I have a story that I've been working on for a few years. When I started it I was content to have a short story that I thought was pretty good. Now, I've been working on it and I've developed an idea to make it into a novel.
Here's the problem;
I'm at, what is essentially, the climax of the story and I'm starting to choke.
Until this point I could pound out page after page, no problem. Now, I'm worried that I'm going to completely screw up and I want this part perfect.
What should I do?
Screw it up, then go back and fix it. Get it down on the page and don't spare the horses.
I'll tell you what I did. I stopped, and started writing other stuff. I have most of a novel finished, some holes to fill in, and then on to the rewrites. I've been working on it for YEARS. I can't let it go, I can't finish it. I have the worst time trying to fill those damn holes in. So I put it away. I'm writing other stuff, focusing on becoming a better writer, working on another longer WIP, and breathing. I do plan to go back, but I am not going to sit and stare at the blank page/blinking cursor wishing I wasn't choking--I'm going to go out and hone the skills I need to fix that beast up.
You can only screw it up by being afraid to revise. So fuck it up like a good messy cheeseburger and clean up later.
Revision: Like makeup sex, but life actually gets better after!
Write, see how it works, revise. Repeat the process until you like it.
As many already said: Just write(TM).
And don't be afraid to fool yourself into writing the ending. Create a copy of your story and tell yourself you'll just write a practice ending. Not the real one. Just something to write. When that's done, make another copy of the file and write a different ending. Play with it. Have fun. The real work won't start until you have a first draft complete.
Right now (write now?) I have three copies of the same story and I'm working on three different endings because, honestly, I haven't decided how i want it to end. All three endings intrigue me. When I find the ending I like, I'll go back through the beginning and middle of the story and rework it to make that ending succeed. The ending will only work if the beginning/middle sets it up properly.
Now, go have some fun.
Never be afraid to write garbage. You can always go back and revise it.
I second GaryP's suggestion - that approach works for me as well. It takes a bit longer, but every once in a while you'll come up with something dynamite in one of the alternate versions, which you can then cherry-pick into your final version.
As many already said: Just write(TM).
Nice GaryP.
Shit whatever works. Every single writer, at least the ones I know, has a slightly different process.
Some revise, rewrite and revise more than others.
Some revise and edit while they write and do very little thereafter.
Some pump words onto the white and go back to shape them.
All I know is there is not one way to write. I think everyone has to find their own method through trial and error.
Like Gary said:
justwrite™
justwrite™"
Chester how legally binding are your trademarks?
Chester is going to own the whole world.
But.
I own Chester ™
So Watch Out™
Fucking Double Post™
Stop worrying about screwing up and start worrying about how to write something awesome.
Some pump words onto the white
That's cool™
Jump forward in the story and build backwards. I rarely write chronologically.
Psychoanalyze it until you give up.
I've taken the advice of those telling me to keep writing. I wrote a couple more pages today and some of it was good and other parts were bad. I'll finish up the story, go back and pick out all the crap; hopefully replacing it with something a bit better.
In between that, I might work on another story that I've come up with.
Thanks for the advice, everyone. It's appreciated.
When it comes to endings, I think about Anne Rice.
Those of you who have read her books should know that every ending to every novel she has ever written is STUPID. She writes the climax, and then... STUPIDITY happens.
So, if she can get away with it, why not me?
Write the climax. then write a bad ending. Then read your work over -- try to read it all in a day, if possible -- and when you reach the climax again, you'll have a better idea of how you want to pace it and finish. Then you can rewrite it!
Now, when you reread your work, you can make notes of things you want to change... but don't change it till you've fixed up your climax and ending. You'll lose the pacing you want if you get caught up in rewriting act one and act two stuff.
And for the love of God, don't write an epilogue.
But don't stop writing, or you'll never finish. And if you don't finish, how can you revise?
