*weeps with frustration*

[serai]

Herein you shall find a cry of pain, from the depths of a soul who really WANTS TO BE CREATIVE GODDAMMIT.

I know I have a few new friends on my list from the newly minted ST fandom. (SIDE NOTE: Hi, guys!! So glad you're here. You are welcome in my house. Do me a favor and keep the cat off the altar if you see her up there. She just WON'T leave it alone.) And I know that, along with my pals from the LOTR and actor fandoms, at least a couple of you are fic writers. I'd like to hear from those of you who write (if you're inclined to respond), especially those in the ST fandom, since you're involved with the stuff I am these days. (Readers too if you have any thoughts!)

This problem has come up before, but I'm feeling it acutely right now. Have you ever been working on a story, you know the shape of it, the currents running between the characters, where the eddies and rapids ought to be, and you're banging away at it...and it changes? Either a character does something unexpected, or an emotional shift happens that pushes the narrative in a different direction, or something else equally disconcerting? What do you do in that situation?

I'm working on a fic that I really love (but which I'm not sure anyone else will, LOL), and I've found myself in just such an impasse. The problem is two-fold: the aforementioned emotional shift, and a very sudden ending. Not that the story ends, but the fic seems to. The words come to a close, and I'll be damned if I can see how to write past it.

And it's LONG! This is a long fic ! (For me, anyway.) I'm on my fourth page, and I'm dead certain there's more to this thing. ARGHARGHARGH

What would you recommend here? Has this happened to you? How did it affect you, and what did you do about it? Should I do anything about it? Maybe I should let it sit. But I lose fics that way! I'M ON A GODDAMN ROLL HERE.

HEEEEELLLLPPP!!!

Comments

[biting-moopie.livejournal.com]

Sorry for the extremely late reply.

You're welcome. I'm so happy that this technique worked for you!

It's so funny, that exact same thing happened to me. I'm working on a Snarry fic and part two was giving me a lot of trouble. I'd written part 1 from Harry's point of view and was doing the same thing for part two. Then I just got stuck and was not progressing. One day, I made myself sit back down and write and then I realised that the reason it wasn't working was because the story should be from Severus' point of view. Now the story is coming along and it might actually be finished soon! (I've been working on and off on this series for four years and the thought that it might be finished in the next couple of months makes me dance with joy and then get back to writing :)

Can't wait to read your fic, bb!

[serai1.livejournal.com]

I've written another piece of it, and it looks like it's going to flip back and forth between the two characters involved. I'm enjoying it, though I'm still not sure what it'll end up being, and whether it'll make sense to anyone that reads it. But it's EXCITING!