Blarg! My WIP is driving me crazy. The story itself is good, I think (though of course, I get insecure about even that when I start to think about it), but I'm not satisfied with my presentation of it. It is way more difficult than I thought it would be to slowly reveal little segments of the mystery without giving away too much of it at once. I'm eager to finish this thing, revise it, and get it to Alpha readers who can tell me whether I manage to pull off any surprise at all or whether they realize what's going on way before the main character does.
I've learned by now to have faith in the process, which sounds disgustingly touchy-feely, but I've learned that if I keep plugging away at something, I will eventually have an "oh, duh," moment that clarifies how to make certain elements of the story work. That doesn't make this stage of it--the hard work, the stubbornness of the story line, the boredom because I sense that this isn't quite having the pizazz I want--any easier, but it does encourage me to keep going.
I sooo know how you feel. Just keep writing to the end, read it over yourself, and you'll see the obvious flaws--and how to fix them.
ReplyDeleteAnd remember: if there's not enough pizazz, it's possibly because things are a tad too easy for the characters. Make them work harder. :) Throw in something you'd love to see--one of your favorite elements from your own reading. #worksforme :)
Yes. Never surrender. If you reach a complete block, you can always set it aside for a few days and work on something else--even some quirky flash fiction. Anything that gets your creative juices going and pulls you away from the current project. Hopefully when you pick it up again you'll see things differently.
ReplyDelete