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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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Whether it be research, outlining, starting, finishing, or editing; writers always have that one thing that makes them want to kick the can down the road or pull their hair out. We've all been there. That one point in the writing process that you have to drag yourself, kicking and screaming, to finish.
For me, it is editing. Despite that I don't want other people to read my work until I've polished it, it is boring work. I would rather start another project, but I know I have to get it done, so I do it. Albeit reluctantly.
So, what is the writing step that causes you grief, in what way, and why?
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Joined: 8/13/2011
Posts: 272
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Editing, plain and simple. While everything else is relatively simple for me (barring actually getting in gear and starting), the actual process of editing drives me round the bend. Finding and sorting continuity errors, spelling mistakes, my on going war with coherent sentences and the like aren't to bed, but actually stepping back and reworking entire scenes/ chapters because they don't work? Ugh.
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Joined: 6/28/2011
Posts: 188
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Writing the synopsis to submit to a publisher. I hate, hate, hate it with a passion.
If I could have said what I wanted to say in less than 120,000 words, wouldn't I have done so in the first place?
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Joined: 10/20/2011
Posts: 350
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When I hit the wall in the middle. The beginning and the thrill of starting the story is behind me and the ending is ahead of me. I just need to bridge the two and sometimes, that can be difficult.
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Joined: 11/29/2012
Posts: 11
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Those are all problems I've encountered (except the synopsis...not to that stage yet, but I can imagine it's difficult). One big problem I have is finding time in my day to sit and write. If I do it in the morning I run the risk of waking my wife by getting out of bed. If I do it at work, well, the boss gets mad. And it's hard to take time away from my family and grandson at night so I can sit in front of the computer. I find that trying to multi-task (typing while playing with Grandson, for instance) leads to abysmal writing quality.
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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Herb, I haven't started my synopsis yet, but I know I'm going to dread it as well. I agree. If I could say what I wanted in so few words, why would I write a novel? It has to be done, though.
David, I remember when I had no time. While having time does help a lot, show the fortitude expected of a pro, and try to write a sentence a day. You'll move at the pace of a snail, but get there eventually. I keep a notebook on me and whip it out when I have the opportunity. I once read of a woman who wrote snatches of her novel in the few minutes waiting in her van for her kids to get out of school. It's possible. Just try to find what works for you. Experiment.
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I'd rather drive railroad spikes into my own eyes than have to write a synopsis.
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Joined: 6/28/2011
Posts: 188
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I think it's a defense mechanism. If you spend a year or two writing a novel, only to find it really easy to sum up, a part of you is going to suspect that your book is way longer than it needs to be and that you've wasted months and months constructing a bloated behemoth instead of a cunning yarn.
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Joined: 2/9/2012
Posts: 427
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MariAdkins, this is so funny it should be a meme. In fact, I'll make it into a meme. =)
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ROFL 
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Joined: 2/9/2012
Posts: 427
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Everyone, you can admire the new meme here: http://pinterest.com/pin/51158145739233089/
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OMG i'm a meme! LMAO
that is so priceless. thanks Nevena!
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Joined: 2/9/2012
Posts: 427
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No, thank YOU!
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Exactly right, LeeAnna: Editing. Writing is always enjoyable so I don't mind rewriting bits & pieces -one always wants to do better. But at some point y'gotta stop & that's why I hate editing -I don't really know where that point is. I feel like a Montmartre painter who's painting hasn't sold so he keeps on painting it.
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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At the risk of sounding like a total lunatic, the hardest part for me is actually the action of writing. By action, I mean putting fingers to my keyboard (I have better luck with pen to paper). I ALWAYS have story lines, dialog, scenarios, etc., running through my head, but sometimes when I sit down to commit anything to a Word doc, I all of a sudden develop an extreme case of adult ADD. It's amazing how many other things I find to do. Maybe if I invested in voice recognition software and dictated my stuff to my computer?
Don't get me wrong, I love creating stories and characters; I especially love working out dialog (hmmm, maybe I should try writing scripts). It could just be that once I put it down on paper or into Word, my work becomes real and I find myself questioning why I spend so much time writing/rewriting in the first place. . .
Again, at the risk of sounding like a true nut, I LIKE the editing process. But where is that elusive stopping point? I don't know, GD. A firm deadline would work (you know, like one given to you by the book editor who has decided to publish your work - yes, I can dream). When I was writing for a science newspaper, the only reason I didn't edit my work to death was my deadlines. We had an issue to put to bed every two weeks and another one to start. (That's also when I learned that nothing I write is etched in stone.)
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 608
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Angela, you gave me cover! Thank you! J
But seriously, folks: what she said.
Agonizing over the words as I set them down for the first time on paper or screen is the most difficult part of the writing process for me. Once I start to create a manuscript I have something to work with; I do dozens of drafts until I'm reasonably satisfied with the results. I love nothing more than sitting down with an old story and red-penciling the hell out of it. I can see myriad ways to improve a story after a good chunk of time has passed. The act of editing my own work is a kind of validating exhilaration: I feel like an actual writer at those times because I’ve got the proof in my hands—my own manuscript—and I’m engaged in the act of making it better.
But facing that initial blank page? And suffering the self-doubt and disappointment that results from seeing just how large a gap exists between what you felt and thought while writing the story vs. the words that actually made it onto the page?
:::shudder:::
If you knew just how jaw-droppingly bad that first draft was most of you would “un-Book Country” me and never communicate again, heh! I kid you not . . .
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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Thank you, Carl! I often have wondered if I'm the only wanna-be writer out there who agonizes over the dreaded first draft, blank screen/page of even a single scene in a larger work.
You're so right about viewing the many drafts of a given manuscript as proof that I am making at least a little headway as a writer. Just this weekend, I opened up one of the earliest drafts of my books (well, the earliest one stored on this particular computer). I was somewhat shocked (and embarrassed!) at the quality of the writing in that early draft. But that draft also helped me judge the writing in the latest draft I've been editing/revising/editing/tweaking for the last couple of weeks. I do see progress.
Now, whether or not there's enough progress to catch the eye of an agent and/or publisher remains to be seen (and is probably still pretty much a long shot considering the nature of the fiction publishing business).
But I do enjoy the editing process, so I can only hope that the part I enjoy will lead to better and better manuscripts.
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Joined: 3/16/2011
Posts: 279
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For me, the hardest part is getting to a point with a manuscript when I declare it done. In the past two years I've rewritten two of the books started here on Bookcountry several times. By the time I get to the end and edit, I've learned so much in the process I start over.
It's time for me to put my big girl panties on and send them out.
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Joined: 2/23/2013
Posts: 3
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For me, the hardest part of writing is the promotion/sales aspect. I love writing and editing (in fact I like to edit as much as Hemingway is reputed to have). Character creation, plot development, stories themselves, all appear out of the Aethyr and slap me on a regular basis. I would love to publish with a house other than Create Space or Kindle, but I cannot stand the idiosyncrasies of the publishing world. I hate cover letters, synopses, the general feel of begging just to get someone to read the stuff I write. My first novel (a literary fiction pot-boiler) went out to 100 readers (all of whom loved it) and 150 agents (none of whom had the time to read the amount that was requested by their agency). The novel I just posted here has been sent out to a couple hundred agents and publishers, none of whom seem to have read the book. I have had the book posted on authonomy and given it to various readers who I trust to give real feedback. All of the responses were completely positive and indicated that the book was publisher-ready. Not even a bite. Hate this industry.
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 608
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@Jerrid: I hear ya, bro! I don't even try anymore. I find a calm, zen-like equanimity and resignation in despair.
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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I'm with Carl and Angela. Compared to putting down words for the first time, editing is a delight.
@Jerrid. Truly, that is the worst part. And while I may not have completely given up, it's pretty clear that the traditional route is the longest of long shots, for anyone. But since the print part of the publishing industry seems to be dying anyway, maybe it's time to let it go. I don't revel in the idea of self-publishing, but it really may be all that is left.
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Joined: 6/28/2011
Posts: 188
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Off topic: As someone who's been down the self-publishing route, let me say that if you don't like marketing yourself, stick to traditional publishing! A worthwhile book that gets accepted by a publisher will receive at least minimal notice simply on the basis of appearing on bookstore shelves and in the publisher's newsletters, catalogs, website, etc. A worthwhile book that gets self-published will receive absolutely no notice other than the notice that you earn for it by dint of your own marketing efforts.
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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Agreed, Herb, and that is precisely what's stopping me. Well, that and my crippling self-doubt and chronic lethargy.
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Joined: 6/28/2011
Posts: 188
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Atthys, self-doubt is the surest sign that you have enough talent to be a writer. In my experience, absolute personal certainty most often marks one as lacking in perception, and perception is the key to all good writing. So be a doubter, but be a doubter who does, not one who delays!
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Joined: 3/14/2011
Posts: 226
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Like so many others, editing is my kryptonite. I even have a decent method of writing a synopsis that doesn't make me want to throw myself off the nearest high bridge...but editing? I have several complete drafts, but only two completed MSs to query. I'm not counting the completed MS that has a HUGE plot issue that needs to be rewritten because that's in a drawer indefinitely.
Herb, I'm in complete agreement about self-doubt and those who lack it. The best writers I've met were full of self-doubt...even after consistently hitting best-seller lists and getting great reviews.
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Joined: 12/30/2012
Posts: 7
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Hi,
I'm brand new here, but to throw my 2 cents in ~ absolutely I agree with Herb and Noelle. For me the worst part is overcoming self-doubt... is this good enough to keep going? Am I good enough to really keep going? What if no-one ever reads it?
I've found that self-doubt then fuels procrastination, which in turn makes picking up momentum more difficult.
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 608
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@Solitaire: You might be brand new here but so were we all, once. So-- Welcome to Book Country! There's a lot of great people active on the site, and--miracle of miracles--the staff have created a warm and courteous "safe space" for working writers that allow us to engage with one another in an atmosphere of supportive collegiality, regardless of background or experience.
To your point re: self-doubt fueling procrastination I can only say: Oh yeah; I get it. I think most writers struggle with self-doubt (lest they're ego-maniacs, and even then I oftentimes wonder: Who do they think they're fooling?!)
Here are 5 things I do to to help myself overcome those blackest-of-black blahs that sap my energy and drain me of the will to write on days I feel like sleeping in for 24-hrs. straight:
1.) Write less. Seriously! Cut your daily writing quota to an absolute minimum--six sentences, if that's all you can manage on bad days. But keep writing. The discipline of setting down and producing something day-after-day will give you immense satisfaction and increase your skills.
2.) Read in your chosen genre to inspire yourself, then sit down to write. Let the masters lead, comfort and exhort you to greater effort.
3.) Remind yourself to have fun. You do like sentences, don't you? Of course you do! Built of all those nice, crunchy words . . . Mmmmm! Build a few of your own.
4.) Interact with other writers who cheer you on and inspire you to greater effort while respecting your craft and person. In a perfect world these would also be good reviewers, people who can honestly and constructively critique your work without pissing you off or leave you scratching your head in confusion. (Hopefully that's where Book Country comes in . . .)
5.) Stop discussing your writing hopes and dreams with psychic vampires, people who might otherwise be very close to you but nevertheless manage to undermine your self-confidence and desire to write. Negativity and gentle mockery from close family and friends can lead to long bouts of mindless television viewing and other time-wasting pursuits. (16-hour computer gaming sessions, anyone?)
Welcome to the club, Solitaire! I look forward to your contributions.
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Joined: 12/30/2012
Posts: 7
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@CarlEReed... I dub thee Yoda of writing-things.
1) Good advice. Doing it.
2) Working on it. I'm reading through a collection of pre-1900s vampire tales. Perhaps I shouldeth seeketh someth materials from this century.
3) Crunchy words ~ got it.
4) Hello Book Country!
5) Yes! Psychic vampires are real. Real people! I find crosses and garlic don't work on them. That's why important to have the healing balm of other book people to chase them away. Reading good writing is encouraging.
Thanks!
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Write less.
Oh, how much I agree! I can't write every day to save my life. In fact, when I push myself to, I end up with absolute brain mush - which is no use to anybody, especially me! I have to give myself breaks. That's one of the reasons I take in editing jobs; it gives my brain something else to focus on, and I can swap between projects (writing/editing/etc).
@incspot - "saggy middles" are the worst!
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Joined: 9/7/2013
Posts: 24
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The hardest part for me is the very beginning, when everything is so messy and tentative and you know that lots of things will wind up getting changed. (I'm a control freak, ha ha.) Then it gets easier after that, as the novel progresses and I start to refine it. But my favorite part -- I am sooo looking forward to this step with the novel I'm writing now -- is the editing, which it seems like a lot of responders find about as palatable as a bowl of mush. There's the macro-editing (eg, shortening scenes and paragraphs, adding dialogue when needed, etc), which is OK, but then finally I get to the micro-editing - the word crafting at the sentence level. Expressing my meaning in just the right way. Love it!! If this novel doesn't make it, maybe I'll try to drum up some free-lance editing business! A well-crafted sentence is a thing of beauty.
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Joined: 6/27/2013
Posts: 7
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This might sound weird but sometimes the hardest thing for me is to write something that mirrors a situation ive been through. The emotions tend to leak into the writing which can be good but it can also be distracting and cause me to stop altogether. Or the emotion winds up being out of place in what Im writing. This will sound stupid but there's been a few times a phrase has popped up in my head from a song and then the song will careen around in my brain driving me nuts and again distracting me from writing. I guess physically it would be the kids and the cats. I try to write at night when their in bed or occupied and that kind of helps. I try to write things down on whatever is handy as they come to me so that when i sit down later yes i wind up with a bunch of papers in shorthand noone but maybe the me and the master spy code breakers can figure out ..but at least they are there for me to work with.
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Joined: 10/25/2013
Posts: 3
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i have started recently writing short stories . being a person belonged to a country like Pakistan I face the main thing that is discouragement.Obviously when one start doing writing work it is not very well refined, at this time if someone says that "what the hell you have written" irritates you more and it leads to demotivation.
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Joined: 6/7/2013
Posts: 1356
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Hi @Maemuna, welcome to Book Country! Glad to see you're already taking part in discussions and finding your way around.  Just sent you a connection request so that I can be in touch with my makeshift "Orientation Packet" for new members.
Talk soon and carry on getting to know people, reviewing Book Country books, and posting your work!
Lucy Silag
Book Country Community and Engagement Manager
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Count me in with the "figuring out the middle" part. I'm good with setups and having a general idea of what I want the climax to look like, but getting from setup to climax is an excruciating process, filling plotholes and justifying why characters sometimes make idiotic choices, and the like. Sometimes, the toughest part is either coming up with stuff to happen, or having too many ideas for stuff to happen and trying to decide what's the most essential. That, of course, requiring adding and removing scenes as needed, and it's painful having to cut a scene I like because it doesn't fit into the story anymore.
Also, the @#$%ing query letter.
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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I do an outline so I can just breeze through the manuscript because I hate having to figure out what happens next while I punch out the words. The middle is hard enough to get through, I don't want to make it harder for me.
Yes, the query letter. Makes me want to pull my hair out and choke someone with it.
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LeeAnna; Far from being boring, editing is the most important aspect of writing. I believe every novel should have three drafts. The first draft is a mad dash through the chimerical passages of your creative mind; nothing should be edited at this point, and everything you dredge up from the cauldron of your creativity should be thrown wantonly into the seething morass of that first draft. The second draft, after the first has aged several months in a desk drawer, when you exchange your writer's hat for that of editor, becomes a sacrificial lamb for the keen editor's rapier. Far from being boring, editing is the cavalry riding in to save your novel from the irrelevant and the excessive. The art of perceptive editorship--when cutting out becomes more important than leaving in--is a joyous undertaking, the juncture at which you are turning a Vesuvius of self-indulgence into a masterful event of creation. A serious psychological ramification of editing is that you, unlike Medea, can't kill your children. All the characters you produced in that rambling first draft, your children, are not meant to survive, and it is best to slay them in this inchoate state before they become solidified, sentient characters who as real people will act of their own volition, fighting you every inch of the way when you finally get enough nerve to get rid of them. The third draft involves further editing, polishing and a few essential additions. Show me a successful book and I'll show you the result of judicious editing.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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DJS, I am loving your posts. I have to go back and reread them and try to absorb a bit of your seductive wisdom.
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I nominate you for the Carl E Reed Prize for Perceptive and Highly Entertaining Commentary. You are a find, sir.
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Shame on me. Why am I assuming that you are male? Maybe because I long for a bushy-tailed replacement for Carl, who has better things to do these days than to hang around the Book Country cracker barrel and shoot the shit. You fill his shoes, and that's saying something.
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 608
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Hi, Mimi!
Actually, I'm still very much involved with the site. I posted a Thanksgiving thank-you to Molly, Brandi, Nevena, Lucy et. al. the other day, am busy returning private BC e-mail (I believe I responded to both of yours a couple of months ago--same day, right?), and have posted a new project while looking at the work of others in search of something to critique. When I have something to say, I say it. I try not to repeat previously-stated opinions, or inject myself into on-going discussions simply for the sake of hearing myself speak.
BTW: I tried to leave you a congratulatory mssg on your BC interview the other day but it didn't post. I've notified BC management of this technical problem; they're looking into it. Have you deleted yourself from my contact list? I don't find you listed anymore, so . . .
Good luck with your on-going re-write of Sly!
PS. Be careful when publicly tongue-lashing members of this board for what you perceive as their lack of participation in on-going discussions. You have no idea what's going on in their private lives. What if the person you're speaking of has recently lost a job? Fallen into a depression? Lost a member of their family? Become seriously ill or, good grief, died?! Be careful, is all I'm saying. You don't want to come off like a hectoring, ready-fire!-aim eccentric, methinks . . .
--edited by Carl E. Reed on 12/1/2013, 6:46 PM--
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 608
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@DJS: Welcome to BC! Good to see you here. --edited by Carl E. Reed on 12/1/2013, 6:14 PM--
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Hi, Carl! No, I haven't quit you.
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Thanks for the encouragement. I'm really making progress, and this time it isn't a lie. I am really excited about what I've accomplished in the last month.
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I didn't mean that 'where is he' comment in a negative way. I meant that you were busy doing grand things. But you're right. I'll be more careful.
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 608
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@Mimi: Re: "I'm really excited about what I've accomplished this past month."
Good to hear! Keep at it.
--edited by Carl E. Reed on 12/1/2013, 8:17 PM--
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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To the BC staff:
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Here is a perfect example of why I still miss aspects of the old format. Under the old set-up, I could connect with DJS and be informed about where he has commented. His picture, with that oh-so-useful little black box in the corner, would hit me in the eye the moment I came onto the site. I can sign up to follow discussions, sure. I can't anticipate where he will land next. And I love what he has to say. Do we still have that ability to stalk, but I am not aware of it?
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If you ask me, it's the loss of this particular marvelous connectivity that is the reason participation of BC stalwarts has taken a dive.
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Joined: 2/9/2012
Posts: 427
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Mimi, I see what you mean and I will add your thoughts to our feedback log. I'm curious: what if you received a Newsfeed notification that DJS added a new draft of his book or added a comment in a discussion--would that solve the issue in a way?
Also, I'm really liking the idea for a Carl E Reed Prize for Perceptive and Highly Entertaining Commentary. Food for thought.... =)
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Yes, Nevena, I believe a notification of a new comment would suffice. Thank you.
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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@DJS: Oh, I already follow the three draft rule. I'm in number two right now. And I have already slashed a reasonable number of darlings from my initial draft so I could round out the characters I have. I know the importance of editing. In fact, I have a tendency to underwrite instead of overwrite. I find myself adding more than cutting out, which is a strange feeling. Apparently it has been for the good because the reception of my work seems to be improving. I thank you for your response, and do believe that you should receive our newly minted Carl E. Reed Award for Most Entertaining Commentary.
Mimi, I too miss the old dashboard. I miss it tons.
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 608
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Hey, LeeAnna! Good to know you're still posting and writing!
Agreed; it is more difficult to follow each other now. But over-all the site keeps improving, so . . . fingers crossed for that "follow-all-from-this-person" feature to be re-instituted in the near future. (If it exists now I apologize for not realizing or recognizing it; someone set me straight.)
And please, let's not call it the "Carl E. Reed Award for Most Entertaining Commentary". My face turns beet red every time I read that!
Wait. Writers shouldn't perpetuate cliches so let's try that metaphor again: "My face turns dog-dick red . . . flaming tri-Fokker red . . . slashed Santa in a slasher-film red." Hmmm . . . needs work . . .
--edited by Carl E. Reed on 12/6/2013, 4:18 PM--
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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The shade of scarlet lipstick. The paper wrapped around a Chinese firecracker. Redder than the bloodshot eyes of a stoner. Redder than the most cliched description of blood red wine. Redder than the edge of my screen during Call of Duty. Redder than the Netflix logo.
How are those?
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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LeeAnna! It is so good to hear from you. I tried to message you on Scrib and couldn't figure out how to do it. I haven't got the hang of that dang site yet. I like the info there, but I am not thrilled with the posting rules. Always having to dish out karma points. Annoying as hell, don't you think?
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 608
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@LeeAnna: Lol! Re: "Redder than the edge of my screen during Call of Duty." Can't you just see the footnote that metaphor would require in an annotated version of your work being read by some perplexed Lit. major in the 22nd century? Heh!
Maybe we can turn this into a fun, open exercise for everyone: Mimi, DJS, Nevena, Lucy, Atthys, Herb, GD, Angela, et al.: Can you give us an original metaphor involving color, any color? Have fun with it!
Green as . . . a drunken Irish grasshopper swilling fermented chlorophyll 'neath an emerald moon in Oz.
Black as . . . the Ace of Spades dropped in a bucket of tar pounced upon by a black panther at midnight in a lightless cavern a hundred miles underground.
Silver as the glittering flash of a werewolf-killing sword.
Your turn . . . After all, coming up with original, unstrained metaphors that resonate with your readers and suit the material is one of the hardest things to pull off well in fiction, so we're hardly off topic here.
--edited by Carl E. Reed on 12/6/2013, 10:06 PM--
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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"Call of Duty: A highly successful, two dimensional first person shooter in which the edge of the screen would turn red when the player took damage in game. (Click this link for further description.)"
You mean something like that, Carl? I imagine them reading it on some kind of holo-screen that would give them links in the footnotes for further study of the references. Blogs have them all over the place now as it is.
Mimi, yes, the karma thing is a bit annoying. So is the two post rule for those who use it for free. I have 35 chapters and do not have $60 bucks laying around. I might use it for my short stories, but that's about it.
"The hound had tawny spots the color of pumpkin pie when mama left it in the oven too long."
"Did you look outside? It's blacker than Voldemort's soul."
Melissa shook her head. "You're such a nerd, Donny."
I've got another pop-culture specific one: "It was eye-burning acidic green, like my urine after a can of Monster."
"Black like the stars had been plucked out of the sky and swallowed by a light eating monster. It was a vast void of unfathomable darkness with only a round, pock-marked face the shade of dirty-snow smiling down on us from millions of miles away. Light pollution sucks."
Okay, so those might not have all been about colors. But I was having fun on very little sleep.
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