In each of my manuscripts, I have probably five rough spots to write through on a first draft.
These scenes usually have difficult transitions or lots of characters to keep straight (like a party scene), or different elements to include—suspense, humor, etc.
Frequently, when it was time to write these scenes next, I’d reached my writing goal for the day. So I made plans to tackle the scene the next morning.
Guess what I didn’t want to do the next day?
I did write the scene. I always do because I have to in order to stay on track. But it took most of the morning to get around to it. My word count ended up being smaller because my procrastination ate into my writing time. It was just harder to get going.
So now I do a couple of things to make sure that I don’t stall.
First of all, I do more outlining than I ordinarily do. I’ll map out exactly what I want to accomplish and ideas for doing it. Basically, I do all the brainstorming for the scene.
Next, I don’t stop writing for the day when I come up on these scenes. I’ll at least write the transition into the scene. If I’ve got a little extra time, I’ll do even more than that. If I’ve already written the segue into the trouble spot, then it’s much easier for me to hop into writing.
Any other tips for dealing with procrastination and keeping your momentum going?
It always seems easier to run away from what we don’t want to face, but not wise.
Teresa
Helpful tips for any type of writing.
Mason
Thoughts in Progress
Elizabeth – As always, solid advice! I like it. What I do to get through the rough spots is try to untangle them a bit at a time. Work on one character, one conversation, or the background description. One thing that gives me the sense of completion also powers me up to do the rest. Not easy, though!
Good tips. I don’t have a procrastination problem. I DO have difficulty writing some kinds of scenes, but I tend to plow through them, knowing full well that during self-edits/rewrites/revisions time I’ll surely have a lot of work left to do on them. I make a list of what scenes/types, etc., that need refining and tackle them when in the right mood, keeping the writing going elsewhere when not. Works for me
As always, such good tips, Elizabeth. I haven’t faced this problem just yet, but I’ll keep this in mind when I do, and I know I will.
Karen
These seem like good ideas – and they wouldn’t work for a seat of my pantser like me. I wouldn’t even know the scary parts were coming up! What I do when I’m surprised over and over and over again with a sticky part is to keep approaching and circling until the solution pops. I do this by telling myself that I can write a poopy bit just to get through it. And I keep doing that until I get what the holdup is. It worked on True – I’m finally through the stickiest bit AND of course it has moved to another spot (like smoothing wrinkles in your sheets). But I’ve built up stamina in the meantime and can tackle it again.
Even if I only get halfway through the scene, it’s easier to tackle the next day than if I didn’t write any of it.
I give myself little rewards for powering through the rough bumps in the first draft.
Pieces of chocolate are good for so much!
~ Wendy
Not really. I write during pretty much all of my spare time. I don’t have specific times. Just ten minutes here, thirty minutes there. At the end of the day hopefully it adds up to two or three hours.
Stephen Tremp
Oi! I am trying to hammer out my last really troublesome scene NOW! And I think you’re right, that the gap in time is trouble… mine is ALSO a party, but it is a party at which a lot of things happen, and in which the ORDER of things really matters… the right people have to be present and absent at the right time… if you know what I mean… (without it being too obvious–DRAT!). I think the outlining helps, but I think this would have been a hammer and rehammer ANYWAY because there are plot strands for suspects that the first time through, hadn’t even occurred to me, so there is just a lot more complexity than there originally was.
The Old Silly–That’s a great idea and something I like to do, too…skip around a little and realize things will get fixed during edits. Although I also really like to tackle the tough scenes as I go or else I’ll leave all of them to write at the end of the first draft!
Jan–Building up stamina is a good thing! And so is giving ourselves permission to write badly.
Alex–It’s true, isn’t it? Every little bit helps when we start in on a tough scene.
Journaling Woman–It’s definitely easier to, at least in the short-term, but when we’ve got to tackle something we can’t put it off forever (although I’d really like to!)
Thanks, Mason!
Wendy-Chocolate can be very persuasive!
Margot–That’s a very good tip! I like the idea of breaking it all down into small pieces.
Stephen–That’s usually my way, too, but it’s never easy for me to start a rough scene.
Karen–Hope it helps. :)
Hart–I *always* seem to have a party to write and they’re *always* tough. We have to make sure the dialogue isn’t confusing, have to move the plot forward, have to make sure the reader remembers who the folks at the party are, etc. I swear there will be no parties in my next manuscript! :)
THIS is why writing is work!! It’s not always fun, but oh the satisfaction when you get through those rough spots! Great tips for ending procrastination!
I slog through it, ugly and all, aware what I’m writing is subpar. But the next time I go through the scene in editing, it’s easy to transform it into something much better. I just have to get the words down first before I can do anything with them.
Diane–I’m the same way…we can’t fix it if it’s not written yet!
Carol–Thanks! And you’re so right–it’s really rewarding when we slog through the rough parts.
I use Hemingway’s advice: I end the day in the middle of a scene. Then the next day, it’s like I’ve already started since part of the scene is written and I know where to go next.
I try to jot down a couple of ideas for the next day to give myself a starting point, but it doesn’t always help to keep the procrastination monster away.
Laura–And you’re excited about picking up where you left off, too!
Jane–Even jotting down bits and pieces really helps keep the book fresh in my head, I’ve found.
This is a big part of why I started outlining too. I find it helps to know where I plan to go, even if I don’t take the path I had laid out. When I have to push through a scene I just make sure I do it and end on something I know I’ll want to come back to.