Ideas on getting focused

[shamguy4]

Ok so sometimes I find I cant get 'into' my book as well as other times.
Especially now that I have a lot more work this semester in college, I write my book every other day and it's hard to get myself back into the other world that I am creating.
I am always trying different methods to get me back into it, whether its writing notes on characters or the story or other stuff...

Anyone have other ideas on how to get back into a story?

[chopper]

may not work for everybody, but if i've run dry on a chapter i'll skip ahead...or back...several chapters and start afresh. the story may be linear but the writing doesn't have to be.

s

[Ursa major]

I've heard that some authors leave a sentence unfinished at the end of a writing session, giving them something to get started with the next time.

[ctg]

Well, you should focus on the collage first and the book can come on second. Don't be a fool and try to achieve many things in same time. Writing is a long, long process.

However as an advice, when you do writing, write as much as you can, and when come back to writing after having a pause, start editing from the beginning of the last chapter until you come to the point where you left it. This way you can jump back into the story and have an idea on where you are going. It might not yield as many words as you want to put down, but at least you are back in the track.

[shamguy4]

Sometimes I find that I am so far from it, it hurts my brain to try and enter it and write. So sometimes I have to keep trying to write and after a while it starts working... but thats annoying....

Sometimes music will inspire me and get me into it but thats not often...

[Shingetsu]

Perhaps instead of concentrating on writing you can go do something; shower, walk, lay in bed(and try not to fall asleep probably). Then try and gear up your imagination and think about your characters and world and what they might be doing. Maybe the next thing their doing from where you left off in writing or a completely different scene for later. Maybe you will come up with ideas, or just charge your brain enough.

[Purdy Bear]

Get some music that tipifies your book. I use classical stuff, soundtracks that all remind me of that magical place I want to write about.


If Iv just not got the energy, I use pop music which has motivation lyrics like Proud by Heather Small.

If all else fails I just write anything, just gibberish to get the pen working.


I heard on a programme the other day - write for the waste basket! Sounds pretty good advice to me.

[Culhwch]

And remember to switch off the internets.

[Lith]

I'm the "just write crap till you get through the slump" type. I've got the sort of muse that only comes over when I give it a couple of annoyingly persistent phone calls, and get on my running shoes and get warmed up. THEN my morbidly shy muse comes, but hides behind this thing called "hard work" and it's only afterward that I can see it or enjoy it at all. It always seems to be elsewhere; in front of, behind, but never right there.

Make any sense? I assume others have similar problems...

[Paul Alabaster]

Sometimes when you reach the end of your creative rope while working on a story, it is sometimes best to leave the story along for maybe a month or even two - to allow a breather - then go back to work and look over it from the start........that works often for me

[Zubi-Ondo]

Also Shamguy, I would not wait too long before you get some serious input. Either post some stuff here for critique, or find a proffesional editor. (I've used them in the past, and the rates can be reasonable). Maybe you could even find an English proffesor on your campus that is willing to help. The idea being that you want to make sure you're on track, and you're not developing too many bad habits. It will be much harder to re-vamp a whole book than 12 or 15 chapters. I have found that there are certain bad habits I occasionally slip into without noticing, and then during a re-read, I say "Hmph! How did that get in there?"

- Z.

[magician2magici]

Originally Posted by shamguy4

Ok so sometimes I find I cant get 'into' my book as well as other times.
Especially now that I have a lot more work this semester in college, I write my book every other day and it's hard to get myself back into the other world that I am creating.
I am always trying different methods to get me back into it, whether its writing notes on characters or the story or other stuff...

Anyone have other ideas on how to get back into a story?

hello
college !
like me then
ok..
here is abit of advice
you can't make your brain seperate between what comes first from what comes second
i have tried over year and half now to manage this but i failed , completely failed..
so it's not practical solution here

i know exactly what you suffer..
as i suffered from it alot and still ..
the sloution i had reached a while ago is an instructed notes !
notes of paper i can carry everywhere , i write in them in brief what is the shape of my next chapter ..
you know at the end of your writing you have some ideas about what will happen next
these papers really helped me alot
i hope it would help you ..

salam..
m2m

[Loucifer]

Originally Posted by Culhwch

And remember to switch off the internets.

This is very good advice! I've been meaning to get to work on a short story I've had in my head for ages, but everytime I sit at the computer to start writing, I just can't resist having a quick look at the net. Obviously, a quick look is never that quick.

Thankfully, I've sorted out my laptop which - for the the time being (since we don't have wireless) - does not have Internet access. Hopefully I'll be able to get some work done on that...