As a writer, I struggle with many things; but my biggest challenge is finishing something. The shorter the story, the better I am at completing it; however, if I try to start on a book idea, I get about a quarter of the way through and then I stall out. Usually life gets me side-tracked and I never go back to it.
I even attempted a long fiction project by writing it one chapter at a time (aka web fiction or serial fiction). So far, three serial stories are now defunct.
I’m hopeless!
Or, maybe not entirely so.
In the past, the only thing that have worked for me is by participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) where I’ve been successful more than 50% of the time (hey, that’s better than zero!). So, this year I’ve decided (after a four-year hiatus) to try again.
What about you? What are you currently struggling with?
Much like yourself, I also struggle with finishing long projects. I can crank out flash fiction and creative nonfiction essays no problem, but novel-length manuscripts are a whole other story. I’m hoping that doing NaNoWriMo this year will force me to finish, and once I do it once, I’ll be able to do it again with more ease. Best of luck with your NaNo and writing goals!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! Best of luck to you too! 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve always had the opposite problem, I find short stories way harder to write than novels. I just can’t compress everything down into 3000 words.
LikeLike
And that’s not a bad thing either! 🙂 Maybe you can send some of your writing magic to me as I attempt NaNoWriMo this year!
LikeLike
A quarter of the way through is a pretty good start. Don’t stop, but don’t worry about being consistent. From the next 12000 words might come the story that you really want to tell.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Michael, thank you for the encouraging words 🙂
LikeLike