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Finishing long works



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Wed Jul 09, 2014 1:34 am
Milanimo says...



I need some advice. I've written numerous poems with no problem, but when it comes to short stories, I cannot finish them. I just can't. Usually I lose interest extremely quickly, and it's starting to hurt my motivation when it comes to creative writing. I get an idea, but then it takes me forever to finish a first draft. Eventually they all begin to get longer and longer and I give up on them. Any tips on how to help me write at a quicker pace (one month rather than two) or a way to keep my motivation to write my story as I go?
  





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Wed Jul 09, 2014 8:25 pm
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eldEr says...



The problem with writing at a different pace is that: unless we set deadlines for ourselves, and add consequences to not finishing by that deadline, chances are we'll all always write at our own pace unless we have the will-power to force ourselves to do otherwise. So my suggestion is:

Make a deadline for yourself. You're writing a short story? Figure out the beginning and end, and, maybe, the middle. Look at it for a few minutes and try to figure out how long it'd take your mind to connect the plot points. Give yourself a week or two, and toss in a reward if you finish, but a punishment if you don't.

As for losing interest: this is usually a pretty good sign that your plot or your characters just aren't interesting enough. If they're not captivating you, you need to take a second look at them again and try to figure out if something's missing. Do your characters lack depth? Is your plot redundant?

Length-wise, the best tips I can give you are:

a) Read over your different arcs and sub-arcs. If it doesn't add to 1a) plot, 2a) character development or 3a) give us vital information about the world/whatever, take it out. If it doesn't add something, all it's doing is taking up space.

b) Transitions and details. Alright, so we all know how hard it is can be to transition from one setting to another, or even one scene to another. This can end up causing these really long, super boring, super useless pieces in between things that are actually important that end up giving us way too much information about what's going on with the character.

"Sally exited the living room and went to the dining room. She opened the third cupboard on the left and took a glass from the second shelf, gliding over to the sink to fill it with water. She put it on the counter and opened the fridge, trying to think of what to eat. She settled on a sandwich and took out the ham, tomatoes, cheese, lettuce and pickles, reminding herself to buy mayonnaise before the end of the day.

She made her sandwich and ate it slowly at the kitchen table, just finishing when Jack rang the doorbell."


That's going to add a pretty decent chunk to your word count/overall length, and it's also totally unnecessary. It can be trimmed down to a simple:

Sally finished cleaning the living room with plenty of time to spare. The task done, she slipped into the kitchen for a bite to eat, figuring that she might as well be well-fueled for the mission. Jack arrived just as she was finishing.


Boom. Now you can get Sally into her car or helicopter or whatever it is she's doing and move onto your next big plot point.

I'm not saying you do this, but if your drafts keep getting longer, it maaaay or may not be because you're adding too much unnecessary detail. :P

Good luck,
~Ish
Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurl.

got trans?
  





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Sun Jul 20, 2014 4:25 pm
GoldFlame says...



Five Steps to Finishing a Novel

The article discusses novels, but I think you can apply it to most things. ^_^
β€œHe leant tensely against the wall and frowned like a man trying to unbend a corkscrew by telekinesis.” – Douglas Adams
  








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