and if you get any new ideas that won't shut up, write them down, but don't start working on them. I have an excel document that I use for this purpose and it's filled with tons of ideas. Some of them will be turned into novels and others I'll never touch, but I keep them all the same.
So basically, I suffer from the same problem, which can be, as you know, really annoying! What I do is this:
Sometimes, when you hit that scene, you're making your character not act correctly. That is, your character will be acting out of character, and when that happens, the characters just get stubborn and they won't work for you, resulting in writer's block. So keep in mind what you're writing at all times. Keep on asking yourself, "Why does this happen?" This way, you'll create a goal for yourself so you can achieve it in little baby steps.
Next, you should ask yourself, "How can I make sure that I make the scene achieve the goal that I set?" This may require a little brainstorming, but if you can answer it in a manner that makes sense, then you can usually continue on. I generally like to do brainstorming sessions with other people, usually online, just so that if I come up with an inane idea (which happens more often than I would like to admit) I can't lie to myself and the other person there can call me up. Which is never pleasant, but usually helps.
Anyway, hope this helps!
Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.
"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach
All right, that was a little over the top, but you get the point. I used to have the exact same story, until I discovered the Snowflake Method for novel writing. Now, that method isn't for everyone, but chances are the more undisciplined you are, the more a good solid month or so or planning will help you.
Find an idea you really like, one that you think could truly carry a novel. And begin in-depth planning. Start with the most basic components, build up to more and more specific points until you have essentially the entire plot written. Maybe sometime during the planning, you'll discovre that the project has nothing behind it to carry it--that's happened to me before. Then scrap the planning. At least you'll have known to end it before you could actually start it.
Eventually you'll find something that could make a rip-roaringly good novel. Then, with all your planning to back you, you can start writing. You probably won't stick exactly to the outline, which is a good thing as scenes often end up better with some element of spontaneity to them than if you robotically write them exactly as planned. But at the very least, you'll have an outline to fall back on.
Ah, it is an empty movement. That is an empty movement. It is.
