I always start a story that I think is really good. Then I think of a new story and I start writing that story. So I start stories but I'm really not able to finish them because I start many stories but I'm not able to finish any. How do I stay on one story and finish it?
You force yourself. I have the same problem, but about two years ago I got a really good idea. I fell in love with my characters. And I told myself, "I WILL finish this story." So yeah. It's okay to have maybe two or three stories going at once, but make sure you work on them. Sometimes it's just total will power.
“We’re still here,” he says, his voice cold, his hands shaking. “We know how to be invisible, how to play dead. But at the end of the day, we are still here.” ~Dax
Teacher: "What do we do with adjectives in Spanish?"
S: "We eat them!"
Trust me, we all suffer from the same thing. Now, I'm not really one to talk because I hardly ever write prose as a result of my complete lack of patience with it. But if you have a friend who is also a writer or even a friend who isn't a writer, you can rely on that person to make you write. Sometimes when I feel apathetic about writing and I'm not working on something that I should be working on, I start talking to one of my friends and she'll go "No, go work on it! Now!" and I'll do the same for her. It helps to have another person besides yourself to yell at you.
"My pet, I've been to the devil, and he's a very dull fellow. I won't go there again, even for you..."
I know what you mean, but I don't think you should ever force them upon yourself. Plan them all, and see if you can combine them into one, take aspects or create a new one from the ideas. That's what I do!
Bah, just make sure you don't wreck any. It seems to me like you've just started writing and you haven't yet decided upon a story that you love yet. It will come to you, don't worry!
Ya, sunshine's right. You make yourself do it. Write down the idea for the new story so you don't lose it, but don't write it until what you're working on is done. You absolutely can finish it. Maybe work to deadlines. That's what I do, since I wasn't great at finishing stories either...or starting them, for that matter. I do a story a month.It's good as it get sdone, but I don't have to work on it every day if I don't feel like it. Try that (or a story a fortnight, or whatever you can handle without starting to resent it.)
"Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise." -Maya Angelou
In truth, I always want to work on the idea that sounds the best. I find a good way to get myself to go back to a story, after having left it, is to go back and read it. After seeing it again my interest is rekindled and I will work on it again, until a new idea (or an old one I made the mistake of reading) draws away my attention.
I don't know about forcing yourself, since I've never tried, really. But I will tell you that I am currently working on Diary of a Villain (which beat Spider Venom, which beat Daydreams) and I am set on finishing it. I willt ell you why: people read it and liked it. I guess, since I like all my own ideas, I needed the confirmation that someone else liked the idea as well to make me see it was good and I didn't need to work on another 'better' one. Of course, don't write for other people, write for yourself. But if you have an idea you really think is great and you're worried you might ditch it, then maybe share it with someone you think will like it. Getting positive feedback is very encouraging and might help you find the energy to focus.
Other tip: Don't think. Don't let yourself come up with a new idea, if possible. New ideas are distracting. If you find one, scribble it down quick and set it aside for after.
I'm like that song stuck in your head; I come and I go, but never truly dissapear.
I have the same problem.
Just keep writing never stop let the juices flow. Its not like your already started story will disappear.
You will come back to it after a wile.
At least thats what I do
I have the same problem. ALL THE TIME. I think maybe if you start with writing short stories, then gradually get longer and longer, that might work... maybe.
I agree that sometimes you have to make yourself finish a story, but sometimes that can be all wrong. If you're fifteen and have not finished a story, don't fret. I did not finish a story until I was at least seventeen, maybe eighteen (not counting fan-fiction). It bugged me too, but now I can look back over my files and say "I have all these great unfinished ideas! They can become a huge heap of finished works in the future!"
As soon as I began finishing stories, I honed in on only three of them. This is nice, because my work is now more polished, but the raw inspiration and excitement of a new story is gone. Every time I want to start a new story, I only write down some "tidbits", little inspirational things that will alow me to pick up the idea in the future, because I know I have to finish the novel(s) I'm editing. It means that I'm very committed, and have to be very responsible with myself and my stories.
Anyway, my advice is; you're a writer, as well as a human being, and you're going through a period of growth. Enjoy it, find the good in it, and when you're ready... the endings will come.
I'm not even angry... I'm being so sincere right now.
Even though you broke my heart.
And killed me... And tore me to pieces.
And threw every piece into a fire.
-"Still Alive"- GLaDOS
That happens to me all the time! So I've got all these loose story beginnings lying around, some with complete plot lines planned out, that aren't finished.
There isn't really one magical way to make sure you reach your goal. Basically it's just will power and forcing yourself to do it.
Say it to yourself right now. Go on, say it. Say, "I will start this story, I will stay with this story, and I will finish it." Did you say it? Did your tone carry conviction? Do you believe it?
One way would be to participate in a event, such as NaNoWriMo or SuMoWriMo. You could find a friend who also really likes to write, and be "writing buddies" and try to keep each other on track.
This is going to sound completely cliche, but try to make yourself write at least a little of the story every single day, even if it's just a sentence or two. This one nearly worked for me; by forcing myself to write a bit every day, I nearly finished my first novella. Except I started with writing the ending, and then the beginning, and after weeks of writing, I stopped. So right now, it's been lying there for a few years now, lacking only the climax. Sad, isn't it? But see, it nearly worked, and I've no doubt that were I to try that again, I would suceed.
I'm like that as well.....I suppose we all are to an extent.
Fall in love with your characters and you'll stick to it. If you make your characters a part of you it will be like killing them to not finish their story. That's how I see it and so far it's working.
Otherwise stick to poems and short prose. That way you can complete your work quickly and move on.
Yesterdy, I thought 'wouldn't' it be cool if someone did a novel based on the Wheel of Life in Buddhism? Yes, I think of some strange things in my RE lessons... Anyhow, I am incusgin this into my novel, when my MC works out what is going on and breaks into a hidden land, which takes to him to a modifed wheel of life... You get the pic?
That is me. Everytime.
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