Finish the damn book. You’ve all heard that phrase, right? I bet among the members of this chapter, we could compile a million words from unfinished stories. Shoot…I could probably scrap together two hundred thousand all by myself! But I find myself facing an interesting situation and wondered if I’m weird—wait, I mean unique, if I’m unique.
I am 52,885 words into a 55,000-60,000 word manuscript. Excellent! I’m just about there, except I’m having trouble finishing. I know what happens. I know who does what to whom and why. I know the black moment. I know the ending. I love the ending. So why can’t I get there?
Obviously this is a topic we writers know well. I’ve looked online for answers and found a multitude of blogs, including these ones by Holly Lisle, Sam Horn and Suzannah Windsor Freeman.
Holly Lisle
Sam Horn
Suzannah Windsor Freeman
The internet is full of advice and hints. I could spend days searching and reading advice. (The internet could also be a contributing factor to my problem. That’s why I’m going “off the grid” on Twitter, Facebook, blog surfing, etc until after National Conference!)
Some fellow writers have suggested I’m having trouble because I don’t want to leave my characters. They’ve become my friends, and when I give them their well-earned HEA, I have to leave them for new characters…make new friends (sort of like moving to a new school and having to make new friends all over again.)
So how about you? Do you have trouble finishing the book when you’re this close? How do you do it? What advice can you give me?
Cyndi
Cynthia D’Alba
I am at the same spot–almost to the word!–in my WIP. I’m trying for 60K, and my people have done the “oh, no, we’re not doing that” show so that I’m as in the air as I was 100 pages ago.
Another reason some of us are reluctant to finish (okay, maybe just me) is that we’re not really sure it’s as good as we want it to be.
I am down to forcing myself to write 100 words a day. I aways end up writing more (and taking some of them out–sigh) but at least the count is going up.
Good luck!
Hi Cyndi. I normally don’t have trouble so close to the end. I have trouble way before that. LOL. By the time I get to the end I’m ready to move on to the next book.
Have you tried a Nano style of writing for the ending? Whenever I get stuck, I just start writing (no editing or backspacing allowed) and see where it leads. Sometimes it’s all junk, but sometimes there’s one beautiful nugget in there that sparks something for me.
Good luck with that ending.
Adrienne
Oh, boy do I understand this topic! Two major problems in my life are hampered by the same events. The two problems are finding time to write, and finding time to diet. They’re connected in my mind.
It takes time to stick to a diet in any effective way, and it takes time to write. So, I thought that maybe I’d combine the two and see how it went by putting my butt in the chair…..without access to food.
I forgot how close my kitchen was!
Stella
Like Adrienne, I normally don’t have trouble with the end, either. Maybe you should go on Chatzky (sp?) with Margaret and a few other GIAMers. Doing it with others in the writing spurts might get you going. I think it becomes more like a game than work.
I absolutely relate! I’m definitely a pantser. Any plotting I do is very loose. I write to see what happens next. But when I can see the end, I no longer have the urge to write it because I know what happens next. Writing it just seems like yada, yada, yada. (Sometimes this happens closer to the middle than the end–talk about wading through thick mud for 1/2 the book.)
I try to tell myself that even if I know what happens next, my story people (they get insulted if I call them characters) will do or say something I don’t expect, but my writerly instincts don’t buy it.
What gets me through is pretending that an agent or editor is opening up my full manuscript, face full of glee and wonder as they read, then writing a very large number on a contract and shoving it in my direction. It’s a little bit effective, but not very.
I have a hard time facing the black moment; that’s when I stall. I guess I don’t like torturing my characters, even though it has to happen. Once I’m through the black moment, I speed-type to The End.
Thanks for the post, Cyndi!
This is a great post. I think I worry that I’m going to get it wrong somehow, so I get a little (okay, a lot!) nervous.
I find it easier to actually open a DIFFERENT document, and just type away — I trick myself by saying, “This isn’t part of the book — I’m just going to explore some ideas here.” And that actually helps take the pressure off, since it’s not part of the “real” book. It usually ends up going into the “real” document, but it liberates me from the pressure of getting it right the first time out.
Ah, writers — the superstitions and rituals are worse than with baseball players! LOL
Great post, Cyndi, but don’t worry about leaving your characters behind. Revisions go on for-evah, darlin’.
Thanks everyone for your comments and Leigh? BRWAHAHAHAHA
You all have such valid points…is it good enough? If I never finish, I never have to find out that it isn’t.
And Donna – I actually have a separate file with another scene in it because I did exactly what you suggested! Thanks
I appreciate the support! and the other paddlers in my boat.
Wonderful Post! I am another one of those who slow down at the black moment. I am such a romantic! I JUST WANT THEM TO BE HAPPY! But, it has to happen. The best part is getting them back together!Who does not love making up?