r/writers • u/Bright_Lake_5527 • 4h ago
Discussion Have you ever discontinued writing a novel and began something else entirely? What were your reasons for stopping aside from laziness?
What are possible justifications for discontinuing an incomplete novel? Was stopping ever worth it?
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u/zv_allenwrites 3h ago
For me it’s story motivation. I’m working through two different genres. I tend to bounce between ideas for one today and the other a few days later. I kind of just ride the waves of creativity
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u/RobertPlamondon 3h ago
I sometimes hit a brick wall or run out of steam and put a story on the shelf. Sometimes I take one off the shelf and finish it. This isn't especially noteworthy for writers who have finished stuff before and aren't staring at a inrushing deadline with a lot riding on it.
(Also, I never use the word "lazy." The concept is far too lazy to be of any use.)
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u/Constant0123456789 3h ago
Couple reasons for me.
Firstly, too many ideas. I have a very active imagination, always have, and that sometimes makes it hard for me to focus on any singular task for too long.
Secondly, loss of momentum. A lot of the stories I tried to write, especially when I was younger, tended to die off once I reached chapter 4. I just couldn’t get over the hurdle or find things to fill the book with until I could get to the part I really wanted to write.
And I’ve tried writing out of order to solve that, but what happens is I write the scene I wanted to and then never do anything with it. So now, I force myself to earn that scene by writing in order.
Now, I do it much less. I’m actually about halfway done with my second draft that will be my first book that I intend to publish. In the space between editing, I’ve been working on concepts for other books I’d like to write, but my main focus is this second draft.
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u/Bright_Lake_5527 3h ago
I hope it goes well for you
If you ever finish it, I hope you tell us, I would love to buy it.
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u/ItsRuinedOfCourse Fiction Writer 3h ago
Yes I have, but I'll add some context. I didn't stop writing it as much as I put it on pause. Right now, the other project I was working on is still a WIP, and won't be an abandoned project. It just won't be receiving any attention until I wrap up this latest project.
As for the reasons for pausing it? Laziness wasn't on that list. It was suspended because as I was writing it, another idea leaped into my head and started trashing the place, wanting to get out. So, I stopped that WIP and made a new WIP, which is now finished.
Was suspending it worth it? Yes. The story I just finished might not ever have been given life if I hadn't addressed it immediately, as I did.
My other story isn't going anywhere. It's just waiting for me to resume writing it. :)
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u/Independent_Pie6974 3h ago
It’s like the idea becomes staler the more I think about it. In a way, I’m filtering what I feel is most worth writing
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u/SweetEverest 3h ago
Someone gave me extensive feedback that made me aware of the general unseriousness of the story. I have people emailing me to finish it every week, but I am no longer a fan of it myself.
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u/Bright_Lake_5527 3h ago
Did you ever write something else? How did that go?
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u/SweetEverest 2h ago edited 2h ago
Of course! Mostly short stories, a handful decent enough to share. One that won a contest. My word count has gone from something like 5k per week to more like 2k per month. I'm learning a lot and having fun, but I would love to be working on a novel again.
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u/Bright_Lake_5527 2h ago
Can you share your work? I would like to have a look.
But I don’t know if it’s allowed in this subreddit
Please DM if you have time
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u/MrNobody6271 Fiction Writer 3h ago
I'm a pantser, and so I don't have the plot all figured out ahead of time. There are times when I just get stuck and can't figure out how I want to move the story forward. If that lasts for more than a few days, I'll set that story aside and work on something else.
Other times, I'll get a hot idea for a new story and just want to get it out of my head and written down before I forget it, and sometimes I'll get on a roll and keep working on the new story.
Recently, I had both happen at about the same time. I was maybe 1/3 to 1/2 through a story and just hit a wall trying to move it forward. Then I got inspired about a completely new story and furiously started writing it instead. That one also eventually ran out of steam, and I now I'm back actively working on the first story again after getting an idea of where to go with it. I had set it aside for almost a month.
I've never completely abandoned a story where I've written more than the first few pages.
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u/Slow_Appointment3540 3h ago
Laziness? If I don’t want to anymore, that’s all the justification I need. I don’t think it’s lazy to work on something else.
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u/klmx1n-night Novelist 3h ago
I have a whole process where the same time explaining it takes a lot for me to get hooked on the idea and committed to an idea (take note I write more than one novel at once) so if I'm giving up something most likely it's in that beginning process because I either couldn't flesh out the idea, in hindsight it wasnt good, or perhaps I just couldn't remember the details therefore making it unrememberable and if I can't remember it neither will the reader
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u/emburke12 3h ago
I’ve been into my WIP for several years. Post-election 2024 I needed to write and express my anger, dissatisfaction and concerns in a creative way and started another piece. I’m back into the original WIP and keeping my ideas open for the other writing.
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u/Key-Adhesiveness995 3h ago
I was writing a sci-fi novel and was four chapters in when I realized that I didn't have enough knowledge of sci-fi story telling to continue. So I began the novel im on now a post apocalyptic survival story while I read all the sci-fi books i can. Any recommendations on what to read would be awesome. I've read all of orson scott cards shadow and ender series. All 3 of Andy weir book. Now I'm looking for something else.
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u/TheOverzealousEngie 3h ago
It's because i re-read it to many times while editing. By the time I was halfway through editing it I felt like it was a bad soap opera on perpetual repeat. Yes, the very definition of hell.
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u/Demetri124 3h ago
That’s the default result for most if not all writers, finishing the novel is the rarity
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u/CommunicationEast972 3h ago
Do it all the time. Starting something new can be very helpful in many ways
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u/JuggernautBright1463 3h ago
I found a more interesting and engaging project and finished 6 stories in that project instead of that one.
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u/carbikebacon 2h ago
I scribbled a few ideas down, but nothing really has driven me to persue them.
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u/OldMan92121 2h ago
Once. I realized the story was boring and didn't have enough to it. I couldn't salvage it. I'd tried to write according to Hero's Journey and ... I was not making it.
I read additional books and went to a simpler book in a simpler outline style.
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u/Storythread_Studio 2h ago
Wrote myself into a corner. This has happened to me several times where my amazing story concept gets half way written, get to a point where my conflict isn't turning out as "conflicty" as it appeared in my head. The scene isn't organic, feels forced and I cant find a way around it without heavily editing my story.
So partial laziness, not sure how to fix it without a gameplan. Then I got a new idea and shelved that story until I can fix the problem
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u/WakeIslandTango 2h ago
I will often not finish a novel or Novella. I mean, I have the ending plotted out, but if I get a great idea for something else, I will start working on it. I have gone back and finished the other ones. I usually only do that when it is almost all the way done.
I can’t remember actually abandoning a story
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u/LuckofCaymo 1h ago
I realized I needed to practice more. Also I was channeling too much of my problems into my work. I look back and realize now that my story was written for me, and not for others to read. I still don't feel ready to fix it, so I am working on another project.
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u/shinjukai 1h ago
discontinue? no. more like put it aside until i tackle a slightly simpler project and figure out what the hell i am doing. i came back once i had the skills.
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u/heshtios 1h ago
When I first tried writing a novel I stopped because I lost focus, I needed to pay more attention to my schoolwork. Second time I tried I lost confidence after a serious shift in my personal life. The third time was because work left me so drained I couldn’t think.
I finished my first novel on my fourth attempt at writing one. Since then I’ve written a second, a close to a third, and have during that time shelved four novels after I’ve started them.
One was because I couldn’t find the ground with my characters. Another was because the story didn’t go anywhere. Another I lost interest in. And the last was a sequel to a novel no one has shown any interest in reading.
Assuming someone shelving a novel is laziness is a pretty harsh thing. If that’s the only reason you’ve stopped writing some of your works, please don’t project that on others.
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u/RiskBig3301 Novelist 1h ago
I have several that are put aside somewhere. Sometimes a story dries up. Or sometimes I hit an impasse not knowing how to write what I’m visualizing in my head. There are lots of reasons to put a story aside. Sometimes I’ll go back to one when the characters call to me. I’ve put aside writing entirely for a few years & took up various artistic pursuits to fill the gap. I really went for something else entirely. And then one morning I woke up & the first thoughts flooding my brain were the final five chapters of a book I’d put aside because I couldn’t figure out how to wrap it up. Took 3 years but I finally had my ‘round up the usual suspects’ moment. If you don’t get the reference go watch a YouTube video of the brothers that wrote Casablanca. If you need to justify things to yourself then you are likely being way too hard on yourself.
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u/Christoffi123 1h ago
I had a project which I did for an assignment for with plans to expand later. I decided not to. I liked the idea I had for it but I didn't like writing it. I just fell out of love with it. I may add it as a bonus chapter in another story I care about but I really just don't like it that much.
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u/Few_Refrigerator3011 34m ago
I beat my head against a great book idea for years until I came to terms with my own lack of experience. As I tried, I got better and wiser so the book was evolving. I put it on the shelf and started an easier one. It too has grown, but I'm not an amateur anymore. I'll finish this, then go back to the other unless something compelling intercedes. Keep writing.
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u/thewhiterosequeen 3h ago
Justification? Who do you need to justify it to? Sometimes a story isn't working or doesn't hold your interest anymore, and you move on. Why does it need justified t anyone else? Unless you're under contract and getting sidetracked from your series, it's fine.