I wrote a book I was struggling with it. I set it aside and started another book. When I finished my other book, I came back to that book that I was struggling with. I was able to write it. I had to clear my mind of it and that helped.
I'm not sure if you have an understanding yet of how valuable your writing vlog videos are to us as your audience. They may have some repetitive parts, yes, but they're bursting with expertise and inspiration. And besides, they feel like a chance to get to know you a little better which is a valuable experience in itself. I'm looking forward to every single one of them and I'm so grateful that you decided to share all those thoughts with us.
This tip feels really obvious but it's worked really well for me: asking myself what I want to happen (whether that's in my plot, in the character relationships, or in the actual writing process) and then asking what's stopping that from happening. For my writing process, the main examples are that I didn't like one of the main charatcers' names anymore, and I didn't know how the book was going to end which was making me nervous because even though I don't outline, I like to know where I'm going. I haven't necessarily solved the second problem yet, but I've been able to start working towards a solution at least. I actually learned this as a general life tip for executive dysfunction for neurodivergency, and have been using it for basically everything in my life for awhile now. I could never get any work done because my room was always a mess, but I could never bring myself to clean even though I don't mind cleaning. I figured out it's because I needed to actually organize my room and not just clean it, I needed to get some boxes and shelving solutions and containers for all my office supplies in order to feel like cleaning even made a difference. So hopefully it can be helpful in writing as well!
Oof I feel this. I felt this way the entire way through 70k of a dystopian novel I was working on in 2017. For me, I eventually realized the problem was that I didn't have any "cookies" i.e., scenes that I was excited about. Every scene felt like assigned homework because it didn't have any elements that sparked joy. Just following what I thought the plot needed. 😮💨 Lesson learned! My writers block usually comes down to me boring myself by accident 😅
Honestly this month writing has felt like trying to squeeze the water out of tofu but the tofu crumbles under the pressure and now I need to figure out what to do with this absolute mess
I love how much writing can be a emotional thrill ride. The last book I wrote took 20 days, and I love it. The novel I wrote over 8 months has been in my trash pile since I wrote it. But that’s our sacrifice: sanity.
Putting a book aside is not a failure, if you truly hate writing this book there’s nothing wrong with working on "Someone Will Save You" or another story. In my experience when writing feels like how you’ve been describing it, it is because of a fundamental flaw with the story. I had the same experience during my preptober. The story was a retelling of a Greek myth, I plotted the whole thing thinking it would be super fun and rewarding to write. BUT when I wrote some early exploration of the Protag and events, I realized my worldbuilding and subplots were working, but the Protag’s voice was NOT right, almost like everything around her was interesting but she couldn’t shine because I was missing a core aspect of her character. I chose to shelve the book and do a different project, which has been the most fun writing I’ve had in months. I wonder if your having the opposite problem. It sounds like you LOVE Rowen as a character, but maybe the setting or situation you’ve placed them in isn’t the story they want to tell. If their brother’s character is flat, and the love triangle is flat, and the descriptions of the cabin (summer home? Brother’s house?) are flat; and you had the most fun writing in the beginning before you moved the story. Maybe the setting is the problem, like, maybe there’s a setting more tempting for a pyromaniac? Or a setting that’s closer to Meredith? I might be projecting but I hope that was helpful! I hate seeing you so grey, I hope you find something to write that is ✨MAGIC✨ because you deserve it, you don’t have to settle with a frustrating/unrewarding book.
Read WH Auden's poem 'Atlantis'. It's about setting out on a journey towards a mythical goal (in this case, completing a novel). "Unless you are capable/Of forgetting completely/About Atlantis, you will/Never finish your journey." Sometimes you have to put something completely to one side & immerse yourself in life, before coming back to it. A late poet friend of mine used this poem as a foundation for his own creative writing courses.
I'm a new author and somewhere between pantsing and plotting. I find when I struggle with one that leaning on the other can get me unstuck, and the mix continues. Good luck! I've learned so much about writing that has been so helpful from you. I would say something similar to what I've heard you say: You have all the tools and instincts you need, and you'll figure or feel it out. Rest and refresh and revisit.
i feel kinda bad coming in here like "I'm doing great, thanks" but i genuinely can't believe how well I'm doing. I struggled through my previous book which I finished last month (which did end up being happy with) and in a good writing month i wrote maybe 10k words. now i started the month with a new book and I've almost hit 25k words already (will today!) and i genuinely can't believe how fast I'm writing this. the first few days of the month were proper slow but after that I've gotten into a proper flow and am writing like 3k words a day. and am in love with this new project! i hope the rest of the month will go just as well. and i hope you (and you all) also will have a great rest of november writingwise!
Oh my gosh it was so fun hearing about your discovery writing process for writing a scene!! I can relate to a lot of it, and I find it kind of amazing to think about my original intentions for scenes vs what they turn into by the time I'm done writing them! It's like the littlest decisions (like down to little bits of dialogue) can just completely change the direction of a scene😆
Is there any chance that not struggling with a novel at some point is possible? Every book I’ve written has stopped me cold and laughed at me somewhere in its life. I think it’s the nature of the beast.
@@ShaelinWrites A story which stops you cold and laughs at you ! Now that is brilliant like a Cohen Bros. movie. Writers are story engineers except that engineers work in teams using scientific methods and complex computer models. Writers work mostly alone and face daunting emotional problems which engineers, scientists and executives never face. *The Story of the Thames Tunnel.* TH-cam. Brunel Museum London. Isambard Brunel aged just 19 built the first tunnel in the world under a navigable river, Old Father Thames. It worked. London has a problematic building dubbed the Walkie Talkie at 20 Fenchurch Street which dangerously reflects the sun. *Most Expensive Construction Mistakes in the World.* TH-cam. The building's mistakes were in the planning process. When you have a problem visualise it as a metaphor. Story engineering problems can be fixed. Vancouver wasn't built in a day.
As I listened to you talk about this story I looked for the 'moments that shimmered'. And Suzy shimmered bright. Maybe she is your POV character, at least I think you could find a lot of joy writing about how Rowan set fire to their brother and sister in law's lives.
Also, I really appreciate that you make these videos. I know that struggling is normal. We all know that. But I've been struggling so much, with so many things, for what feels like ages now. And so rarely seeing authors talk about the ways in which they too are struggling makes it so much harder. But your frankness with all this truly helps me feel not alone.
Sometimes you just have to step out of it. I had a idea of a book for 20 years! Yes, you read it right. Started to write it last fall. Had to quit it, cause it just didn't work. Now I'm writing my then sideproject as my main project. but I'll go back to the original book when it's time. Sometimes these things take time :)
Really appreciate the transparency and hope you can start building momentum. Nano is always tough! When I last attempted it in 2019 I got about 30K words, but the quality was so bad it killed the story and scared me away from Nano for 2 years. This year it's looking like I have a story I'll be proud of though
I’m doing two separate animation projects. I work on one for a week then the other for a week. Back and forth. It’s kept me in a much better mental space than just focusing on one project. It’s also helped quality-wise.
Holy frick. I loved those excerpts 😭 I hope this book works out for you because it seems like such an interesting concept haha, I would definitely read it.
I'm a panster too and I need to emotionally connect with the story and characters. My latest novel I'm working on didn't move fast enough so I couldn't write much. Begining with Nanowrimo I just decided to write random scenes between characters to fill the word count and it's helping so much with the story flow. I just removed the idea that the story should be in order for first draft. I'm writing what works.
I'm super sorry to learn this is an ongoing struggle, and I have very little words of reassurance to give because my own NaNo is doing great and I'm probably writing the best book I ever wrote! 😅 But I think there's a part of struggle that is kind of outside of our hands, I feel like? It depends on time, skill, what needs to be expressed, why we are writing the book... I think that, while it's important feedback when we don't "feel" a project, it's sometimes not correlated to what the project actually is. On previous projects, I often found out that one of my causes of discomfort with the project came more from my relationship and expectations towards it rather than with the project itself, for example. I don't know if that can help at all, but I'm rooting for you to end up the month pumped, full of clarity and ready to go!
Hey! I've just found your channel which means I have been listening to your videos for 4 days now while getting some work done and I just want to tell that I'm a fan! You have dozens of hours of exciting content without repeating yourself. You give advices so wisely. I'm drowning at university assignments at the moment, but I can't wait to finally finish them so I can write and try out some stuff I learned from your videos. So thank you for running this channel! You are awesome.
Oh, the ‘I can always rely on description’ is the most relatable thing ever. I feel like I just drifted away from purple prose to the sweet balance of description and bearable, readable prose. I still need to improve though. Well, when all else fails, I can just describe things in a creepy way!
Shaelin, thank you so much for making these videos! (I was skating today and did a jump that I thought was terrible but it didn't look as bad as it felt watching the recording.) I'm sure your novel is not a disaster. Maybe it's just not what you want it to be...yet :)
Wow the way I relate to all of this. Thank you for being so open and not sugar coating the writing process!!! This made me feel much less alone in my struggles 💕
I really appreciate your honesty and vulnerability regarding the writing process. I wrote my first book and few years ago and while it’s not very good and no one will ever read it I loved writing it and got so much personal satisfaction out of writing it. It was great for my mental health. I am now trying to write my second book and it’s a completely different experience, I don’t think about the characters when I’m not writing, it feels like a chore, words don’t flow onto the page and the only reason I haven’t quit is because I’m in a writing group and don’t want to be the first one to drop out. There is a real grief for what I know could be a great story but I feel like someone with more talent and depth needs to write it. So much of what you described is where I am now and it’s so comforting to know others go through it. It’s not some shameful secret.
First: I love those excerpts of SALT BIRDS! The writing is beautiful! I can’t believe it’s a first draft! I’m 21K into drafting my novel (about 5K written for NanoWriMo) and I’m also struggling, so this is relatable! I also don’t usually write that much at a time either. I might work on a different project and alternate between the two. I hope the rest of your Nano goes a bit smoother! 💜
I love the passages you shared of Salt Birds. 😎 I look forward to reading it when it's published as well as your other stories as books! Hopefully they will be available on Kindle, as I prefer to read with my Kindle device! Sending you encouragement & good vibes~ Please be gentle with yourself; I should take this advice, too. 😅
Nothing wrong with putting a project aside for a while if it's really not working! Some projects need more time to ferment in the brain before they're ready to hit the page, in my experience. I've been working on my current novel for 3.5 years at this point and have yet to write a single word! But that time spent letting it sit and turning it around in my mind and doing research and taking notes has been absolutely well spent, I'm finally going to start writing after I'm done my NaNo project, and I know it wouldn't be even close to ready for that if I hadn't let it percolate on its own for so long. Of course, your methods, being a discovery writer, are different from what works for me, but I think the same principal of "This isn't working right now, I need to let it rest for a while on its own and come back to it with a clear palate later" can apply to any type of art or style.
THIS. Some projects take years to really bake in our minds and if you start it too soon you immediately stall and everything is painful because the book just needs more time in the oven.
I really anticipated NaNo for the whole year, but covid hit me somewhere in october, when I was already late to prepping (I am not a pantser :D) and I was still finishing the novel I started writing in spring. At some point in october the point came, where I just said "nope, not this year" and threw away my plans for NaNo and decided to finish the novel I am working on for months now. So right now, I am finishing my novel, but it does not feel like NaNo for me, it just feels like... Another day of writing. Sadly. I never thought, that after I did only one NaNo (last year) I would miss it so much this year, but i wrote my debut novel (first draft) within 20 days last year and those were some of the happiest days of my life. Definitely going back to NaNo next year. Really sad to see you struggle so much :-/ Hope everything works out with your book. I think it's important to remember that you concurrent novel does not need to outscore the two ones you've written before. Just think of your favourite authors. Is their latest work always their best in your opinion? For me: Definitively not. So don't worry. There will be ups and downs, there will be great books and okayisch books you write, I think , there is no way around this, and it's totally fine. Sry if my english sucks - not my mother tongue
In the last half of preptober I had an outline of almost 50,000 words so naturally I went into NaNo absolutely pumped and sure I would smash it. It look 10 days to write 2871 words. That wasn't even my whole first chapter. I realised I was struggling because I was starting. The start of my story was so damned hard because my protagonist's story hadn't actually started. She had yet to get in trouble and meet the other characters and start her adventure. Writing it was hard because it was the boring set up. Day 12 and I'm on chapter 3 with 8,000 words done. I'm not on track to finish NaNo, but I'm finally writing with vigor. The initial slog is the hardest and I forgot about that.
If you've got plot elements you loved on paper but aren't meshing with the ones you're having fun writing right now, maybe you have two books in one? It could be a kind of tangle of two balls of yarn that look like they fit together but don't. I had that for a story once, where some of the characters belonged together but weren't meshing with the rest of the world. So I separated them and found an entirely new story and setting for the characters that worked perfectly (it took me a long time though hahah). I didn't go back to the first setting proper cause I had grown out of it by then, but I did gather the pieces of it I loved and had worked with the characters into their new story. I'm sorry your Nano's been so hard, I understand the feeling, most of the NaNoWriMos I've participated in have been just as terrible 😅 I'm glad that for the first time mine has been going easily so far. Sometimes it comes in waves, and if you're struggling this bad maybe its cause you just need to try and work on something different while your brain bubbles up ideas in the background?
I'm spiraling too lmao. I'm hitting my word count everyday, but day 8 I realized that the book was going off the rails in a way that would make it impossible to pitch to a publisher, and unfortunately I can't afford to indulge in my writing anymore, I HAVE TO make something as marketable as I can (which is already a low bar) specially in a genre as set in trends as fantasy. I hope it works out for you, or at least something that gets you to the second draft lol
Being in your own head about something that is one of the most important things in your life, that you come back to on an almost daily basis, is a very special kind of torture. I feel your pain.
Is shelving a project still a possibility for you, or now that you are almost published, do you see it as a matter of "a good writer can make any story work" so you don't want to shelve projects anymore? Being that you are such a good writer, when do you (if ever) consider that maybe the best option is just to shelve a project to resume at a later time and not see that as a bad thing, but just a natural part of the creative process. After all, by the time we get to "published stage" we've shelved dozens of projects, so shelving is kind of natural. How do you know when you're forcing a project that needs to be shelved, and when you need to stick with something because "every book is hard" and you just have to grind through it? Thank you. I like your thoughtfulness on issues like these.
I definitely would shelve a project if I felt like it was unsalvageable for some reason, but at this point I’m sooo early in the writing process that I want to give the book a proper chance before considering that! I feel a strong connection to the character which is usually what I feel is a requirement to write but also my drive to write, so as long as I have that, I want to try and make it work (but of course sometimes long breaks may be needed)
Gosh, Im having very similar issues rn with my book in which the main character is also a problematic teen named Rowan, so maybe the protag name is just cursed like that ;)) I wish I could have a definitive advice for both of us. But here are some thoughts I have from my own experiences in tackling my problematic child: since the book was with you for quite a long time, developing in your brain, maybe you’re forgetting what made you initially hyped to work on this book? As in, could you go back and remember what your initial intentions for the story were and what exactly were you excited to explore and if anything from what you have now has been added later and is now weighing you down more than lifting the story up? (even with the structure; you said you intended for the book to have more of a vignette structure initially, but then slowly moved to longer scenes: is it because the book really needed it, or because you knew Honey Vinegar had scenes like that and you slowly tried to make this novel more similar to that one? Etc. kinda trying to find the traps that might have developed around the book when you werent actively tackling it as your main wip). Another thing I thought of which is kind of related is that maybe because of being so close to this story you lost yourself in the details and forgot what the main Spine of your story is and the way that it ties everything together? To give an example, in my own writing I found that when character relevant threads were disappearing (like a character being a pyromaniac) it’s because somewhere along working on the story I “forgot” how these things grew from my initial concept and related to it and started seeing them as separate add-ons instead. So if you just remember that once upon a time you decided that your chara is a pyromaniac and you had reasons for that but then you got so used to it that you just know it without fully thinking of why, you might start losing it because it no longer feels deeply character relevant. Maybe its worth refreshing yourself on how you initially tied these things into your character’s personality and needs and desires so they start feeling more like a natural extension of them again? Reexamining the roots is something that helps me often to weed out unnecessary plot threads or things that no longer excite me about the story + rethink how I perceive various characters in the story. Anyway, best of luck with your wip; I really personally know how much of a hell this spot is to be in and I hope you can move past it and find joy in writing again ❤
I speedran NaNoWriMo this year, completed it in ten days. The novella isn’t great, but it has some good parts. I’m looking forward to and dreading the editing process at the same time.
I personally find that if there's a big problem in my project, stepping away is the best thing I can do. The problem *will* solve itself, 90% of the time. If I let it percolate in the background for a couple weeks, it works itself out, almost every time. Granted, stopping every time I have a problem means my whole process is much slower.
I was doing fine the first few days, only a couple of thousand behind. Then work hit like a hammer and I've been working over like crazy, sometimes 12 hour days, and I'm so tired and mentally drained. I'm actually really enjoying my writing but just too tired and drained from the day job to do it. Now i must be over 10,000 words behind but I'll continue until it's done, even though I won't hit the deadline.
Fun Fact: You can get superglue off of skin by working cream/oil into it. I imagine it's the same for sap; it might be easier to try it than to look it up. Just in case you want to nudge sap in the flirtatious/inappropriate direction.
This is like slaving in the salt mines. Readers get all the fun as Hemingway said, writers get to feel like shit. Just tonight I found a new writer Dorthe Nors, born in Denmark 1970. *A Line in the World - A Year on the North Sea Coast* 2022. She was walking on a Danish beach as a child and a big wave nearly pulled her into the current. These arcs of yours are like big waves. You are putting yourself through the cognitive buffer experience. Daniel Sol watched it in birds. They adjust brilliantly to new ecological challenges.
Some characters kind of just name themselves, like they arrive already named haha, but most of all I try and think of creating names that fit together to fit the story's mood and tone. So weirder/more magical names to create a more magical vibe, or more common names to create a more grounded tone, etc. Within that, I also try and name characters in a way where names that are outliers from the tone signify that the character is an outlier in a specific way, and I also try and avoid names that have the same suffix since I feel like it makes every character more distinct.
NaNoWriMo might extend over to December for me. Have done 1 of the 3 last short stories for a set. The last two are not coming as easily and I feel will work in December as they are about moving/traveling and I will be doing that too - have interstitial moments in time and space so feel it will at least work where I will be alone a bit more focused while moving/arriving during dead holidays. Will switch to doing the last edits of a screenplay I don't need to look at for 2023 but might as well do now.
Usually when I'm THIS stuck, it's usually that my elements don't serve the narrative well enough or aren't interconnected. Recently my first half of act 2 wasn't working, so I gave it a massive overhaul and turns out I had to entirely switch out the side characters and start using two new OCs I'd created from scratch at my last writing session. Now things are going smoothly. Wtf
By the gays, for the gays! Also, it was fascinating and honestly inspiring to hear a specific breakdown of your pantsing process for the scene that led to Roan’s flashback here. Your intuition is off the charts and makes me want to follow my own more often.
NaNoTryMo, because 50K words is indeed an aneurysm waiting to happen. I mean no offence when I say this, but since the first time you described "Salt Birds" as a project, I've had no damn clue what to make of it. It's not like "Honey Vinegar" where you've been structuring it around one particularly dark and savage character. (I look forward to that one because I get to drink some Diet Otessa Moshfegh.) And it's not like "Holding a Ghost" where you've been playfully experimenting with form. No ... the signals this time have been so mixed that even in my already fractured memory, I have struggled much more to retain any actual attributes of "Salt Birds". So if you as the author feel the exact same way, my heart aches for you. But the core nugget you give us at the 14:00 mark does dispel some (emphasis on *some*) of my reservations. If each chapter prior to the climax manages to shed light from a different angle on how the destruction will happen, you'll have (and forgive my oxymoronic phrasing) a tapestry of unraveling. THAT'S a fun structure. THAT'S a book I would read. The times where I didn't want to write anymore are very memorable. I remember drafting a play called "Corbald the Obvious Conquers Iqaluit" which was supposed to be a musical. Problem 1: musicals are not my forte. Problem 2: there were no actual relationships, just random people bickering at each other. It made me depressed. So I stopped. Please don't let "Salt Birds" depress you for too long. If it does, may it R.I.P.
The reason you probably don’t “get” this book like my other work is because I have been very careful with what of it I share online because people have plagiarized me before, so I am sharing much less detail about the concept. You probably don’t remember much detail because I have shared little of the core concept and have been sparing/intentional in what I share online. However yes, you are correct that the structure is basically an unravelling of relationships.
Well I'm not happy you had to go through that ... if I ever meet those plagiarists I will eat them ... but it is a relief that you continue to have concepts that are worth the effort of guarding them (this time). It can't be all bad. Even at the end you were saying there's things you like you were weighing against the things you don't.
A slow unravelling novel makes me think of *Little Gods* by Meng Jin. And I wonder what Meng's novel would have sounded like when it was in its early stages as Shaelin is with Salt Birds ? Or how about *The Glass Motel* by Emily St. John Mandel which one reviewer likened to a treasure map ripped to pieces ? *Ways to Disappear* by Idra Novey dances along like *The Night Tiger* by Yangsze Choo but Novey's narrative fragments & reassembles. *E.E.G.* by Dasa Drndic (translated Croatian) moves from Rijeka to Rovinj, Belgrade to Toronto, a chess match with 20th Century history. Novelists are writing a history of the future and they must believe that on some level their story already exists. It needs to be discovered. What would *The House of Leaves* have sounded like to its creator as he was writing it ? Raymond Chandler's plots unravel & re-ravel enticingly. William Faulkner wrote the screenplay of *The Big Sleep* and could not figure it.
Novelists write histories of the future even when their tale is set in the past. Or the magical realist past as some writers prefer. The past is not past as Faulkner said. And it is always changing, historians are always rewriting it. Revisionists re-imagine. Friedrich Schiller's play *The Robbers and Wallenstein* could be a comment on the illegal invasion of Iraq by Bush Jr and Bair. The Penguin edition has a cover of Rembrandt's The Man With the Gold Helmet: Presidents & Prime Ministers yearn to wear it.
I'm working on a novel that I call "A Road Called Cemetery." For the first 7 days I was right on track. But then I got past my initial notes and things slowed down on the 8th day but I was still just barely on track. But on 11/9 I got really sick for a couple days and now I'm way behind and trying to figure out what the hell comes next in the story after writing only about 400 words per day for the last 3 days.
Not you writing a Notes from Crocodile after u didn't love it last month hahahaha this just sounds sooooo much (in a good way) like that book lmaoo haha best of luck!!!
I suspect that every novel has its own place in a writer's chronology. When Neil Gaiman first came up with the concept for the Graveyard Book, he quickly came to the conclusion that he didn't have the chops for it. He revisited the idea every few years until, eventually, he felt his skills were sufficient.
25:56 I find that queer lit is most interesting and affecting when it doesn't fall into one of the two categories. Not just for the queers, and not just "educational" for cishets. I think there is a great balance to be struck. There is this subtlety like a freight train that we queers have. We walk around calling ourselves any everything not explicitly hetero, gay. Sometimes just anything really nice or cute. (Peter Parker and MJ kiss for the fisrt time: "awww gayy." - hmm. Maybe secretly I headcanon everyone as non-binary). Or maybe thats just my community lmao. So, I feel like *not* being a little bombastic with the queerness would be a little unrealistic. But I also think genuine personal experience that queer people can connect with is also important. It's certainly just my taste, but I do appreciate when there is a good balance of both, and that's what I try to do.
Have you thought about giving this novel to your agent? To bounce ideas. Even though your agent is for Honey Vinegar it might spark some ideas for you to help you progress your novel. Hopefully that idea will help.
Don't beat yourself up. I decided to write the worst, wildest book I could, and I came up with a fun novel, that I finished early. Because I realize if I wasn't scared if it was bad I could really have fun. Yes, it needs a ton of work, but it's okay. I am a planter and use a little planning and a lot of discovery. Stop being mean to yourself if it's not perfect the first time. You got this. Stop thinking about trying to write well and do this for fun. When you are a discovery writer your first draft is just an outline with dialogue and action, and it's probably not as terrible as you think it is. Treat this as fanfiction. Since your best parts are in your character's head maybe try to write duel first person.
“The type of writing where after every two sentences, you refresh Twitter” 💀 💀 God. Yes I hate it Side note: I’ve been so absent from watching your videos for some reason. But now I have a lot of content to binge while I edit my booty manuscript!! 🎉
.... P.S. If it makes you feel any better: let's say you were put the plot points you're describing in the hands of an author like me. "Salt Birds" would be 200K words long; it would be a mock-Faulknerian family saga where cult philosophy eats a family from the inside while the neighbors are trying to figure out what the hell their deal is; there would furthermore be an abundance of LSD hallucinations and silly bird puns. It's a guarantee that your version of the book is better.
About to be 38 years old and trying to write a novel (or a story) since 19 and it’s… not going. Another year of failure. Starting to wonder if it’s worth it.
Definitely worth it. Keep at it. 38 is still young and you don't have to be in a race with anyone but yourself. Also, not all first projects are the best ones since they usually are in our heads quite a bit so there's a lot of pressure. Or conversely, we write the very first thing that pops in our mind, and think we have to stick with it to learn, when really switching projects is better.
I'm personally not experienced enough to advise you on whether to ditch it or continue (although consider the first reply to your comment!) but I can say, just be solution-oriented and find your next step! Praying for your success! :) 🙏👍
*Ah!!! I get it!!* In your various scenes here, you're dressed and acting in-character as a writer who is *trying desperately to get her act together!!* 😬🙄😯😦😧😮😲 VERY good example of "showing" (in addition to telling)!!!" Thank you!! 🤣🤣🤓 Also: In general: I love your insight on writing and publishing. So -- sincerely: Thank you.
You should stop writing for a few days and do something out-of-the-ordinary. You will return to your work with fresh eyes and thoughts. Kind regards, Corey.
I wrote a book I was struggling with it. I set it aside and started another book. When I finished my other book, I came back to that book that I was struggling with. I was able to write it. I had to clear my mind of it and that helped.
I'm not sure if you have an understanding yet of how valuable your writing vlog videos are to us as your audience. They may have some repetitive parts, yes, but they're bursting with expertise and inspiration. And besides, they feel like a chance to get to know you a little better which is a valuable experience in itself. I'm looking forward to every single one of them and I'm so grateful that you decided to share all those thoughts with us.
This tip feels really obvious but it's worked really well for me: asking myself what I want to happen (whether that's in my plot, in the character relationships, or in the actual writing process) and then asking what's stopping that from happening. For my writing process, the main examples are that I didn't like one of the main charatcers' names anymore, and I didn't know how the book was going to end which was making me nervous because even though I don't outline, I like to know where I'm going. I haven't necessarily solved the second problem yet, but I've been able to start working towards a solution at least.
I actually learned this as a general life tip for executive dysfunction for neurodivergency, and have been using it for basically everything in my life for awhile now. I could never get any work done because my room was always a mess, but I could never bring myself to clean even though I don't mind cleaning. I figured out it's because I needed to actually organize my room and not just clean it, I needed to get some boxes and shelving solutions and containers for all my office supplies in order to feel like cleaning even made a difference. So hopefully it can be helpful in writing as well!
Oof I feel this. I felt this way the entire way through 70k of a dystopian novel I was working on in 2017. For me, I eventually realized the problem was that I didn't have any "cookies" i.e., scenes that I was excited about. Every scene felt like assigned homework because it didn't have any elements that sparked joy. Just following what I thought the plot needed. 😮💨 Lesson learned! My writers block usually comes down to me boring myself by accident 😅
Honestly this month writing has felt like trying to squeeze the water out of tofu but the tofu crumbles under the pressure and now I need to figure out what to do with this absolute mess
as an avid tofu eater this analogy really hits home
I love how much writing can be a emotional thrill ride. The last book I wrote took 20 days, and I love it. The novel I wrote over 8 months has been in my trash pile since I wrote it. But that’s our sacrifice: sanity.
Omg 20 days!!! Okay amazing!!!
Putting a book aside is not a failure, if you truly hate writing this book there’s nothing wrong with working on "Someone Will Save You" or another story.
In my experience when writing feels like how you’ve been describing it, it is because of a fundamental flaw with the story. I had the same experience during my preptober. The story was a retelling of a Greek myth, I plotted the whole thing thinking it would be super fun and rewarding to write. BUT when I wrote some early exploration of the Protag and events, I realized my worldbuilding and subplots were working, but the Protag’s voice was NOT right, almost like everything around her was interesting but she couldn’t shine because I was missing a core aspect of her character. I chose to shelve the book and do a different project, which has been the most fun writing I’ve had in months.
I wonder if your having the opposite problem.
It sounds like you LOVE Rowen as a character, but maybe the setting or situation you’ve placed them in isn’t the story they want to tell. If their brother’s character is flat, and the love triangle is flat, and the descriptions of the cabin (summer home? Brother’s house?) are flat; and you had the most fun writing in the beginning before you moved the story. Maybe the setting is the problem, like, maybe there’s a setting more tempting for a pyromaniac? Or a setting that’s closer to Meredith?
I might be projecting but I hope that was helpful! I hate seeing you so grey, I hope you find something to write that is ✨MAGIC✨ because you deserve it, you don’t have to settle with a frustrating/unrewarding book.
Read WH Auden's poem 'Atlantis'. It's about setting out on a journey towards a mythical goal (in this case, completing a novel). "Unless you are capable/Of forgetting completely/About Atlantis, you will/Never finish your journey." Sometimes you have to put something completely to one side & immerse yourself in life, before coming back to it. A late poet friend of mine used this poem as a foundation for his own creative writing courses.
Now this. This is the type of "forbidden" relationship that's intriguing.
Hang in there. Your channel’s one of the reasons I manage to write at all.
I'm a new author and somewhere between pantsing and plotting. I find when I struggle with one that leaning on the other can get me unstuck, and the mix continues. Good luck! I've learned so much about writing that has been so helpful from you. I would say something similar to what I've heard you say: You have all the tools and instincts you need, and you'll figure or feel it out. Rest and refresh and revisit.
I'm rooting for you, Shaelin! NaNo is a great idea just to get yourself out of your own head and go full steam ahead on the first draft. Good luck.
i feel kinda bad coming in here like "I'm doing great, thanks" but i genuinely can't believe how well I'm doing. I struggled through my previous book which I finished last month (which did end up being happy with) and in a good writing month i wrote maybe 10k words. now i started the month with a new book and I've almost hit 25k words already (will today!) and i genuinely can't believe how fast I'm writing this. the first few days of the month were proper slow but after that I've gotten into a proper flow and am writing like 3k words a day. and am in love with this new project! i hope the rest of the month will go just as well. and i hope you (and you all) also will have a great rest of november writingwise!
Hearing that other people are thriving is actually the best thing!!!
Oh my gosh it was so fun hearing about your discovery writing process for writing a scene!! I can relate to a lot of it, and I find it kind of amazing to think about my original intentions for scenes vs what they turn into by the time I'm done writing them! It's like the littlest decisions (like down to little bits of dialogue) can just completely change the direction of a scene😆
Is there any chance that not struggling with a novel at some point is possible? Every book I’ve written has stopped me cold and laughed at me somewhere in its life. I think it’s the nature of the beast.
Haha oh I think struggling with a novel is absolutely guaranteed, this one is just being a next level of difficult!
@@ShaelinWrites A story which stops you cold and laughs at you ! Now that is brilliant like a Cohen Bros. movie.
Writers are story engineers except that engineers work in teams using scientific methods and complex computer models.
Writers work mostly alone and face daunting emotional problems which engineers, scientists and executives never face.
*The Story of the Thames Tunnel.* TH-cam. Brunel Museum London.
Isambard Brunel aged just 19 built the first tunnel in the world under a navigable river, Old Father Thames. It worked.
London has a problematic building dubbed the Walkie Talkie at 20 Fenchurch Street which dangerously reflects the sun.
*Most Expensive Construction Mistakes in the World.* TH-cam. The building's mistakes were in the planning process.
When you have a problem visualise it as a metaphor. Story engineering problems can be fixed. Vancouver wasn't built in a day.
@@ShaelinWrites Maybe it's in an alternate reality, like a video game. Time to level up, Shaelin ;).
As I listened to you talk about this story I looked for the 'moments that shimmered'. And Suzy shimmered bright. Maybe she is your POV character, at least I think you could find a lot of joy writing about how Rowan set fire to their brother and sister in law's lives.
Also, I really appreciate that you make these videos.
I know that struggling is normal. We all know that. But I've been struggling so much, with so many things, for what feels like ages now. And so rarely seeing authors talk about the ways in which they too are struggling makes it so much harder. But your frankness with all this truly helps me feel not alone.
Sometimes you just have to step out of it. I had a idea of a book for 20 years! Yes, you read it right. Started to write it last fall. Had to quit it, cause it just didn't work. Now I'm writing my then sideproject as my main project. but I'll go back to the original book when it's time. Sometimes these things take time :)
My self-published book has a character named Rowan! I don’t see that name often so it’s super cool that your protagonist also shares it :)
Really appreciate the transparency and hope you can start building momentum.
Nano is always tough! When I last attempted it in 2019 I got about 30K words, but the quality was so bad it killed the story and scared me away from Nano for 2 years. This year it's looking like I have a story I'll be proud of though
I’m doing two separate animation projects. I work on one for a week then the other for a week. Back and forth. It’s kept me in a much better mental space than just focusing on one project. It’s also helped quality-wise.
Holy frick. I loved those excerpts 😭 I hope this book works out for you because it seems like such an interesting concept haha, I would definitely read it.
thank you!! it is going much better now!
I'm a panster too and I need to emotionally connect with the story and characters. My latest novel I'm working on didn't move fast enough so I couldn't write much. Begining with Nanowrimo I just decided to write random scenes between characters to fill the word count and it's helping so much with the story flow. I just removed the idea that the story should be in order for first draft. I'm writing what works.
I'm super sorry to learn this is an ongoing struggle, and I have very little words of reassurance to give because my own NaNo is doing great and I'm probably writing the best book I ever wrote! 😅 But I think there's a part of struggle that is kind of outside of our hands, I feel like? It depends on time, skill, what needs to be expressed, why we are writing the book... I think that, while it's important feedback when we don't "feel" a project, it's sometimes not correlated to what the project actually is. On previous projects, I often found out that one of my causes of discomfort with the project came more from my relationship and expectations towards it rather than with the project itself, for example. I don't know if that can help at all, but I'm rooting for you to end up the month pumped, full of clarity and ready to go!
Hey! I've just found your channel which means I have been listening to your videos for 4 days now while getting some work done and I just want to tell that I'm a fan! You have dozens of hours of exciting content without repeating yourself. You give advices so wisely. I'm drowning at university assignments at the moment, but I can't wait to finally finish them so I can write and try out some stuff I learned from your videos. So thank you for running this channel! You are awesome.
Oh, the ‘I can always rely on description’ is the most relatable thing ever. I feel like I just drifted away from purple prose to the sweet balance of description and bearable, readable prose. I still need to improve though. Well, when all else fails, I can just describe things in a creepy way!
Shaelin, thank you so much for making these videos! (I was skating today and did a jump that I thought was terrible but it didn't look as bad as it felt watching the recording.) I'm sure your novel is not a disaster. Maybe it's just not what you want it to be...yet :)
Wow the way I relate to all of this. Thank you for being so open and not sugar coating the writing process!!! This made me feel much less alone in my struggles 💕
I really appreciate your honesty and vulnerability regarding the writing process.
I wrote my first book and few years ago and while it’s not very good and no one will ever read it I loved writing it and got so much personal satisfaction out of writing it. It was great for my mental health.
I am now trying to write my second book and it’s a completely different experience, I don’t think about the characters when I’m not writing, it feels like a chore, words don’t flow onto the page and the only reason I haven’t quit is because I’m in a writing group and don’t want to be the first one to drop out.
There is a real grief for what I know could be a great story but I feel like someone with more talent and depth needs to write it.
So much of what you described is where I am now and it’s so comforting to know others go through it. It’s not some shameful secret.
First: I love those excerpts of SALT BIRDS! The writing is beautiful! I can’t believe it’s a first draft!
I’m 21K into drafting my novel (about 5K written for NanoWriMo) and I’m also struggling, so this is relatable! I also don’t usually write that much at a time either. I might work on a different project and alternate between the two. I hope the rest of your Nano goes a bit smoother! 💜
I love the passages you shared of Salt Birds. 😎 I look forward to reading it when it's published as well as your other stories as books! Hopefully they will be available on Kindle, as I prefer to read with my Kindle device! Sending you encouragement & good vibes~ Please be gentle with yourself; I should take this advice, too. 😅
Nothing wrong with putting a project aside for a while if it's really not working! Some projects need more time to ferment in the brain before they're ready to hit the page, in my experience. I've been working on my current novel for 3.5 years at this point and have yet to write a single word! But that time spent letting it sit and turning it around in my mind and doing research and taking notes has been absolutely well spent, I'm finally going to start writing after I'm done my NaNo project, and I know it wouldn't be even close to ready for that if I hadn't let it percolate on its own for so long. Of course, your methods, being a discovery writer, are different from what works for me, but I think the same principal of "This isn't working right now, I need to let it rest for a while on its own and come back to it with a clear palate later" can apply to any type of art or style.
THIS. Some projects take years to really bake in our minds and if you start it too soon you immediately stall and everything is painful because the book just needs more time in the oven.
I really anticipated NaNo for the whole year, but covid hit me somewhere in october, when I was already late to prepping (I am not a pantser :D) and I was still finishing the novel I started writing in spring.
At some point in october the point came, where I just said "nope, not this year" and threw away my plans for NaNo and decided to finish the novel I am working on for months now.
So right now, I am finishing my novel, but it does not feel like NaNo for me, it just feels like... Another day of writing. Sadly. I never thought, that after I did only one NaNo (last year) I would miss it so much this year, but i wrote my debut novel (first draft) within 20 days last year and those were some of the happiest days of my life. Definitely going back to NaNo next year.
Really sad to see you struggle so much :-/ Hope everything works out with your book. I think it's important to remember that you concurrent novel does not need to outscore the two ones you've written before. Just think of your favourite authors. Is their latest work always their best in your opinion? For me: Definitively not. So don't worry. There will be ups and downs, there will be great books and okayisch books you write, I think , there is no way around this, and it's totally fine.
Sry if my english sucks - not my mother tongue
In the last half of preptober I had an outline of almost 50,000 words so naturally I went into NaNo absolutely pumped and sure I would smash it. It look 10 days to write 2871 words. That wasn't even my whole first chapter.
I realised I was struggling because I was starting. The start of my story was so damned hard because my protagonist's story hadn't actually started. She had yet to get in trouble and meet the other characters and start her adventure. Writing it was hard because it was the boring set up.
Day 12 and I'm on chapter 3 with 8,000 words done. I'm not on track to finish NaNo, but I'm finally writing with vigor. The initial slog is the hardest and I forgot about that.
If you've got plot elements you loved on paper but aren't meshing with the ones you're having fun writing right now, maybe you have two books in one? It could be a kind of tangle of two balls of yarn that look like they fit together but don't.
I had that for a story once, where some of the characters belonged together but weren't meshing with the rest of the world. So I separated them and found an entirely new story and setting for the characters that worked perfectly (it took me a long time though hahah). I didn't go back to the first setting proper cause I had grown out of it by then, but I did gather the pieces of it I loved and had worked with the characters into their new story.
I'm sorry your Nano's been so hard, I understand the feeling, most of the NaNoWriMos I've participated in have been just as terrible 😅 I'm glad that for the first time mine has been going easily so far. Sometimes it comes in waves, and if you're struggling this bad maybe its cause you just need to try and work on something different while your brain bubbles up ideas in the background?
I'm spiraling too lmao. I'm hitting my word count everyday, but day 8 I realized that the book was going off the rails in a way that would make it impossible to pitch to a publisher, and unfortunately I can't afford to indulge in my writing anymore, I HAVE TO make something as marketable as I can (which is already a low bar) specially in a genre as set in trends as fantasy. I hope it works out for you, or at least something that gets you to the second draft lol
Being in your own head about something that is one of the most important things in your life, that you come back to on an almost daily basis, is a very special kind of torture. I feel your pain.
Is shelving a project still a possibility for you, or now that you are almost published, do you see it as a matter of "a good writer can make any story work" so you don't want to shelve projects anymore? Being that you are such a good writer, when do you (if ever) consider that maybe the best option is just to shelve a project to resume at a later time and not see that as a bad thing, but just a natural part of the creative process. After all, by the time we get to "published stage" we've shelved dozens of projects, so shelving is kind of natural. How do you know when you're forcing a project that needs to be shelved, and when you need to stick with something because "every book is hard" and you just have to grind through it? Thank you. I like your thoughtfulness on issues like these.
I definitely would shelve a project if I felt like it was unsalvageable for some reason, but at this point I’m sooo early in the writing process that I want to give the book a proper chance before considering that! I feel a strong connection to the character which is usually what I feel is a requirement to write but also my drive to write, so as long as I have that, I want to try and make it work (but of course sometimes long breaks may be needed)
Girl, same. My book feels like four people talking in different rooms about the same thing
Rooting for you 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
Gosh, Im having very similar issues rn with my book in which the main character is also a problematic teen named Rowan, so maybe the protag name is just cursed like that ;)) I wish I could have a definitive advice for both of us. But here are some thoughts I have from my own experiences in tackling my problematic child: since the book was with you for quite a long time, developing in your brain, maybe you’re forgetting what made you initially hyped to work on this book? As in, could you go back and remember what your initial intentions for the story were and what exactly were you excited to explore and if anything from what you have now has been added later and is now weighing you down more than lifting the story up? (even with the structure; you said you intended for the book to have more of a vignette structure initially, but then slowly moved to longer scenes: is it because the book really needed it, or because you knew Honey Vinegar had scenes like that and you slowly tried to make this novel more similar to that one? Etc. kinda trying to find the traps that might have developed around the book when you werent actively tackling it as your main wip). Another thing I thought of which is kind of related is that maybe because of being so close to this story you lost yourself in the details and forgot what the main Spine of your story is and the way that it ties everything together? To give an example, in my own writing I found that when character relevant threads were disappearing (like a character being a pyromaniac) it’s because somewhere along working on the story I “forgot” how these things grew from my initial concept and related to it and started seeing them as separate add-ons instead. So if you just remember that once upon a time you decided that your chara is a pyromaniac and you had reasons for that but then you got so used to it that you just know it without fully thinking of why, you might start losing it because it no longer feels deeply character relevant. Maybe its worth refreshing yourself on how you initially tied these things into your character’s personality and needs and desires so they start feeling more like a natural extension of them again? Reexamining the roots is something that helps me often to weed out unnecessary plot threads or things that no longer excite me about the story + rethink how I perceive various characters in the story. Anyway, best of luck with your wip; I really personally know how much of a hell this spot is to be in and I hope you can move past it and find joy in writing again ❤
I speedran NaNoWriMo this year, completed it in ten days. The novella isn’t great, but it has some good parts. I’m looking forward to and dreading the editing process at the same time.
I personally find that if there's a big problem in my project, stepping away is the best thing I can do. The problem *will* solve itself, 90% of the time. If I let it percolate in the background for a couple weeks, it works itself out, almost every time. Granted, stopping every time I have a problem means my whole process is much slower.
I was doing fine the first few days, only a couple of thousand behind. Then work hit like a hammer and I've been working over like crazy, sometimes 12 hour days, and I'm so tired and mentally drained. I'm actually really enjoying my writing but just too tired and drained from the day job to do it. Now i must be over 10,000 words behind but I'll continue until it's done, even though I won't hit the deadline.
Fun Fact:
You can get superglue off of skin by working cream/oil into it. I imagine it's the same for sap; it might be easier to try it than to look it up. Just in case you want to nudge sap in the flirtatious/inappropriate direction.
interesting👀
This is like slaving in the salt mines. Readers get all the fun as Hemingway said, writers get to feel like shit.
Just tonight I found a new writer Dorthe Nors, born in Denmark 1970. *A Line in the World - A Year on the North Sea Coast* 2022.
She was walking on a Danish beach as a child and a big wave nearly pulled her into the current. These arcs of yours are like big waves.
You are putting yourself through the cognitive buffer experience. Daniel Sol watched it in birds. They adjust brilliantly to new ecological challenges.
Good choice of character names! On that subject, how do you name your characters?
Some characters kind of just name themselves, like they arrive already named haha, but most of all I try and think of creating names that fit together to fit the story's mood and tone. So weirder/more magical names to create a more magical vibe, or more common names to create a more grounded tone, etc. Within that, I also try and name characters in a way where names that are outliers from the tone signify that the character is an outlier in a specific way, and I also try and avoid names that have the same suffix since I feel like it makes every character more distinct.
NaNoWriMo might extend over to December for me. Have done 1 of the 3 last short stories for a set. The last two are not coming as easily and I feel will work in December as they are about moving/traveling and I will be doing that too - have interstitial moments in time and space so feel it will at least work where I will be alone a bit more focused while moving/arriving during dead holidays. Will switch to doing the last edits of a screenplay I don't need to look at for 2023 but might as well do now.
Yeah Shaelin! Welcome to where the rubber hits the road. I get soooooooooo frustrated during Nano.... :)
Usually when I'm THIS stuck, it's usually that my elements don't serve the narrative well enough or aren't interconnected. Recently my first half of act 2 wasn't working, so I gave it a massive overhaul and turns out I had to entirely switch out the side characters and start using two new OCs I'd created from scratch at my last writing session. Now things are going smoothly. Wtf
By the gays, for the gays!
Also, it was fascinating and honestly inspiring to hear a specific breakdown of your pantsing process for the scene that led to Roan’s flashback here. Your intuition is off the charts and makes me want to follow my own more often.
I can't finish my book..can you give some tips..i don't know..I'm stuck at one point now..😩💔
NaNoTryMo, because 50K words is indeed an aneurysm waiting to happen.
I mean no offence when I say this, but since the first time you described "Salt Birds" as a project, I've had no damn clue what to make of it. It's not like "Honey Vinegar" where you've been structuring it around one particularly dark and savage character. (I look forward to that one because I get to drink some Diet Otessa Moshfegh.) And it's not like "Holding a Ghost" where you've been playfully experimenting with form. No ... the signals this time have been so mixed that even in my already fractured memory, I have struggled much more to retain any actual attributes of "Salt Birds". So if you as the author feel the exact same way, my heart aches for you.
But the core nugget you give us at the 14:00 mark does dispel some (emphasis on *some*) of my reservations. If each chapter prior to the climax manages to shed light from a different angle on how the destruction will happen, you'll have (and forgive my oxymoronic phrasing) a tapestry of unraveling. THAT'S a fun structure. THAT'S a book I would read.
The times where I didn't want to write anymore are very memorable. I remember drafting a play called "Corbald the Obvious Conquers Iqaluit" which was supposed to be a musical. Problem 1: musicals are not my forte. Problem 2: there were no actual relationships, just random people bickering at each other. It made me depressed. So I stopped.
Please don't let "Salt Birds" depress you for too long. If it does, may it R.I.P.
Nicely put. 😇
The reason you probably don’t “get” this book like my other work is because I have been very careful with what of it I share online because people have plagiarized me before, so I am sharing much less detail about the concept. You probably don’t remember much detail because I have shared little of the core concept and have been sparing/intentional in what I share online. However yes, you are correct that the structure is basically an unravelling of relationships.
Well I'm not happy you had to go through that ... if I ever meet those plagiarists I will eat them ... but it is a relief that you continue to have concepts that are worth the effort of guarding them (this time). It can't be all bad. Even at the end you were saying there's things you like you were weighing against the things you don't.
A slow unravelling novel makes me think of *Little Gods* by Meng Jin.
And I wonder what Meng's novel would have sounded like when it was in its early stages as Shaelin is with Salt Birds ?
Or how about *The Glass Motel* by Emily St. John Mandel which one reviewer likened to a treasure map ripped to pieces ?
*Ways to Disappear* by Idra Novey dances along like *The Night Tiger* by Yangsze Choo but Novey's narrative fragments & reassembles.
*E.E.G.* by Dasa Drndic (translated Croatian) moves from Rijeka to Rovinj, Belgrade to Toronto, a chess match with 20th Century history.
Novelists are writing a history of the future and they must believe that on some level their story already exists. It needs to be discovered.
What would *The House of Leaves* have sounded like to its creator as he was writing it ?
Raymond Chandler's plots unravel & re-ravel enticingly. William Faulkner wrote the screenplay of *The Big Sleep* and could not figure it.
Novelists write histories of the future even when their tale is set in the past. Or the magical realist past as some writers prefer.
The past is not past as Faulkner said. And it is always changing, historians are always rewriting it. Revisionists re-imagine.
Friedrich Schiller's play *The Robbers and Wallenstein* could be a comment on the illegal invasion of Iraq by Bush Jr and Bair.
The Penguin edition has a cover of Rembrandt's The Man With the Gold Helmet: Presidents & Prime Ministers yearn to wear it.
I think that pattern you described at the beginning is callled "the story engine" in TV writing
I'm working on a novel that I call "A Road Called Cemetery." For the first 7 days I was right on track. But then I got past my initial notes and things slowed down on the 8th day but I was still just barely on track. But on 11/9 I got really sick for a couple days and now I'm way behind and trying to figure out what the hell comes next in the story after writing only about 400 words per day for the last 3 days.
Not you writing a Notes from Crocodile after u didn't love it last month hahahaha this just sounds sooooo much (in a good way) like that book lmaoo haha best of luck!!!
haha they're very different but there's a lot I really admire about notes of a crocodile!!
I suspect that every novel has its own place in a writer's chronology. When Neil Gaiman first came up with the concept for the Graveyard Book, he quickly came to the conclusion that he didn't have the chops for it. He revisited the idea every few years until, eventually, he felt his skills were sufficient.
25:56 I find that queer lit is most interesting and affecting when it doesn't fall into one of the two categories. Not just for the queers, and not just "educational" for cishets. I think there is a great balance to be struck.
There is this subtlety like a freight train that we queers have. We walk around calling ourselves any everything not explicitly hetero, gay. Sometimes just anything really nice or cute. (Peter Parker and MJ kiss for the fisrt time: "awww gayy." - hmm. Maybe secretly I headcanon everyone as non-binary). Or maybe thats just my community lmao.
So, I feel like *not* being a little bombastic with the queerness would be a little unrealistic. But I also think genuine personal experience that queer people can connect with is also important.
It's certainly just my taste, but I do appreciate when there is a good balance of both, and that's what I try to do.
Have you thought about giving this novel to your agent? To bounce ideas. Even though your agent is for Honey Vinegar it might spark some ideas for you to help you progress your novel. Hopefully that idea will help.
Don't beat yourself up. I decided to write the worst, wildest book I could, and I came up with a fun novel, that I finished early. Because I realize if I wasn't scared if it was bad I could really have fun. Yes, it needs a ton of work, but it's okay. I am a planter and use a little planning and a lot of discovery. Stop being mean to yourself if it's not perfect the first time. You got this. Stop thinking about trying to write well and do this for fun. When you are a discovery writer your first draft is just an outline with dialogue and action, and it's probably not as terrible as you think it is. Treat this as fanfiction. Since your best parts are in your character's head maybe try to write duel first person.
6:40 to 7:20 is so me. but like. the entire time im writing lmfao 🥴💜
Most of my work is a disaster. Maybe ten to twenty percent is of some quality. Don't sweat it too much - it's inevitable. Stoicism is the key.
You are a shining star in the sky of a peaceful night.
“The type of writing where after every two sentences, you refresh Twitter” 💀 💀 God. Yes I hate it
Side note: I’ve been so absent from watching your videos for some reason. But now I have a lot of content to binge while I edit my booty manuscript!! 🎉
.... P.S. If it makes you feel any better: let's say you were put the plot points you're describing in the hands of an author like me. "Salt Birds" would be 200K words long; it would be a mock-Faulknerian family saga where cult philosophy eats a family from the inside while the neighbors are trying to figure out what the hell their deal is; there would furthermore be an abundance of LSD hallucinations and silly bird puns.
It's a guarantee that your version of the book is better.
I wish I had the answer to the question: "Should I continue if I'm suffering?"
Yeah, doing the emotional work to attach to your characters and their situation is hard to the point of exhaustion.
It is 5 am in the morning here, and I'm wondering why you are whispering 😆
About to be 38 years old and trying to write a novel (or a story) since 19 and it’s… not going.
Another year of failure.
Starting to wonder if it’s worth it.
Definitely worth it. Keep at it. 38 is still young and you don't have to be in a race with anyone but yourself. Also, not all first projects are the best ones since they usually are in our heads quite a bit so there's a lot of pressure. Or conversely, we write the very first thing that pops in our mind, and think we have to stick with it to learn, when really switching projects is better.
I'm personally not experienced enough to advise you on whether to ditch it or continue (although consider the first reply to your comment!) but I can say, just be solution-oriented and find your next step! Praying for your success! :) 🙏👍
Is there something about flavours that hit a spot in your brain? Salt, honey, vinegar, ghost (peppers)…
Shaelin 😍❤❤❤❤❤🌷🌷🌷
When you read what you wrote, does it entertain you? Maybe you’re writing something you’re not completely engaged in.
Shaelin: It's the worst thing I've ever written.
Us, writing the exact same thing: This is the best thing I've ever written!!!
Hahaha yes!!!
Shaelin, you are beautiful.
By the gays for the gays.
honestly the best kind of work!!
were you sick?
No haha Halloween weekend just killed my voice for a couple days
*Ah!!! I get it!!*
In your various scenes here, you're dressed and acting in-character as a writer who is *trying desperately to get her act together!!*
😬🙄😯😦😧😮😲 VERY good example of "showing" (in addition to telling)!!!"
Thank you!! 🤣🤣🤓
Also: In general: I love your insight on writing and publishing.
So -- sincerely: Thank you.
133
You should stop writing for a few days and do something out-of-the-ordinary. You will return to your work with fresh eyes and thoughts.
Kind regards, Corey.
The subconscious brain works miracles, given enough time.
@@socman002It's when you stop looking for something that you find it.
@@coreyh1956 True. And when we stop trying so hard, it comes more easily. An odd (but true) paradox. :)
Cant hear a thing.
CONTENT FROM SHAELIN. GOBBLEGOBBLEGOBBLE!
Content from maddestdog. GROWLGROWLGROWL !