I've over at The Book Pixie talking about how the story behind The Shifter came to be. Granted I'm biased here, but seeing the little moments of inspiration and how one tiny detail nudged someone to create a whole book is kinda cool. I love hearing other writer's stories behind their stories, so I hope you pop om over and enjoy mine.You can also win your very own signed copy of The Shifter.
Come on over and say hello!
Hello! I would just to say I love your blog! But I have a question for you, Ms. Hardy... how long did it take you to complete your first rough draft? My problem with writing is that I never finish my stories and I don't really know why. I guess I just lose interest about halfway through...
ReplyDeleteOlivia: Thanks so much! My first "first" rough draft? Years. I'd get to around page 100 and start over. The rough draft for THE SHIFTER was six months.
ReplyDeleteYour problem is pretty common, so you're not alone :) What I've found, is that when I get stuck in the middle it's usually because I don't know what the story is about yet. I have an idea, a premise, but the core conflict, the big problem driving my character isn't there. without that "I must solve this problem or else" feeling the story fades out.
You might try looking at what the major problem of the story is, and what your character has at stakes. If they're not risking something or have a reason to keep going, there's nothing pushing them by the time you get to the middle. If you don't see anything there, try thinking about how you can make that problem personal to your character. What might they have at stake that they have to act or else?
Thank you so much, that's rather helpful! Hm, do you know of any critique groups that help motivate you as you plow through to finish that story/first draft?
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