Staying Faithful to Your WIP
With people, I am as faithful as they come. But with stories, it seems, I cannot help but be unfaithful. As soon as I start to really fall for a story, to get to know it well, to understand what it is trying to say and to love the characters, my mind’s eye starts to wander away from my work-in-progress.
That is exactly what is happening right now, as I write my first novel. About 25,000 words in, and I’m struggling to stay faithful to it. I am beginning to see all of the flaws of the story, and I am exaggerating them until they are all I can see. I am finding it hard to see past its flaws, finding it hard to love it and to get excited about it. My mind wanders, and I find myself looking at all my short story ideas that I have written down, wondering which one I should finally start writing. My imagination has been coming up with new ideas, even, new ideas for short stories, that in my mind sound new and exciting and sexy.
I want to write them.
So tentatively I start to write a new story, in secret, as though I’m cheating on my WIP, and that if it ever finds out its characters will come alive (especially the bad ones) and will come after me. My new story thrills me, and the words fly out of me, whereas before with my WIP the words come slow and laboured.
But then the guilt creeps in, and I stop. I say to my new story that I can no longer see it, I have to stop writing it. But I can’t return to my other story, I can’t face going back to it. So I end up writing nothing.
* * *
I may have embellished this a little (and made it sound more like a sordid affair than it really is), but this is pretty much how I’m feeling right now with my WIP. I’m sure lots of you have felt like this before, or do so now. How can we get over it? How can we remain faithful, and continue with our works-in-progress through the tough times?
Find the excitement again
Look hard and find out why you are having problems with your WIP. If where the story is going is boring you, don’t be afraid to change it. Have one of your characters make a drastic decision. Make them do something unexpected.
“When in doubt, have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand.”- Raymond Chandler
Expert advice from Chandler. Don’t get bogged down in your story. Make something happen. You’re the one with the pen in your hand, or the keyboard under your hovering fingertips!
See your ‘affair’ through
One way to remain committed to your WIP, would be actually to commit to your affair. If you are getting a bit bored of your WIP, and have a great idea for a short story, why not write that? But, unlike me, commit to seeing it through. Ignore any feelings of guilt you may have, otherwise you won’t write either story. Put your WIP aside, and write your ‘affair’ story. Write it quick, with passion. Then, once it’s done, go back to your WIP. And never speak of the other story again.This recharge of your writing batteries will probably help with your story once you go back to it. A break from it, but a break where you are still flexing your writing muscles instead of agonising over not being able to write, will do you good. Plus, you’ll have written another short story to add to your collection in the meantime.
Take a break
Perhaps it might be time to just take a break. To put down the pen, step away from the keyboard, and just not write for a while.
If you are going to do this, and you’ll probably know if this is the right thing to do for you, you must do it with two things in mind.
- What are you going to do while you aren’t writing? You should aim to fill your time away from your WIP with at least something creative or active, instead of just wasting your extra free hours in front of the television. Take some photos. Paint. Juggle. Go for a run.
- Set a date when you will return to your WIP. If you don’t, you might find it difficult to get back into it. Just like you would do if you were taking a holiday from a proper job, set the dates when you will be off, and return to your writing when you get back. Stick to this schedule, treat it like a proper holiday.
These are just three ways to stay faithful to your WIP, and to continue writing it when you begin to struggle. One might work for you, the other’s might not. Personally, this time, I’m going to find the excitement again. Men with guns might not fit, though. Monsters under the stairs, on the other hand…
How do you stay faithful to your work-in-progress when you feel like writing something else? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments below!
Christopher Jackson is the Editor for Fuel Your Writing and a creative copywriter. He is currently working on Project: Snotbook, an interactive children’s storybook for iPad.
Thanks for this great post. I think it’s really important for writers to learn how to stick with a writing project until it’s completed. No matter how enticing it is to “cheat” on your WIP and work on something else.
I also think it’s important to mention this–If you feel yourself losing interest on your novel or writing project, you should think about whether or not the story itself is working. I spent 2 years trying to make a novel work, and I am now getting the feeling that no matter what I do, it’s not going to work. And that’s OK. Not all stories are meant to happen. If you find yourself losing interest regularly on your WIP, it may be worth examining whether or not the story is the problem, or if it’s something else.
That’s a really good point Jennifer, about questioning whether your story is working. I feel a little more committed to my WIP than I otherwise might, as I’m writing it as part of a writing duel (!) and so have to see it through. I did, for a time, think I was only sticking with it because of that, but I don’t think that’s the case. The story is there, but I keep getting distracted from it when the going gets tough. I know it’s my problem, and not the story’s!
Thanks for commenting!
I’m about to break 100,000 words in my novel. I’ve been writing this since NaNoWriMo 2003! I recently had a “fan” of my fanfiction contact me for more of my stuff to read. I sent her the first few chapters of the novel and she fell in love. Madly, passionately, wildly, and insanely in love! She read the chapters and promptly emailed me a gushing review…while asking for more. Since then, I’ve been compelled to write! I have gotten very little sleep in the past 2 weeks because I’ve been writing this novel for my biggest cheerleader. I highly recommend finding a groupie to get you motivated! ;-)
A groupie sounds like a great idea! :D I bet that’s a massive motivation. Sounds like it’s really going well, keep it up!
Thanks for commenting Emily :)
Eerily appropriate for me, Chris–I’ve given myself a deadline with my current WiP and I recently had an idea that’s been teasing me and I’ve toyed with the idea of writing both. So far, the only thing that’s kept me from trying is the very definite knowledge how my Crit group would yell at me! LOL :-)
Really great post and very timely for me. I’m very much into being faithful to the WIP (no cheating on it with multiple projects! :) But right now my WIP is being very irritating so we’ve agreed to a trial separation. I’m not seeing anyone else but enjoying spending times with old friends like reading and movies. But good point about knowing when to get back together. Must set a reunion date soon…
Hope your trial separation goes well! Definitely set a date to get back together with your WIP, or you might find you drift apart!
Thanks for commenting :)
You could also try an “open marriage”. Monday to Thursday you stay faithful to your WIP, but on Friday you get to play with any new idea that takes your fancy.
I love this idea! Something I hadn’t thought of – an open relationship. Think I might give this a try! I’ll talk it over with my WIP and see if she’s cool with it :)
Thanks for the great idea Declan.
I love this “open marriage” idea, when it comes to work, of course.
Scheduling time for everything, that which is profit and that which is passion, can make “everyone” happy.
It’s kind of like a work/life balance, a profit/passion balance.
I’ve been scheduling one or two days a week to work on fluff projects recently so that I have a better chance of staying faithful to the main one on the other days. It’s been working great so far.