What is your biggest struggle as a writer? (Long rants welcome)

@devastate-lasting I’m not the only one who doesn’t agree with all the advice out there? Yay! I totally feel you, girl. I don’t write at all like others say one should–and even as a beginner, I didn’t listen (or even research much about writing or get any advice) to squat. I understand that I could probably do better by carefully outlining this one aspect or not beginning a sentence with and or not writing about certain topics or having a tighter schedule–but isn’t the point of creativity to break the rules have no rules at all? Creative writing is an art–subjective and relative. It’s not math with formulas or science with evidence. It’s creation. It’s the one time when you can actually do whatever you want (within reason, of course; some things should ethically not be done). And, half the time, the generic advice out there isn’t for the kind of voice/genre/style you’re writing in anyway.

Speaking of voice…

Anyway. That was your rant, not mine.

I think my biggest struggle as a writer–oh, gosh…there’s so many. Outlining, for one. Plotting in general, for two. Coming up with names–that’s another.

But my biggest struggles–yes, there are two. Is that a’right?–are the broad spectrum of time management/internet abstinence and voice. I have a seriously hard time with getting my lazy tail off of the internet and actually writing. And I have a terrible time managing my time–getting sidetrack, taking two hours to write book reviews (they’re long reviews, y’all), looking at Pinterest, writing blog posts, coming up with a whole host of other things to do within a two-week time slot that I couldn’t finish in a month. I love lists and organization and schedules and whatnot–but I’m horrible at sticking to them. I hardly even look at my calendar, it’s so bad.

Then there’s voice–which probably has much more to do with actual writing than just be scatterbrained and unfocused. Since I write first-person (most of the time, currently, usually, only in this six-book series), I’m always trying to get into my characters’ heads (of which there are sometimes four in one book) and write exactly how they would. Twice that has staunched my writing for a period of months, and now, it’s making me second-guess myself a thousand times over. I’m obsessed with getting every nuance of a character’s voice right (right down to giving them each their own specific font) that if I don’t, if my guy sounds too much like a sappy girl, if my heroine is confusing, if the character sounds too much like me, if I can’t even write a blasted sentence because my choice of phrasing sticks that bad…then pfft. I got nothing. I’ll switch to a different project (in third-person, of course), read to a great extent, or just bang my head up against the wall until it looks like a mashed potato. (Which is exactly why I look like I do in my profile picture…😆) It’d taken me quite sometime to get back to work on my WIP just because two voices don’t fit–and it took me 25 chapters to notice that, why?

@kathleenramm You did say long rants were allowed, right?

So, in summary, I struggle with the same things that Kathleen and Linyang do, with time management (and Pinterest, and being an over-achiever, and being an obsessive perfectionist), and finding my character’s voice. (I’m sure there are other issues, but we’ll just leave it at that, aye? Even though I have a really hard time with research…ooh…)

@r-m-archer Ugh…I get it, girl! Proper balance is something I doubt anyone gets just right. I know there are several times that I’ve struggled with that myself. One thing to keep in mind (just offering unbidden advice here…) is the emotion in each scene. A calmer, peaceful scene in which the character is sitting back and sipping on some tea while casually conversing with a friend is going to warrant a little more description, since the character’s mind is clear and focused on everything around them. On the other hand, scenes chock full of action, panic, anger, or any other strong emotion won’t need much description at all. Unless your character is a detective, they won’t be paying attention to what kind of tree is beside them or if they’re about to run into said tree when they’re spitting nails at their worst enemy. Catch my drift?

I have an obsession with long paragraphs of description and I’ll get mad at myself sometimes if a scene is skimpy on those, so I have to remind myself what the character is focusing on–whether that be the dialogue, their internal monologue, or the world around them. I guess that goes hand-in-hand with voice.

So…I say all this to say that you don’t have to feel pressured to have strong description along with every section of dialogue. (So cannot believe I just said that…) If the scene/emotion/character calls for it, then I’m sure you can do it, but if not, don’t worry yourself. As someone who struggles with getting into their own characters’ heads, I know how difficult all of that can be. Plus, a great way to make each character’s voice unique is what things they do notice. A more logical, levelheaded character isn’t going to notice how a certain cloud looks like their aunt Martha–they’ll notice that it’s about to rain and that they need to find shelter quickly. Some people pay more attention to another person’s eyes (while others, like myself, focuses on noses or mouths)–so maybe they’ll notice how they crinkle even though they’re not laughing. On the other hand, some people/characters are more attuned to sound, so maybe they notice someone’s tone not matching up with their expression, birdsong out the back window, or a faraway train whistle. A more visual person notices that the other person isn’t smiling, although they sound happy enough, a stripped pattern on the bird’s breast, or steam rising from the direction the train is coming in. Make sense?

Sorry if that’s too much information–I have strong feelings for the subject of voice and balance. Hope that helps in the long run, though!

@kathleenramm The struggle is real, girl. I’m afraid that when I start editing Bound and Determined, half of it will make it into my trash can. I hadn’t realized how easy my last two stories had been until I started on this one. Ugh! If I can ever make it through without second-guessing and overanalyzing anything, I’ll be throwing a party too! (And, yes, you’re all invited!)

*waltzes into the discussion late, tea in hand, which is generally how I make my grand entrance into most topics*

@kathleenramm Wow, that’s…such a relatable struggle. I know the feeling quite well–there’s almost an infinite amount of ways a story could go that it can be difficult to just…pick something. It’s also hard when you come up with so many different ideas for how your story can go that you forget what you’ve actually made “canon” in the shuffle. Or is that just me?

As for my own “greatest struggles”…well. *cracks knuckles*

I think that I, like @gracie-j, have two things I struggle with the most. One, on the more actual-writing side of things, is figuring out how to get from the beginning of my stories to the end. Like, I can write a killer first few chapters, and have a general idea of how the book ends, but the middle? Ugh. Maybe it’s the project I’m working on at the moment, but boy is it hard to make sure I have enough conflict to keep the proverbial engine running.

Also the whole getting-swept-down-the-black-hole-of-the-internet thing is Highly Relatable™. It got so bad for me that I finally had to bite the bullet and just delete my social media accounts. (Except Pinterest, because, you know, recipes. Yes, I am secretly a grandma.) Using a timer-based website blocker (I don’t know what the official name for it is, forgive me) has also been useful when I just want to Take Away The Temptation for a while, you know? It’s easier to not endlessly scroll through YouTube when I, you know, can’t.

On the more philosophical (metaphysical? Psychological? I’m struggling this morning with the words thing) side of thing, my deepest struggle has been (and still is) perfectionism. Which I’m handily writing an article about at the moment, so stay tuned. 😛

More specifically, I struggle with the fear that my writing isn’t “good enough,” which is honestly just a paralyzing feeling. I stopped writing for about three years because of it–like, I wrote little snippets of things here and there, but it felt like pulling teeth every time I did and I spent more time reading my previous words than putting down new ones. Thanks to 1. the grace of God and 2. the kindness and encouragement of my husband, though, that voice has grown steadily quieter. It still rears its ugly head from time to time, though, and I have to remind myself (or be reminded) that I’m known and loved, and that my stories are worth telling.

@e-k-seaver Oof, motivation can be hard to find, especially when you’re in school. *shoots a glance at my crippling case of senioritis* Can I ask what year you are in school? Some years seem to be worse than others, in my experience.

@r-m-archer Balance is tricky, but also, there’s no secret formula to how much dialogue vs. description you need–for instance, my one WIP is more dialogue-heavy, and the other one is internal monologue/description-heavy. Different stories need different things. But I feel you on the frustration–getting into characters’ heads can be annoyingly difficult. *glares at my MC* Just out of curiosity, is your WIP in first person?

Also, besides my terrible case of senioritis-though-I’m-not-a-senior, editing and perfectionism are struggles. Perfectionism because… well. And editing because why wasn’t my story perfect the first time?

@le-williams I know. This is just one of the WIPs where I’d prefer to have more description and to go more in-depth with character voice. There are other stories where it doesn’t bother me as much. 🙂

It’s in 3rd person limited, with several different POVs. A couple of them are easier to get into than others. (Unfortunately, those are the two that have the fewest scenes, lol.)

@e-k-seaver Ahhhh, I had a suspicion that might the case. Not to make assumptions, of course–I just remember being in the same boat when I was in 11th/12th grade. If it helps, I can promise it gets tremendously easier. High school’s pretty rough, especially if you’re trying to create in the midst of it. But it does get better. Do you know what you want to study in university yet? Also, lol, my senioritis was worse before I hit senior year than it was during my actual seniority. So I relate. 😛