How do I concentrate on stories for more than 15 days?

[doravg]

My latest two projects ended up novellas. I shouldn't have written them at the same time, but I did because a reader wanted to read the end of How To Be A Peaceful Vampire, and I was already writing Out of Paradise. The two novellas took me 15 days to write. I get tired with a story after that period. On some stories, where there were ends to be tied, I persevered, doubled back, and the like.

Is there a secret to writing a book for months on end? I want to write something that is epic length again, like The Apple Grotto Nymph. Something to break my record of 244 chapters. What I end up with is novellas, and the occasional short book. Please help, and share your secrets. I already have an idea for my next project, and I want it to be long. (A story based on the song Bust Your Knee Caps by Pomplamoose, a BL with a yandare elf, that runs the elf mafia, and his human lover, who wants to leave him because he doesn't want to do anything with the mafia boss's "family business". In Mcfantasy land, of course. Pure crack, hopefully.)

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[YuukeiRorogan]

Make it a pure self insert, you'll enjoy it like what I'm writing right now.

 

[ForestDweller]

I dunno. I have no idea why I'm still writing my two and a half year long story.

 

[Deleted member 54065]

Well, for me, first I changed on my attitude towards writing. Though it's a hobby, it's a serious hobby for me, which will require my time and resources.

Second, I set the deadlines for me whenever I write. I write stories by volume, so my deadline is three to four weeks.

Third, I plan my stories. I write them down to the details by chapter. What will my chapter show? And how does it connect to others?

Fourth, once I'm in my writing mood, I remove all distractions. Games, TV, even my other hobby, which is drawing. My focus is only on writing, and I'll write until my deadline.

Fifth, once I'm done with writing, I take a break. This is my reward to myself for a job well-done.

I got 13 volumes in my main project story, while 2 other stories. I seriously began to write back in May 2019.

 

[rain-090]

Make it a pure self insert, you'll enjoy it like what I'm writing right now.

What are you writing right now?

 

[WinterTimeCrime]

It's unclear if you're asking motivation-wise or if you want a longer narrative in general.

If you want more motivation I'd suggest writing stories that intrigue you with topics and hobbies you already enjoy.

For instance, one of my books, Space Patroller Miya, has hard sci-fi aspects and themes such as space exploration that interest me a ton. I was so into writing a chapter one day that I went into learning how planets rotate, gravity, how we locate different universes, etc. just due to my general curiosity.

Now, if you're asking how you create longer narratives I can only suggest that you stop looking toward the end of your novel and think about the middle. Go back and look at your previous work. Do you give your readers enough time to understand the plot, the characters, what ideas could you have expanded on, and what concepts seemed rushed and simple?

Web novelists, in contrast to professional authors, tend to want to produce multiple works as soon as an idea strikes them. You could say that internet culture has made us think in a way, that things become relevant and irrelevant in a matter of seconds, and if you don't act someone may steal or use your bright idea.

However, in reality, they limit their creativity in one project if they subject themselves to the mindset of first come serve, not trying to create a quality piece.

For longer works, I'd suggest focusing your book around a unique problem (e.g. Surviving a murder dungeon) and then coming up with multiple solutions so that the plot could deviate and root out into several layers (e.g. Protag can dig his way out of the cave, Has party of magic users who can summon monsters to look for exits, Has to battle unique bosses of each floor ).

Longer stories, in contrast to short stories, mean a lot more immersive contact such as building relationships; Thwarts by the protagonist then small successes, Changed Goals, Girding the Loins, Revising Flaws, etc. Try to incorporate such tactics in your writing and you could come out with a novel that stretches to more than 100k words, while not being drained in the slightest.

If you have any more questions I'm here to help!

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Well... problems:

1. Can the story sustain itself that long?

Did you plan out an arc to actually CARRY a book? Here. Let me give you the math:

You need plot arcs. A plot arc can be anything, but it has to have a beginning, middle and end. Set up, modification, resolution. Save the world! Go By the MC a broach that matches her eyes. Take out the trash. Anything.

A book has 3 acts. Each act needs a plot. Then you need a plot from 1 to 2. and a plot from 2 to 3. Then you need a final plot from 1 to 3. Each plot can be tied together to build on one another, or they can all be different, but it's best to break it up into an A Plot LINE and a B Plot line. A plot LINE is where the plot arcs all point. You could have 6 plot lines, if you want to, but that doesn't work well.

BTW, I'm just telling you the generic formula, because it works. Do what you want, but this sells.

It sounds like you come up with one Plot Arc that is your entire plot LINE.

Now, you wanna write HUGE story? Then you go with a 3 book structure. And then on top of your 6 plots per book, you then need 6 more plots that stretch between books to tie them all together. So, if you want to do the huge, writing for years thing with a truely impressive display of writing prowess. you need a total of 24 plot ideas.

GOOD. SOLID. PLOT ARC IDEAS.

You can change as you go, but only if you UPGRADE over what you already have. You don't need the most detailed list, but you need those ideas. You need to KNOW where you are going, so you know where you have to be to get there. In a way, it's easier to write backwards. Finish the ending of all three books, then fill in the gaps.


2. Mental fatigue. - Maybe that's the problem. However, if you stop writing, then you will get in the habit of not writing and then nothing gets done. So. Have two stories. The main one you care about, then one that's BS and for the fun of it.

I'm guilty of getting out of this myself, and so I'm trying to get back into this rhythm again. So starting a new Book soon that is the No-so-serious book that I can fuck around with.

And I have a nasty feeling it'll be far more popular than the one I am writing, but hey, that's how this goes. People like fun. Serious subjects tend to get serious people and most people don't want to be serious when they read books. Which brings us to 3.


3. Self-awareness. It is possible to write a good book, but it not be popular. For example, I have never read Infinite Jest. I have read House of Leaves, and that was a goddamn SLOG. I hated it! But, was it a good book?

It was a very well written book and every writer should punish themselves by reading it. You will grow as a writer, even if you hate every second of it. You can have a very good TECHNICALLY WRITTEN BOOK, but it can still suck in the eyes of the reader. But it won't suck in the eyes of EVERY READER. If the story is a short novel, THEN LET IT BE A SHORT NOVEL. Don't change the story to fit anything other than your intentions.

And when a story is done, it is done. Move on. Let it go. Kill your children, as they say. When it is time to move on, just do so and let things take their course. Moving forward is the best way to grow.

In the stories, they get to live happily ever after.
All we can do is do our best to live happily.

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

If you want to write a longer narrative, try adding more characters, specifically more POV characters. That will add more chapters to your story. I think I have the opposite problem from you. All my stories keep turning into these big-ass doorstoppers that take me forever to write. One story I'm writing is 4 volumes long, and I still have 2 more volumes left to write, dear God! Another story is three chapters away from getting its first volume written.

 

[RavenRunes]

Find the story you really want to tell, create the world you want to be in and the people you want to know.
The other stuff is skill and technicalities but they can't create passion. It's passion you want. You want the pull back to your keyboard/notebook regardless of what you're actually doing, you want that story tugging at the back your mind 24/7. I honestly don't think that's something you can pull out of a 'how to' book.
I've got three on the go and the only one I really care about finishing is the Marwaithyr. The other two are distractions, light relief, and fun. But not passion.
The Marwaithyr Rift was originally going to be a novel-length (one book only) rewrite of an old short story of mine. 60k words later I scrapped the lot having realised it was going to be much bigger, and that I couldn't stay away from it, or the world I created. There's no secret, it just happens when it happens. I'm 3 years into it and only 2/3 done on the first book and there's no sign of that passion waning.

I read your work and I think you have the skill, you don't need pointers there. You just need the passion for that one story that finds you and wants you to tell it. I've been writing for 20 years and this is the first time I've had a story like that, everything up to now was short stories, novels started and dropped...then boom, a story got it claws in and wouldn't let go.
A story like that will find you, don't worry. You obviously already have a passion for telling stories, you just need to meet The One!

unrelated question: can your own created world be your afterlife??!

 

[yansusustories]

I started writing a story in early 2018 that I am still writing now, four years later. I'm about two million words in and still have two volumes to go and while there have been stretches where it wasn't as interesting as it was at other times, I was never bored of writing it. The secret for me, I think, is surprising myself. I don't rigorously plan out my stories. I only have certain things that absolutely have to happen and the approximate ending and that's it. Everything between these points is up for spontaneous interpretation whenever I get there. Thus, there is always something new for me to discover while I write and even I am curious to see how everything will turn out.
Also, the things that I do plan ahead of time are usually major points that I am excited to get to. E.g., a major reversal that I think might surprise readers, some secret being uncovered that I've been hinting at for five or six volumes, some threads that have been running for a long time and are finally being tied together in a big incident, are all parts of the plot that I have been looking forward to for a long time and that are just satisfactory to get to and then write down because it gives me this feeling of being 'done' with a part (and having done well in the best of cases) even though the overall story isn't finished.
Another part is also the characters. If I enjoy writing about them, it doesn't get boring as easily. Naturally, a plot with lots of changes helps as well. So, new places to discover, varied things that happen to the characters, new characters that are being introduced throughout the story and will add new nuance to things already there.

 

[bafflinghaze]

If your skill is in writing novellas, why not try to writing a quick transmigration story? Each world can be it's own novella, just they are all linked together as in big story. Also, by changing worlds, hopefully it could be less boring!

 

[doravg]

Find the story you really want to tell, create the world you want to be in and the people you want to know.
The other stuff is skill and technicalities but they can't create passion. It's passion you want. You want the pull back to your keyboard/notebook regardless of what you're actually doing, you want that story tugging at the back your mind 24/7. I honestly don't think that's something you can pull out of a 'how to' book.
I've got three on the go and the only one I really care about finishing is the Marwaithyr. The other two are distractions, light relief, and fun. But not passion.
The Marwaithyr Rift was originally going to be a novel-length (one book only) rewrite of an old short story of mine. 60k words later I scrapped the lot having realised it was going to be much bigger, and that I couldn't stay away from it, or the world I created. There's no secret, it just happens when it happens. I'm 3 years into it and only 2/3 done on the first book and there's no sign of that passion waning.

I read your work and I think you have the skill, you don't need pointers there. You just need the passion for that one story that finds you and wants you to tell it. I've been writing for 20 years and this is the first time I've had a story like that, everything up to now was short stories, novels started and dropped...then boom, a story got it claws in and wouldn't let go.
A story like that will find you, don't worry. You obviously already have a passion for telling stories, you just need to meet The One!

unrelated question: can your own created world be your afterlife??!

I hope the worlds we create are our afterlives. With how lighthearted I make them, I am in for an easy life.

 

[lambenttyto]

Is there a secret to writing a book for months on end?

I think the secret is that most writers these days don't know anything about brevity if it came up and smacked them in the face. A lot of novels are long bloated beasts in series that have way too many sequels. I get bored with a story when it becomes too long, because the things I wanted to tell have been told.

However, shorter stand alone yet connected works that form a larger whole is something that I do.