I'm having one of those days where I try to write and the right words just don't come. Maybe I've got too many writing projects going at once? (I'm working on a novel and a short story at the same time, and I've got my weekly blog post on top of that!) Anyway, because regular topics just aren't working for me today, here's a post about five frustrating things about writing.
Plot Bunnies
"Plot bunny" is a term used among writers to mean an idea that distracts you from the thing you're currently writing. For instance, you're writing medieval fantasy when you get what seems like a really good idea for a story set in 20th century America. It's really tempting to drop the story you're currently working on and start one based on the new idea. Don't do it. Write down the idea and forget about it for now. If you hop from story to story following plot bunnies, you'll never finish anything. (I need to follow this advice better myself. I have started countless stories based on plot bunnies, and hardly any of them got beyond five pages.)
Forgetting Details In Your Own Story
I thought this one just happened to me, but I've heard from a few other people who say the same thing. You're writing along, and you have to invent a name for a minor character, or the name of a town, or something like that. You put it in and promptly forget all about it. When the minor character comes up again three chapters later, you can't remember his name. So you have to search painstakingly through the first part of your book to find him. I can only think of two ways to avoid this problem...have a perfect memory or make lists of all the details you might possibly have to remember later.
Plots That Don't Work
You've left your character pining away in a tower from which there is no escape, and now you have no idea how to get him out. The only option seems to be supernatural aid (or a giant eagle, if you're Tolkien). And supernatural aid (and eagles) seem unsatisfying, at least to me. You want the characters to be able to solve their own problems without the writer dragging in outside help.
I think whoever wrote Brigadoon had this problem. They left poor Tommy Albright stranded in the modern day with no way to get back to Brigadoon. The conclusion, where Tommy goes back to the spot where Brigadoon used to be and finds it still there, feels like cheating on the writers' part. The only explanation for why Brigadoon is still there is "if you love someone deeply enough, anything is possible". Cute, maybe, but it still feels like a deus ex machina to me. (This is not to say that I dislike Brigadoon. On the contrary, it's one of my favorite old movies.)
Characters That Don't Do What You Want
You know exactly what you want your character to do, but he won't do it. Instead of being a bold outlaw, he's a wishy-washy outlaw with scruples. (This example is from a character that appeared in a novel I wrote a few years ago. He was the main character, and the story didn't work well with him being wishy-washy and scrupulous.) Anne in Anne of Avonlea complains about the same thing when she's writing her short story, "Averil's Atonement." I have no idea why this happens. I've heard people saying it's all in the writer's mind. Maybe it is, and if so, I wish I could figure out what to do about it!
Distraction
Distracted writing isn't dangerous like distracted driving...but it's still frustrating! There are an indefinite number of ways to get distracted while you're trying to write. People in the room, music, the Internet, to-do lists, and just ordinary daydreaming are only a few of the things that make it so difficult to concentrate on the project at hand. It's impossible to completely eliminate distraction, but you can definitely avoid it. For me, the best place to work and avoid distractions is a quiet room (with no music, not even instrumental). I often write my stories longhand on paper, because the computer distracts me too!
Do you relate to any of these frustrating things? Or have others to add? I'd love to hear them!
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