Stuck in the middle

[dreamflower]

*sigh*

I have to confess it.

I seem to have a wierd kind of writer's block. Oh, I'm having no trouble writing short fics. And I just finished a longer WIP, and it's in beta; I've actually started another couple of longer stories that have been eating at me.

But "Road to Edoras"? *sigh* I am between two-thirds and three-quarters of the way through. But the only thing I seem to find the inspiration to write is *the ending*! I'm not *ready* for the ending, I still have about a third of the *middle* to get through! I can't seem to get from "here" to "there". All they want to do is tell me what will happen after they get "there". They are even telling me what will happen in the sequel. But they are stubbornly refusing to talk to me about what is going to happen in the *next chapter*!

Any ideas?

Comments

[surgicalsteel.livejournal.com]

Given what my characters do to me? I can offer sympathy, but no ideas for making them talk about things they don't want to talk about.

[shirebound]

Why not try writing backwards from the ending?

:D

[danachan.livejournal.com]

Yeah -- why not try what shirebound suggested -- write back from the ending? You might not be able to post it right away, but maybe if you listen to your muses and write what they want to to write, then maybe they'll let you finish up the rest of the middle, too.

Otherwise, just make yourself work on what you have to, knowing you can always go back and revise. (And I keep trying to call my cousin, and I don't pay attention and I start calling you. hah hah. Oops.) But then, writing things with chapters isn't what I normally do.

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

You and me both! I keep opening "The Errand Lad" and staring at it. I know where it needs to go, but I need *something* to get me through the next half hour of the fic...

[topaztook.livejournal.com]

Do you know anything that has to happen between "here" and "there"? If so, can you jot down some notes for yourself about those things, and then call upon the muses to tell you how this works on the way to the ending?

Or, you might try a writing exercise I tried once when I was stuck in the middle of longfic: sit down and "have a dialogue" - written, of course -- between you, the author, and the character that is being the most recalcitrant. Be warned, though: they swing pretty hard in these arguments.

[mews1945.livejournal.com]

Meditation sometimes works for me. If you can relax and stop trying, sometimes the muses will break through and tell you what you need to know. Or you can try what others have suggested. Write the ending, then try to work backward from there. If nothing helps, I'd suggest putting it away for a little while and just going ahead with what you can write. Sometimes your mind just needs to work on something in the background while you are doing other things.

[isil-elensar.livejournal.com]

I probably can't help you much because a lot of the stories I write seem to start in the middle, then work their way either to the end or to the beginning...

Good luck, though!

[gamgeefest.livejournal.com]

Ah, see, that's sort of what happened to me with "In Darkness Buried Deep". I say, just go with it. Write the ending, make them happy. Then write the next chapter whether they tell what's going to happen or not. If you start going off on a tangent they don't like, I'm sure they'll tell you. Sometimes you have to be a little aggressive with these lovely characters.

Don't worry, you'll find your groove again.

[coneygoil.livejournal.com]

But the only thing I seem to find the inspiration to write is *the ending*!
That happens to me FREQUENTLY. I jump ahead to a chapter that's like a dozen chapters ahead from where I'm at. So, I just write the chapter that's screaming to be written and usually the past chapters come out easier.

[elandulin.livejournal.com]

I'd write down whatever they want with regard to the ending--but do it in "note" form, with particular bits of dialogue or turns of phrase you (or they) really want to preserve. Put in the file and set it aside. Don't put a whole lot of time into writing that ending, but do put a lot of enthusiasm into making copious notes for later. Then start the next chapter; put your guy where you need him, describe his surroundings, or his mood, get very into HIM--most of the time, when I do that, stuff starts coming. Maybe in fits and starts, but little by little it starts to move. I also find that when I'm really stuck it's often because there's something I don't know yet and need to know to go on. Put your intent out there and watch and listen carefully! :)

[grey-wonderer.livejournal.com]

Write the ending and maybe that will tell you how they got there. It might bring up questions that you can go back and write like filling in your own gaps because whatever happens at the end of this one, it must happen for a reason. Just a thought.

[kimbys-place.livejournal.com]

Write backwards from the ending, and then the middle should resolve itself. ((hugs))