What's the Most Difficult Part of Writing?

[Asilverfox23]

Starting

 

[BellaBestia]

The same struggle I have with day to day in my real life - discipline. Carving the time to write in my schedule and actually sitting down and writing. I distract myself and procrastinate and bargain with myself to get out of it. I used to think I could only write when struck by the “muse”, but that doesn’t hold water anymore. Other than throwing my wifi router out the window and locking myself in a room with nothing but a desk a pen and a notebook I don’t know what I can do, lol.

 

[StillStunned]

The difficult part, for me, was the second half of last year. After producing story after story and loving every second of it, suddenly I ran out of steam. I still loved writing, but finishing stories took more and more effort.

It wasn't so much the effort it took that was difficult to handle, it was the worry about why I was struggling with something that had previously come so effortlessly. The worry that perhaps the spark was gone for good. The constant pushing of myself to get over the slump, only to find the mountain even more insurmountable.

It was an awful feeling.

 

[anthrodisiac]

The difficult part, for me, was the second half of last year. After producing story after story and loving every second of it, suddenly I ran out of steam. I still loved writing, but finishing stories took more and more effort.

It wasn't so much the effort it took that was difficult to handle, it was the worry about why I was struggling with something that had previously come so effortlessly. The worry that perhaps the spark was gone for good. The constant pushing of myself to get over the slump, only to find the mountain even more insurmountable.

It was an awful feeling.

It's truly miserable. I didn't write for almost five years because of something like that, I only started back up in October. Combo of life giving me a nice few kicks and suddenly not having any ideas I considered worth the time/effort after finishing up a book. It's part of why I started writing here instead: lower stakes, plus a giant backlog of ideas I would never be able to publish under my name.

I'm immensely grateful for Literotica to give me a place to bang my head against a wall while I build up my writing muscles and routine again.

Hopefully, you've gotten past that (I caught the "was"). If not, I think it's worth continue to write and push past it anyway, even if it's not very good. I wish I'd figured that out a while ago instead of giving up. Better to write crap than nothing. It keeps away the atrophy, if nothing else. Then, when you finally do have something you're excited about, it's not daunting because you haven't written in years.

 

[SmilingLez]

For me, the most difficult part of writing a story is dialogue. I can describe the scene in visceral detail - the smells, the visual, the emotions, the texture and color in great detail, but when it comes to dialogue, it doesn't match the intensity.

With poetry, I really don't have to work with dialogue, so I don't experience the disparity.


YMMV

 

[Cagivagurl]

I think it's fascinating how people struggling with different aspects of writing. Whether it's certain types of content, a particular portion of the overall process, etc., I think we all have at least one area that gives us the greatest challenge. Some people struggle with dialogue, others description, some with editing, word choice, structure, outlining, types of scenes, the whole gamut.

So, what's your biggest writing hurdle or hurdles?

For me, I have a couple:
1. Process-wise, it's outlining, hands down. I barely bother with anything more than the most rudimentary roadmap anymore. Almost every time I try to do a detailed outline, I get yanekd out of it by my instincts telling me to go in a different direction, or realizing the chain of events no longer work due to the way the finer details mix, or a character going rogue and doing something unexpected that upends the entire plot (IYKYK). Something slightly traumatizing about writing a 50-page outline over a month or so and then have the whole thing go off the rails by the second bulletpoints. Thank God it did, becasue the book turned out way, way better than if I had stuck to the plan. Now I tend to be more improvisional, letting the characters tell me what they want and the plot following the path of least resistance instead of trying to herd them down a path they clearly don't want to follow or battle headwinds.

2. Writing-wise, it's probably description. For my non-erotic stories, I tend to be of the school of thought that less description allows the reader to paint their own picture of the places and people. It allows allows for smoother pacing. Kind of more in the vein of Terry Pratchett than JRR Tolkein, like the difference between a blurry photograph vs. IMAX, you have them fill in more detail, which I feel makes the characters more grounded, as it's whatever comes naturally instead of them trying to conceptualize every last detail. But I'm finding erotica to be very detail-heavy, especially given my characters are anthropomorphic and thus getting a description of their unique animal anatomy is important. Doubly especially because I like to use less common anthros than the ones that tend to predominate this subgenre. Case in point, I currently have a tamandua on deck for the Valentine's Day, and I don't think I've ever seen erotica featuring one, even though they're so cute! So now my issue is trying to balance giving enough description so they can visualize the characters without going so in-depth that eventually their eyes glaze over and they skip it to get back to the actually interesting part. What I'm currently doing is over-writing the description in my rough draft, and then going back and figuring out which details are pertinent, figuring out how well the character is currently defined, and then pruning (or even sometimes adding) as needed.

How about you? What are your struggles? How do you compensate for it?

Staying sober.

 

[OddLove]

For me, its my right pinky from tapping or holding the shift key a million times until my hand hurts.

There's a shift key on the lift side that I might try using, but it feels extremely unnatural so I would have to be consciously focusing on that which feels like a waste of 'CPU'.

Also, staying motivated. Sometimes I have nothing for weeks and then a wave hits. But it is what it is cause it be how it be.

 

[alohadave]

There's a shift key on the lift side that I might try using, but it feels extremely unnatural so I would have to be consciously focusing on that which feels like a waste of 'CPU'.

One thing I learned in typing class is to use the opposite shift key of the hand that is typing the capital letter. Left hand capital letter, right shift. Right hand capital, left shift. It balances out the motions and reduces strain on the hand that is the same as the shift key you are using, in your case, the right. You aren't trying to stretch your hand to make a capital T with your left, or capital Y with your right.

When I try that, I have to rotate my whole hand to do it. Using the opposite hand, I just need to slide my hand a bit.

 

[StillStunned]

Hopefully, you've gotten past that (I caught the "was"). If not, I think it's worth continue to write and push past it anyway, even if it's not very good. I wish I'd figured that out a while ago instead of giving up. Better to write crap than nothing. It keeps away the atrophy, if nothing else. Then, when you finally do have something you're excited about, it's not daunting because you haven't written in years.

Some time last night my first real story in a long time was published, and yesterday I wrote 1k words on another one that I hope to publish next week. Neither felt like a chore. So I think I've battled through it.

 

[Statius]

Currently the opening paragraph. Never had this problem before, but lately I just can't get those opening words right.

 

[alohadave]

Currently the opening paragraph. Never had this problem before, but lately I just can't get those opening words right.

Is it staring at a blank page, or just starting?

If the blank page, trying having a brief synopsis at the top. That way you don't have a blank page, you are continuing something that is already there.

 

[Statius]

No. It's a rewrite of an existing story, over 2 years old. It's hard to rewrite what's ingrained in my head already, and trying to change the tone and implied changes to the story. Hard to explain. In the mean time I'm putting words down just trying to get the feel of what I want, then I'll hone it down and put it together, until then the struggle goes on. It'll be worth it in the long run.

But thank you.

 

[Statius]

Okay, revelation... Maybe. I've spent the last year reading AH advice on writing; all the rules and tips and tricks. Here's what I realize, for me, not speaking for another soul, just me.

Tristram Shandy.

I write a lot of 1st person narrative. Here's the deal. I can wander, I can meander off point, off topic; that's what makes 1st person believable, a conversational style, or journaling like. No, my writing wasn't perfect, but this wasn't the problem. Stream of consciousness writing, not to Sterne levels mind you, but still. And here I've been trying to cut back and eliminate everything that isn't to the point. I took the idea too far and lost what made my technique mine. I can go off topic and wander back. There is only 1 real rule ( no hair splitting please, don't care).

Don't over burden your reader.

That's it. That's my new rule, the one I'll follow. Burn the rest. As soon as this concept settles into my ADHD brain, with all the possibilities.

Okay, don't mind my rambling. Gotta get stuff out to process the thought sometimes

Peace.

 

[YmaOHyd]

The hardest part of writing is getting my frickin' daughter to go the frick to sleep.

 

[MK_Whimsy]

I don't do a particularly good job coming up with compelling plots or creating particularly complex characters. It's usually not what I'm trying to achieve when writing the kinds of stories I do anyway. I simply lean into the things I do want to do, which typically is depicting specific scenarios and ideas in descriptive ways.

 

[StillStunned]

No. It's a rewrite of an existing story, over 2 years old. It's hard to rewrite what's ingrained in my head already, and trying to change the tone and implied changes to the story. Hard to explain. In the mean time I'm putting words down just trying to get the feel of what I want, then I'll hone it down and put it together, until then the struggle goes on. It'll be worth it in the long run.

I know what you mean. I've been trying to rewrite some non-erotic stories of mine to maybe see about publishing them somewhere else. But they're from several years ago, when 2k words felt like a long, complete story to me. I have to rework them, slow the narrative down, add more detail, build the tension.

But it's just really hard to do that with stories that in my mind are listed as "done". I've thought about starting from scratch, but there's some good writing in there that I don't want to lose.

 

[Statius]

For me, the most difficult part of writing a story is dialogue. I can describe the scene in visceral detail - the smells, the visual, the emotions, the texture and color in great detail, but when it comes to dialogue, it doesn't match the intensity.

With poetry, I really don't have to work with dialogue, so I don't experience the disparity.


YMMV

For me, the most difficult part of writing a story is dialogue. I can describe the scene in visceral detail - the smells, the visual, the emotions, the texture and color in great detail, but when it comes to dialogue, it doesn't match the intensity.

With poetry, I really don't have to work with dialogue, so I don't experience the disparity.


YMMV

https://literotica.com/s/a-woman-obsessed

Hey. This is a no dialogue narrative I wrote a year ago or so. Check out the ratings and stats. I've seen your poetry, you are a better writer than I am and I pulled this off. Don't let a stupid dialogue rule tell you a narrative needs it, it doesn't. If you want to stretch your writing,then do it. There are no rules but your own. I put 2 lines of dialogue at the very end and I wish I hadn't, it'd be better if I hadn't. I say give it a go. Use 1st person if you want it'll make the reader feel like they are being spoken to. Just a thought. Good luck,

Peace

 

[Statius]

I know what you mean. I've been trying to rewrite some non-erotic stories of mine to maybe see about publishing them somewhere else. But they're from several years ago, when 2k words felt like a long, complete story to me. I have to rework them, slow the narrative down, add more detail, build the tension.

But it's just really hard to do that with stories that in my mind are listed as "done". I've thought about starting from scratch, but there's some good writing in there that I don't want to lose.

Yeah it's a mother. The thing that's bothering me the most is the opening line. I wanted to keep the rabbit hole line first, I like it, but with the prologue and what happens to the MC there needs to be addressed first I think. So it's maybe gonna be the last line in the first paragraph, but I'm still resisting. We'll see.

And agree also, there's good writing in there I'm planning on keeping even if I am dismantling that entire chapter, even ending it before the original ends. Anyway,

Peace

 

[MillieDynamite]

All of it, I can write spontaneously, no plot development, and make a passable first draft. That's for a short-short story. Anything longer than 2500 words I have to have a plot outline and follow it.