Not Exactly Writers Block?
I don’t know that it is actually writers block that i have, but i do need help i think. i am a good writer, so ive been told, and i can make myself cry with the stories that i write. however, i want to write a full-length book, and thus far i have only written snippets of stories. pieces of a tale that has no beginning or ending. the characters in the stories have no past or future; the stories themselves have no other state than that in which you find them. i do not know why i cannot go beyond a page or two with my stories, but they always seem complete, as if they would be ruined if i tried to add anything to them.
one of my stories opens with a man and his wife in their car, slowly sinking into a small river that they had crashed into. the story consists only of the dialogue between husband and wife; there is no explanation as to how they arrived at their dilemma, or how/if they escaped from the river. it is a touching story; i cried while writing it. everyone who reads it also cries while doing so. there doesn’t seem to be a need to build the characters or the storyline, and indeed it would seem to destroy the effect through wordiness.
if i were to try to make the transition from snippet to full-length book, how should i change my mindset? i have started countless books, but all have failed at some point or another. any suggestions from fellow writers would be greatly appreciated.
hey! that is a great idea! i never thought of compiling all of my short snippets into one collection. awesome!
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Tags: Fellow Writers, Length Book, Transition, Wordiness, Writer's Block
May 29th, 2009 at 7:10 am
Write a book of slightly longer short stories.
June 1st, 2009 at 3:38 pm
I write novels, and always start with asking myself what the main characters in the book want. The quest or journey toward achieving that goal is the main plot of the novel. Of course, that would be a plot for a short story as well.
To flesh out a novel, delve more deeply into what secondary characters want as well. In a quality novel, as in real life, people play off each other and interact while pursuing their own lives.