Novel Writing: How Do You All Do It? - Comments

@ glasswings
It's the ideas that matter at this level. The writing can always be changed. I think it's probably better than you feel about it too. So just write content based and change it later if you still don't like it. It's not worth burning yourself out over. There will be more ideas that spark you in the future. :)

@ PoeticMess.
Thanks for your feedback, and advice! I think you're probably right - I should probably just keep going with it even if I'm not in love with every line. The ideas are still good, and I can always go back to change things if I want to!

I've been working on the same series since 2011 and I adore it. I'm currently finishing the story and beginning the rewrite. Personally, there are times were I don't touch it at all. For this series alone, I've finished a story every year and a half. Since I started college it's taken me longer to write chapters, but it's not always my writing I love. It's the story. It's the characters. The world and the people are so huge to me and I want to make them the best they can be.

I started this a long time ago, so I really don't like the first story in the series. But instead of scraping the whole thing, I'm using it as a jumping off point for the rewrite. Professional writers don't just sit down and pump out the best novel in the world, they write and rewrite until they are able to do it justice.

Don't force yourself to write so much of that story that you hate it. If it's not working, if you don't like it, if you feel drained, start something new. Something small. And then go back to your other piece.

I find ideas in everything. Song lyrics, conversations I overhear, the way something makes me feel, if I'm tired, the way someone looks at something, the way I think about the things I see. Everything, to me, sparks another idea or another scene for my story. I don't think I ever stop thinking about what I'm writing, even when I haven't updated in a month. Everyday I'm thinking about the story and each new idea brings something new to it.