(no subject)

[novapsyche]

What do you do when you think/realize you don't like the story you're writing?

I don't know if I can go on like this for 50,000 words.

Edit: I didn't realize my question was so controversial. I appreciate all the advice people have given. (While it may be permissible to write the same sentence over and over and have that be "a novel," it kind of goes against what actually is prohibited, which is writing the same word over and over. So, I have to determine whether or not I have stick-to-it-tiveness. The idea of killing off my characters is kind of silly at this point.)

Comments

[sarahmichigan.livejournal.com]

Just start a new story where you left off on the old one. The goal is to write 50,000 words, not a coherent story. That'll come in editing.

[tay-en-pointe.livejournal.com]

um... respectfully cuz i dont know you... what you said is ridiculous and an interesting perspective on present day humanity. i could copy a dictionary and write 50,000 words.
your comment tells me you have no soul, no sense of art. you probably consider yourself a democrat. you have no talk to walk, cuz you have no talk. you're an idiot.
pathetic.

[jennkitty.livejournal.com]

um, actually, she's dead-on for NaNo. and that was a bit rude.

[tay-en-pointe.livejournal.com]

yeah it was.
the question is, is NaNo the place we put ourselves in how to be human?
copy words. make excuses?
thats a lot of crap if you ask me.
no one stands up for themselves anymore.
and if i have to be rude to point this out, then so be it.
gaybash me or something, i dont care.
flood my email with mass bitch squad commentary.

do what you have to.
but be real.

[jennkitty.livejournal.com]

and thus you paint me into a corner. if i respond, i am "flooding your email with mass bitch commentary." if i don't, you get some smug self-satisfaction that i have backed down. so i lose, you win.

and none of this is helping the origin of this post to get her writing done, i almost guarantee.

if you respond to this, fine, but i'm done now. thanks for making Friday amusing.

this is not a respose

[tay-en-pointe.livejournal.com]

i will not start a flame war on some else's LJ.

i am glad to have given you pleasure. you obviously need it. nite nite kitty

Re: this is not a respose

[rikhei.livejournal.com]

You already did. Why would you assume someone's going to gaybash you just because she disagrees with your perspective on writing?

And what the hell does jennkitty or sarahmichigan "having no soul" or "being unreal" have to do with Novapsyche's writing?

[simianpower.livejournal.com]

the question is, is NaNo the place we put ourselves in how to be human?

Ummm, actually it's not. The question that this whole post is based around (as opposed to the one you seem to want to make it about) is: "What do you do when you think/realize you don't like the story you're writing?"

If you're looking for a fight at least do so in a place where you're relevant.

[tay-en-pointe.livejournal.com]

i said what i do.
the end.

[rikhei.livejournal.com]

Translation: "Wah, wah, I have no good argument against what you said. I don't want to play anymore!"

[sarahmichigan.livejournal.com]

I think maybe you misunderstood what I was getting at, but that's OK. It is true that I have no soul and vote Democrat, though. :)

I think if nova isn't having a fun time writing her novel, she should just switch to something else instead of slogging on with the story she started on just to say she completed that story.

That was the main gist of what I was trying to say, and I think you appear to agree with that by reading your comment down further.

i do

[tay-en-pointe.livejournal.com]

to a very large degree.... agree.
but if she hates her characters, she should kill them and maybe start something with new characters.
and what is starting to happen regarding below comments disgruntles me to no end. but i promise i will stop.
Nova, this is your LJ, your NaNo, your story.
write it first for you. if you cant be true to yourself, you'll never be an author.
and i know you have it in you.
start over. there's still 3 fuckin weeks!
hugs

[rikhei.livejournal.com]

And you're a troll. Congratulations!

[dionysus1999.livejournal.com]

On the plus side, she types in complete sentences, and doesn't insult people without provocation. And her pussy tastes wonderful.

[tay-en-pointe.livejournal.com]

too easy.
see Celine.
sigh.

[o-lucky-man.livejournal.com]

I agree!

I think the point of nanowrimo is to relax and have fun with writing. Focus on quanity over quality until it's time for the edit.

[tay-en-pointe.livejournal.com]

i print it, reread it, then tear it up, throw it in the trash, and take out the trash.
then i sit down and write what i wanted to.

[jennkitty.livejournal.com]

from suggestions i've seen, follow Sarah's advice, but technically, you can write "I am discontinuing this storyline because I really don't like it." and that does, in fact, count towards your 50,000. sounds bad, but it's true.

[kali-ma.livejournal.com]

Start over?

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

It's still early enough to start with a new story, if you have a second idea handy.

[rikhei.livejournal.com]

Let me start off by saying that I'm sorry I responded to Mr. Trollypants and I'll do my best to refrain from flooding your journal with any more off-topic stuff. :)

In principle, I agree with others' comments; if you don't like the story and you're not enjoying writing it, it's still early enough in the process to start again.

In practice, I'm not sure how helpful starting again will be. This is my fourth year of participating in Nanowrimo, and I've never gotten beyond a few thousand words. I'm not sure if giving up on the story is the best solution - how do you know that you won't feel the same way about another story?

That being said, after I get home from work, I think I might chuck what I have and start over, though the general idea behind my plot will be the same.

[jdoggiedogg.livejournal.com]

Maybe you could look back, seen where you jumped the shark, and then edit that stuff out. Possibly it could lead to a more creative solution. Good luck