Those days when you feel like crap, and that nothing you write will ever amount to anything...

[LostinMovement]

How do you get over that ? Lately, I've been struggling with this feeling. I've rewritten a certain chapter couple of times already and each time it still won't come out right, so I end up only getting angrier at myself. Then, I begin to think, why do I ever bother ? It's not like anyone would care to read it.
I'm sure every writer out there gets like this every once in a while. So, how do you overcome it ?

 

[Friend]

I would say, sometimes a person just needs to take a day, or two, or ten. Recharge the batteries. Leave the pressures behind. Take care of your mind, your heart.

Or maybe focus on what you like about what you wrote before, to determine why this seems different or makes you angry. Your brain is trying to tell you something; don't ignore the feeling something is wrong.

 

[TLCsDestiny]

Yes...I even still feel that way but...
Put simply...I like to write, I like my stories and I just remind myself that not everyone will like them even if it is perfect on how I put it down.
It's just like playing a game for fun...But as soon as it gets complicated, because you want more out of it, your thoughts grow different. Go back to basics, go back to simple reasons, perhaps you'll feel lighter.
I won't say the insecure feeling will vanish completely but in a way let it be there slightly to help you improve so that your story is a little better.
It's just like taking the good with the bad, and using the 'bad' to your advantage.

 

[Friend]

On coming back around to this and re-reading, I see what appears a causal relationship. That rewriting something is the obstacle,which leads to the anger.

Well my advice is still the same as earlier; only now I would ask if the thought of rewriting leads you to think it is "wasted effort". I do not think so, at least in my own writing. Sometimes a section of text just might not fit, no matter how it gets wrote. Nothing wrong there; maybe you just have not found a way things fit together. Which is a reason I say, take care of you, your mind and heart, because where else does your drive to write come from?

 

[tak]

Some advice i've read on the internet can be applied to when you're publishing a whole ass book, but not when you're publishing chapters every day, but i'll still share them

• The first draft might not look right, but it's still the first draft. You can edit it later.
• It's fine to leave notes when you can't write a scene right. For example [MC escape by doing something cool] you might find inspiration later.
• Force yourself to write everyday, even if it's just a word. It's a progress!
• A page is 500 words
• You can only become closer to your final book, never further.
• Copy-paste: In his book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, King speaks on his writing speed. He would set a daily goal of about 2,000 words. This would add up to about 180,000 words in three months of writing.

This is just my thoughts. You know those writer who write WN, publishes LN, and people ask about the difference? Usually, new plot, pacing, character, etc
This novel you post on the internet doesn't have to be the final say. You can still edit it before you publish it as a book.

 

[yansusustories]

Personally, I often write something else first. If it's something that is completely opposite to what I was stuck on, it helps the most. Like, I'm stuck writing a tragic scene? Then I'd go write something fluffy or comedic. It gets me into writing mode but takes my mind off the matter that's troubling me. Then, when I finish the fluffy thing, I might write something else (the good thing about having many projects) and then attempt the tragic scene again. It'd often go much better by that time.

 

[AliceShiki]

I just force myself to write... Then I take some time off to let my head cool down, and then I edit the chapter. Once I'm done editing, I publish it, I never review a 2nd time.

Sometimes I look at it later and realize some scenes weren't that great or that I could have edited it better... But I don't touch it again, I just keep moving forward, it helps my novel move closer to completion.

I think Webnovels are a medium in which you can afford to not be a perfectionist. Try your best and then try to improve it... After that, just publish it and try moving your story forward.

If by the time you finished your webnovel, you think it has the potential to become published, then you can start working on some serious editing to make the scenes as good as they can be.

At least that's my view on it~

 

[LostinMovement]

It's just like playing a game for fun...But as soon as it gets complicated, because you want more out of it, your thoughts grow different. Go back to basics, go back to simple reasons, perhaps you'll feel lighter.

I think this is probably what I've been overlooking. I write because I love to write, it doesn't need to perfect and not everybody needs to like it. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[LostinMovement]

On coming back around to this and re-reading, I see what appears a causal relationship. That rewriting something is the obstacle,which leads to the anger.

Well my advice is still the same as earlier; only now I would ask if the thought of rewriting leads you to think it is "wasted effort". I do not think so, at least in my own writing. Sometimes a section of text just might not fit, no matter how it gets wrote. Nothing wrong there; maybe you just have not found a way things fit together. Which is a reason I say, take care of you, your mind and heart, because where else does your drive to write come from?

It's not the thought of rewriting that makes me angry. I rewrite and edit all the time. It's the dissatisfaction and the disappointment of retrying something many times over and still not getting the result you desire. I think this is a curse of being a perfectionist or an overly self-critical creator. However, I still you think you are right. I believe I need to take things easier and not be overly demanding of myself.

 

[LostinMovement]

I think Webnovels are a medium in which you can afford to not be a perfectionist. Try your best and then try to improve it... After that, just publish it and try moving your story forward.

If by the time you finished your webnovel, you think it has the potential to become published, then you can start working on some serious editing to make the scenes as good as they can be.

At least that's my view on it~

Thank you. Reading this actually made feel a bit better.

 

[LostinMovement]

Personally, I often write something else first. If it's something that is completely opposite to what I was stuck on, it helps the most. Like, I'm stuck writing a tragic scene? Then I'd go write something fluffy or comedic. It gets me into writing mode but takes my mind off the matter that's troubling me. Then, when I finish the fluffy thing, I might write something else (the good thing about having many projects) and then attempt the tragic scene again. It'd often go much better by that time.

That sounds like a great and effective way to get over what I'm experiencing. I'm sincerely gratefully . I will go and move to a different scene in the chapter and go back to the one I've struggling with later on.

 

[Moonpearl]

(Sorry if this is incoherent or anything; my head is currently spinning from writing all day.)

I find it helps to set a deadline, because then you eventually get to a point where you have to say "this is as much as I can do" because time has run out. It works best if you announce your deadline, so everybody is placing their expectations on you.

I'm one of those people who redrafts a lot for my stories. I often find that some bits clean up faster and better than others, so that they start looking like what I want to be the finished product by draft 2, while other pieces look like the written equivalent of a toddler's scribbles by draft 3.
There are a lot of reasons for that, though. Sometimes that part is grafted on during a later draft, so it just hasn't been rewritten as much; sometimes it's just been changed so much between drafts that every draft might as well have been the first one; and sometimes I'm just not in the right headspace for that section.
I remember being told when I was younger that you can't compare your early drafts to professional novels. Those novels were redrafted time and time again, and then changed again by professional editors; the stuff I hate on my page is the same stuff the writers I look up to probably have when they start out too. So, I try not to get discouraged by however bad something looks. The magic is in the editing.

During writing, I play music to drown out any self-critical thoughts and just focus on slamming down what I need on the page. Maybe in the later drafts, when everything starts looking good enough that I don't want to weep when I read it, I'll really focus all my attention on what's there.
But the focus has to be on improvement: nothing will ever be accomplished if I just sit around insulting myself for having tried.

 

[LostinMovement]

nothing will ever be accomplished if I just sit around insulting myself for having tried.

Thank you @Moonpearl for taking the time to reply
Truer words were never spoken.

 

[Scribbler]

I gave advice earlier, but it wasn't very practical or sensible. It was basically just focus hard.

My advice is to get lost in a good book, get enraptured by that feeling of being whisked away into another world/person. And emulate that feeling for when you need to enter/write your world/characters.

It can be hard to write when the world or you yourself have got you down, so the best thing you can do is forget about the world and yourself. And if you can't do it on your own, then do something that can help remind you of that feeling. It gets easier the more practice you have. Or maybe you think it's less hard because of how many times you've done it? I'm not the sort that gets myself down. It's the world that usually gets me down.

Just try to feel it. That's my advice.

 

[NiQuinn]

• Consistent quality
• Consistent updates
• PICK ONE.

High FIVE!

Okay, moving on. It sounds to me like you're getting mentally exhausted. The thing with that is, mental exhaustion is like physical exhaustion. If you run and run or do anything physically taxing, of course your body is gonna feel extremely fatigued. The same goes for your mental state. It's not going to be great pushing yourself so much if it leads to a downward spiral and making yourself feel like crap.

First of all, I'm not saying this thing you're experiencing is bad. A lot of people have experienced what you have. I have too. The difference comes when you learn how to handle it. For me, I stop. If something isn't working, I stop and think about it. Is it because deep down I know that a certain scene just doesn't go well with the story? Is it because it clashes with certain character traits? Is it because my writing is not up to par and I can't describe it like I want to? If my writing is subpar, can I find different ways to write it that can reach the same effect I wanted?

OR, is something in real life messing with my head and I have to think about that first?

It could be anything really. The best way I usually get out of that is to whip out my favorite novels. Read favorite parts or even the whole book altogether. I watch my favorite anime, movie, youtube vid(s), and I feel my endorphins giving me a push to do more happy things. Sometimes, I listen to my "angry playlist that makes me feel hella good" and all is well with the world again.

The only advice I can really give you is to not feel like crap about what you're feeling. Take some time to breathe and appreciate the stuff you already wrote. Remember why you love your story and why you want to write it in the first place. Maybe then you'll feel better and have a go at writing more.

 

[ZynGrand]

Recreating diverting futures
Unwanting of one imperfect
No more ideas so I…

Just do what you think best.
You might be wrong, but at least you tried!

 

[BenJepheneT]

just give yourself permission to be sub par.

Fuck everything, this is the only answer you'd ever need

 

[Friend]

hypothetical perfect chapter, it's easy, so damn easy to just... never crawl out. And end up never updating.

Admittedly I am at this point for one of my stories too. For example my Vampire In Space, I think I posted too soon after starting that story. Normally I will work on a story for a while (10+ chapters) before posting it or even mentioning it. But not so long after joining SH, I got the urge, wrote one chapter, uploaded as is and ... Like your words. I won't get a perfect chapter 2 or 3 so why should I continue it.

But this is where I turn back to my own words, need to take care of my thoughts and intentions first, then posting other story chaps, etc.

As with @LostinMovement I have probably rewritten a "okay this *has* to be the next chapter" for that story ... 3 times. (Maybe not so bad only 3 times but I get you.)