Getting to the end...

[Lisa F]

I have one literary novel, 4 Regency romances, and 1 young adult novel sitting on my computer unfinished. I honestly think the volume of a novel intimidates me. How do you get to the end?
P.S. My new strategy is to write a little everyday no matter what, but I been sick the last few days and couldn't concentrate enough to really write for a book, so now I have to "restart" my new strategy. :cry:

[Brighid]

What is it that you find intimidating?

When I first starting writing my current WIP - it being my first try at a novel - I knew the beginning and I knew how I wanted it to end. The middle was one big "?" until I sat down and did a rough outline and figured out the big picture. It's like a road map to the final destination. After doing the outline I wasn't so scared of getting lost.

[Andrhia]

I have a hunch you stall out at the part where you have to slog through the middle of the book to get to the end, no matter how little you're enjoying the process. No starting a new project, no giving up on writing, no shelving it because it just isn't fun anymore.

I've read many published authors who talk about the midbook as being a difficult stage. You just need to keep at it until it's done, the same as starting another project: sit down, open the file, start typing words. If you've got what it takes to serially begin several works, you've got what it takes to finish one.

[Alexandra Little]

I like to look at word counts--watching the numbers go up inspires me to keep going. It also helps me by telling me a) how much I've already written, and b) how far I have to go. But I also have to remind myself that I may want to write, but the gas tank is empty and I need to refill--I get burned out otherwise, and don't write for months at a time (I didn't write a single thing over winter break).

Then, of course, I find a whole in my plot, but that's beside the point...;)

[HourglassMemory]

Do you know stuff about the stories that you have, BEYOND what you have written?
If you don't know stuff beyond what you have written, and if you think your work is unfinished, then you need to think more of your story. Of the characters, how they feel about certain things and all of that.
It sounds silly to say this about fictional characters in your mind but you really have to know them. You have to meet them and make them go through situations (in your mind) that will show you what they're made of. You have to act as them in the privacy of your own mind. You have to be them for moments.

If you think it's unfinished it might be that you got an idea, developed it and then put it all on paper.
But if you think it's unfinished, you need more stuff, so create that stuff. Fill in the holes....even if it's with crap.
you'll work on that 'crap' later.

I'm curious as to why you think they're unfinished.
you have first drafts? Incomplete 1st drafts? incomplete polished work? What?

[AnnieColleen]

500 words per day, and a bunch of AW cheerleaders. And NaNoWriMo for a kick-start.

From my grand total of one finished draft, I think it also would've been a lot easier had I had a more thorough outline at the start. Editing, well, I'll let you know when I figure it out!

[sheadakota]

I Love Nano!

For me its just to write- everyday- even if it is crap- turn the internal editor off for awhile if you are at a stand still and just let the words take you where they will. After you get over the slump then go back and edit out the crap, but you might surprise yourself with what you come up with.

[ishtar'sgate]

Ah, the dreaded "midsection". You get to the end by persevering. There is no magic forumla. Most of us stall out around the 40-50,000 word mark. Keep on slogging. If you know how you want to end the novel, have that goal in site and head for it. Good luck.
Linnea

[David I]

Someone pretty smart sugggested to me that the three-act structure is really five--First Act, Last Act, and three in the middle.

I don't think that is gospel, but my point is that the middle has to be complicated, twisty, and have its own climaxes and rewards as it builds toward the end. It's wrong to get too hung up on the "novel" as a whole in the first draft.

On the other hand, not every writer is a novelist. No shame in that. I can't write a short story to save my immortal soul.

Remember what Mom said? Just be yourself.

[maestrowork]

I have one literary novel, 4 Regency romances, and 1 young adult novel sitting on my computer unfinished. I honestly think the volume of a novel intimidates me. How do you get to the end?
P.S. My new strategy is to write a little everyday no matter what, but I been sick the last few days and couldn't concentrate enough to really write for a book, so now I have to "restart" my new strategy. :cry:

5 novels in the works? My suggestion is to really just focus on one -- the one you're most passionate about -- and finish it first. One word at a time, 250 words a day... you can do it.

[BiggerBoat]

Some good responses here. You might try analyzing where you start to loose enthusiasm.

Do you stop getting excited about the idea/premise? Personally, I like to sit on an idea for a few weeks, noodle on it, before I start to put electronic pen to paper. Once the initial blush wears off, sometimes I find that the premise wasn't as strong as I thought. This happens with about 95% of my ideas.

Do you loose enthusiasm for the characters? How can you make them deeper and more compelling--even to yourself? I sometimes find that a particular character "has to be written" ... no so much because of that "character taking over the story" stuff (which I don't really get), but because I feel like they are exciting and unique and interesting and they deserve to be on paper.

Do you know where your story is headed? You might try developing your story, even (gasp!) scene by scene if it helps. Some people write most effectively this way. You might be one of them. There are several methods of story development, from just writing out scene summaries on index cards to fairly complex story models.

The inverse of this is, of course, taking the magic out of your story by essentially telling it (in preperation) beforehand. You might be one of those people who needs to write more off-the-hip. You can clean it up in edits!

And, speaking of edits ... if you tend to burn out in 1st drafts, maybe you should look at your writing style. Cast aside your internal editor and see if you can rock-and-roll through a 1st draft in 2 weeks or a month (not kidding).

I'm sure others will have better advice, but this is the stuff I've worked through in my own writing life.

[Matera the Mad]

Mm-hmm. Chances are the internal editor doesn't know feces yet anyhow, so tell the bugger to shut up and let you write. The two of you can fight it out later. I/we did LOL

[Mumut]

[quote=Lisa F;2029993] How do you get to the end?
:cry:

Q: How long is a story?
A: As long as it takes to tell it!

I'm like Brighid. I knew the start and end and quite a lot of the action I wanted to include in my story. It was just a matter of keeping the action on the boil. Each new twist in my historical fantesy had to take the heroine a step nearer the ultimate action. Each had to be within reason - not contrived. Each had to add to the excitement.

If you have to struggle to add another 500 words, is it worth it? Will it be interesting to your readers? My book is only 68,000 words because I kept out anything that slowed the plot.

So I suggest to look at the quality, not the quantity.

Mumut

[seun]

With the five books on the go, I think you've answered your own question. Probably better to write one at a time until you're happy with it.

[Birol]

How do you get to the end?

You keep writing until you reach it. It's as simple as that.

[Charlie Horse]

If you know the beginning and the end then comes the fun part. Let yourself go crazy. You have the power to make anything happen on the road from point A to point B. You might, and probably should, even surprise yourself. Don't worry about whether you're writing crap or not either. Again, this is where your power as an author comes into play. You can change anything you want at any time. In the world of your novel you are God.

Yes, you need to sit down every day and write a little. Be inspired by moving forward. And yeah, it's probably a good idea to pick one project to focus your attention on.

[Lisa F]

This is my crazy life. I've written (and revised dozens of times) 7 children's picture books. These are my babies I keep sending out to publishers (knock on wood). I can get to the end of a 1000 words or less. Next came a YA. It came to me in the form of a movie in my mind. I can picture it from beginning to end. I didn't want to lose it, so I wrote down the sequence of events. I wrote 3 chapters and then I started graduate school. You can guess what graduate school did for me...made me write research papers... Finally I was free, but I changed my job position and began having health issues. I started reading (more like gobbling) Regency romances (my great escape). The more I read in this genre the more I wanted to write in it. Ideas came to me so fast I couldn't keep up with my own thinking. I typed up my ideas and threw them into computer files. Next I decided to get started, but new ideas always seemed to out do old ideas. I think this is where I get stuck in this genre. Recently an entire book unfolded in my mind. This time I have a seed for a literary novel. I've been telling myself if I write 500 words a day I can get through it. I confess I get distracted easily. I have a book on teaching that is almost finished. I have many others started. I think I have a hard time focusing on one project. I argue with myself about which to complete first. My time is limited (full time job, mom, involvement in professional organizations). I'm trying to get up an hour early to write. I am looking forward to the summer. If I had all day and could spend a few hours on one project and a few hours on another, I might make it through, but I don't have all day to write. I'm lucky to get in an hour. I think it boils down to deciding what comes first (and I hope it's not the chicken or the egg).

[Birol]

Lisa, I can empathize with having the busy life and not having all day to write. Most of the people here can. Why? Because we all have busy lives, too. Our time is equally limited, if not more so. It’s a balancing act and in order for it to work, in order for you to be able to write and do all the other stuff, you have to prioritize and set boundaries.

As for new projects competing against old? Well, that’s an age-old problem. The latest shiny always looks better than the old, familiar project that is no longer new and exciting but has settled down into a routine and become, let’s face it, work. This is the same reason so many “settled” couples get divorces. Who wants to spend time working on something that’s lost its luster? When it’s become familiar and comfortable, we want to move on, grab the next hot young thing and have fun and be exciting again.

But if you do that, you’ll never know the joy and fulfillment of reaching The End. You’ll always be starting over. Learning and discovering your world, without ever knowing what commitment through the long haul can accomplish.

If you want to finish a project, you have to stick with it, through richer and poorer, through better or worse, until an agent or editor do you part. The other projects? Continue doing with them what you have been doing when you get the ideas. Start notebooks or files to contain the ideas because, there’s nothing wrong with having a harem of books. You just aren’t allowed to divorce or abandon the first, older ideas in favor of the newer, younger ones. You have to honor and do justice to them all. And that means staying committed to them, working with them, until you reach The End.

[Charlie Horse]

You need to set aside a regular time each day in which you can write undisturbed. Mornings before everyone else in the house wakes up works well for me. I've found that if I don't have that regular schedule its too easy to find other things to do rather than write. I don't think I sleep as much as other people. That's okay. I can sleep when I'm older and have lots of stuff published.

[Dave.C.Robinson]

My first two novels took forever.

I agree with those who say you need to get to the end of one before getting into another, and at the risk of offending the pantsers here I also recommend a brief outline. I don't mean a scene for scene plot, but enough of an outline that you know the ending.

I find it really helps to know where you're going.

On the other hand, that doesn't mean the novel has to end the way you thought it would when you started. My second novel had a completely different ending than I envisioned when I started. The original ending just gave me a target to aim for.

[girlyswot]

Lists are your friend! I recently wrote a list of all the stories I am working on/have ideas for/want to write and was shocked at how long it is. But by putting them in a list it was much easier to see where my priorities needed to be. There were a couple of things I was able to finish off very quickly and some that I could see had to go on the backburner for a while.

That leaves me with two, which I'm pretty happy about. One is a serious complicated novel that is hard work and I'm happy to take a long time writing it. I'm about 8000 words in and I can see it being years and years before it's done. The other is, by coincidence, a Regency romance that I'm writing entirely for fun. The first novel is draining to work on but this energises and excites me, so I like to have the balance.

The other advantage of the list is that it can be added to when new ideas come. You don't have to work on them right away. Just make a note of the idea and then get back to what you're doing now.