During my journey so far as a writer I have come across many types of people. Those who are writers and those who claim they are writers, yet never put pen to paper. It isn't easy being the former of the two, in fact it is damn hard work. I've spent years perfecting my craft with very little monetary gain in comparison. But like with any art, it isn't about the money.
I currently have two novels "under construction". Meaning I have written hundreds of pages in each but find myself struggling for that perfect ending. Of course when I think of all of the books I have read, the endings are almost never perfect. I doubt there is such a thing. And still I cannot find my way to the end.
This is a problem I know many fiction writers suffer from. Either you can't find the ending or you're stuck in the beginning overwhelmed by those coming to life in your pages or on your screen. But over time I've come to realize a few things. Here are a few of my coping techniques.
1. Know when to walk away.Sometimes you have to leave that world in order to get a better grip on it. It's so easy to get so caught up in your make believe world that you become part of the confusion. Step back and do something else for awhile. Give your mind a chance to clear. Approach it later when you're refreshed and seeing things more clearly.
2. Don't quit.I can't tell you how many times I see this. On a certain writer's forum I'm a member of (listed below) I often see people posting with complaints that they have unfinished work that has been sitting for months or years and they are unsure if they should pick it up again or try a re-write. The point here is that the piece is haunting them. They began to give life to something but didn't have the heart to follow it through. And then they go back to it later and have no idea what to do with it. Some advice I read from author Laurell K. Hamilton is what I carry around with me when I work on my fiction. She said that nothing else matters if you don't finish what you started.
3. Let the story write itself.It sounds a little crazy but what I mean is once you get rolling and the flow is coming so smoothly that you don't even have to think about what comes next...don't! A character truly brought to life in your mind has a way of leading the story so that they are showing you what comes next rather than you pulling their puppet strings. There is a magic here that you want to embrace. Find yourself somewhere quiet to write or somewhere that inspires you. Get into your personal groove and just let it go.
I can't claim any New York Times bestseller list credits yet but I don't intend to give up. I just need to finish what I've started. It does get hard to devote enough time to fiction especially when you're working a day job or like me and writing non-fiction for a living. But it is worth it. So devote some time to your craft and you'll be glad you did.
My recommended place to visit if you're a writer is the forum on www.writersdigest.com. A wonderfully informative place.
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