WIP Wednesday
Posted by annastan on September 9th, 2009. Filed under: Books, WIP, Writing Rants.Things have been going rather slowly with my WIP. Last week I was moving along and watching my word count grow. Then I got stuck and couldn’t figure out where to take the story. After some whining and a lot of chocolate, I wound up taking a break and doing some fun activities instead (it was the weekend, after all). I think getting stuck on a story can be so stressful that sometimes we stress ourselves out even more by constantly thinking about it. I’ve found that if I go read a good book, or watch a good movie when I’m stuck, it entertains me but it also makes me think about story structure, etc. and it often winds up inspiring me.
Sure enough, after an afternoon of reading and watching TV, suddenly I realized what had gone wrong in my WIP. I’d introduced two characters who shifted the focus and distracted from the main story. So I went back and took out the last few pages where they’d been introduced and I felt much better. When I went back to writing the next day, I had a few new ideas and things have been flowing ever since. My word count still isn’t that impressive and I’m not nearly as far along as I was hoping to be, but I still feel like I’m making progress.
21900 / 50000 words. 44% done!
In other news, here are a couple of books I’ve read recently that I really enjoyed:
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins – Probably everyone has heard of this book by now because there’s been so much hype around its release. The story had me hooked from the very beginning and I tore through it in a couple of days. The plot didn’t quite go in the direction I was hoping, but it was still an engaging read and I can’t wait to see how it’s all going to be wrapped up in the next book.
The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex – I mentioned this book in my last post but I just have to bring it up again because it’s one of the funniest books I’ve read in a long time. What I appreciated about it the most was how smart and subtle the humor was. There was no hitting you over the head with jokes, which made them even funnier because they were so unexpected. I often find myself disappointed with endings of books, but in this case everything was brought to a satisfying conclusion and I was smiling when I put the book down.
How are you all doing with your WIPs? Read any books worth mentioning?
September 9th, 2009 at 5:52 am
That’s exactly it. When my writing isn’t going well, I feel so guilty for not writing (or writing crap), that my writing just gets worse. Very smart of you to take a break. Actually, that’s what I like about blogging too, a chance to write in a different way.
And congrats to you for figuring out so clearly what wasn’t working with the wip! My wip revision is seemingly going well, but very slowly and with a sizable amount of anxiety about how I’m going to fix some of the problems I’m uncovering. But I’m feeling good about knowing what the problems are!
Smekday has been on my to-read list on goodreads forever. You’re encouraging me to go get my hands on a copy NOW! Just finished A WRINKLE IN TIME. An oldie, but a such a good re-read.
September 9th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Hey Anna,
Glad that you figured out your problem. Usually when I have a problem in WIP, I take a break also. Reading books really helps me a lot too.
I usually find the reason that I can’t go on is because something needs to be taken out or fixed. Once it’s taken care of, I can move on.
I’m still thinking about Catching Fire. It was not as riveting as The Hunger Games–but maybe because that was so new and fresh. It did keep me reading and I can’t say that about a lot of books. I’ll probably have to read it again and maybe see something I missed during my first reading frenzy.
Thanks for book rec on Smekday! I’ve been meaning to read this book. I didn’t even realize it was about an alien invasion. I’ll have to check it out!
September 9th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
My WIP isn’t going great – everything that my code is trying to integrate with isn’t working, so I’m stuck in all of my projects.
September 9th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Anne, you’re absolutely right about blogging being a different kind of writing. It is a nice break and I think it can actually help when you’re stuck because it encourages you to be self-reflective. Good luck with your WIP!
September 9th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Hi Karen! I keep thinking about Catching Fire too. I wasn’t disappointed but I agree that it wasn’t quite as gripping as Hunger Games. There were a lot of things I enjoyed about it, but I was hoping the things I’m assuming will be in Book 3 had been developed more in Book 2. I can’t believe we have to wait so long to see what happens next!
September 9th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Ha, coding might be a tad different from fiction writing, but obviously the problems we encounter are pretty similar
September 9th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
I read CATCHING FIRE, THE COMPOUND, and DOC WILDE AND THE FROGS OF DOOM. I was surprised with how the plot progressed in CATCHING FIRE, but after I accepted it, I was not disappointed. Loved it!
You’re doing great on your WIP!