Commitment Issues. (Support Group)

Yes, yes, I am the worst at keeping up with stories. Seriously, I've abandoned so many I just eventually delete them after awhile...

Oh dear god I am so happy that I found this, I have horrible commitment issues to my stories. =( I need help with that lol.

Oh dear god I am so happy that I found this, I have horrible commitment issues to my stories. =( I need help with that lol.

Oh dear god I am so happy that I found this, I have horrible commitment issues to my stories. =( I need help with that lol.

@ french vanilla.
I have the same problem, unfortunately. And it doesn't help that I lost all of my motivation a year ago.

@ aubs
I feel like once I lose my motivation I'm entirely incapable of getting it back.

@ french vanilla.
I completely agree. I am trying to get it back, but school has majorly interfering. I have just been trying to write down a few ideas since I haven't had any in forever, plan them as much as I think I need to, and try to write something every day. I am planning to focus on one story (or two) and just try to tell myself that I should write that story. It seems to be working, at least for me it is.

@ aubs
That actually sounds like a really good system. I've been crazy busy with school too. Especially because this is my junior year and I overbooked myself with classes and APs. I've literally been so stressed but I want to get back to writing partly because it helps relieve said stress. I don't know, I tend to just write as I go it gets messy but I've never stuck to anything I planned out either so.. we'll see what happens when I'm finally on summer break in a month and a half.

I have commitment issues with my stories, sometimes it's due to laziness, or just not finding the time, but a lot of it is because I get bored pretty quickly. It's the worst though when I'm on the train to uni and I think of new story ideas but I have to tell myself to stop because it's just becoming too much. I think I'm at a good place, with uni/stories balanced - involved in 3 group writes and I have 3 solo active stories (and two on hiatus that I love too much to delete, but I WILL return to them eventually). I find that if I have diverse and different stories, then my attention span extends for a little while longer.

I pray though that no more story ideas come in my head. The number of started but unfinished stories I have and the number of just ideas I have is ridiculous. I hope that when I can properly finish a story I'll return to a previous idea and make magic out of that.

(Sorry if it sounds like mush but I'm on my phone and it's late here )

For someone who's battling through their commitment issues I can definitely help out someone if in need

I really want this topic to be active because I'm so terrible at commitment with like, everything. So bad at it, and I'm even worse at it with my stories! I really want to finish Bittersweet and I want to finish something for the first time. I've been writing for like four years and I still haven't finished anything that I'm really proud of or that I would submit to anywhere.

@ waves

I wish this thread was more active as well. I'm in the process of planning on my JulNo, and I don't write chaptered fics that often (because I have a terrible time updating them regularly and sticking to them in general. I prefer the instant gratification of completing oneshots), so it would be nice to have some moral support from other writers that are also terrible with commitment

@ i saw sparks
i'll be your cheerleader if you'll be mine?
i always have troubles with my laptop and keyboard is some crap so I always procrastinate on updating because some days my laptop won't even turn on and I don't feel like using my phone to update lol. I just deleted a couple of fanfics that i started like a year ago and never started and i'm working on trying to polish up one completed original/novella type thing and I'm trying to get myself into the habit of actually following through with stories after i've made layouts, character pages, soundtracks and everything except for the actual writing XD. I also have things I've written for school but have never posted on mibba. i hate wasting time, and I want to use my summer break well, use it more than watching gossip girl and eating ice cream for breakfast.

i also think i have a problem of roleplaying out my plots instead of actually writing and sometimes in roleplays I'll post replies as if i was updating a story or something, ha.

@ waves

Totes

I definitely don't blame you. I'm a terrible procrastinator myself, so if I had problems with my laptop, I probably wouldn't be writing either. Plus, that seems really frustrating, and I'm easily irritated So yeah, I don't blame you. I'm sort of the same way in that, if I make an outline for a chaptered story and I already know just about everything that's going to happen over the course of the story, I completely lose interest. I was doing well and updating consistently with my JulNo last year, but then I got my wisdom teeth removed, and I was so drugged up for like, an entire week after, that I got behind and sort of gave up

I don't have a problem updating group stories because I have other people that are relying on me, plus there are other people to bounce ideas with so that I don't have a chance to grow bored with the story. Like your roleplaying, I have a bad habit of writing out all of the interesting events in a given story as oneshots first, so then I don't care about working on the actual story because I've already written all of the "fun" stuff. I also have a terrible contest addiction, so I'm stuck in this constant loop of writing oneshots for contests, and being pressed by those deadlines kind of gets in the way of me updating chaptered stuff or writing oneshots that aren't for contests.

This is kind of the blind-leading-the-blind here, but maybe if you tried to space out all of the preliminary aspects of the story, you'd be more likely to stick to it? For example, maybe wait until you've reached a goal of x chapters before you make a soundtrack for the story? Or maybe every x chapters, you could make a new banner/layout/whatever to keep things fresh and interesting?

Oh, this is good.

Right, I have This story that I've got a few chapters written up for. (It's only four but they're long btw so if you're stuck for time read them later. .) I've got a few ideas but lack of subscribers or anything is making me lose my confidence with it a little. or if its a comment swap they only read the first chapter, which is understandable but they never read more of it. Or if they leave a nice comment you never hear from them again

Obviously I know its not just about that, that I should write for myself blah blah blah but having someone want to read more definitely helps motivate me to write more you know? I've completed stories that have been popular a couple of years ago but I like to hope I've improved, but people don't see that cause it just gets missed on the story page.

I'm just worried I'm gonna lose all motivation for it and it's just gonna sit on my account forever gathering dust so to speak. I just need ideas!

I'm stoked that I found this. Though I wish it was more active now since I have so many stories I start but never finish. Or even stories I wanna start but just know I won't get anywhere with.

And it's mostly this story since I had a great plot. And I've already written like 5 chapters, i just haven't updated in forever. And feel like I lost my modivation because I didn't feel like people were reading or liked it at all. And though I know I should write for myself, to make me happy and all I just want others to be able to enjoy my work and want to read more. Mostly because when I know others enjoy my work it boosts my self confidence about my work.

I just need modivation.

I am having troubles with my newest story because I haven't really thought about the plot that much. I mean, I have, but nothing that I think of seems to work in my favor. It's about a girl, right out of college, who starts writing an online blog about her life. It was going to go through her life, and her struggles with finding a job or something, but I'm stuck.

At first I was going to have her major in business so she could start her own business, but I know nothing about starting a business. Then I was going to have her write a book, and write a blog about that, but I'm not too sure about it. I just don't even know. I love the idea, but if I can't figure this out, then I don't think I'd be writing the story even though I really want to.

@ kuzco
Maybe you could ask someone who has some knowledge about business to help you out? Otherwise you could always ask my good friend, Google. If you don't know where to start, do little by little. Or writing out an initial plan? I think taking baby steps is key. Even if it's slow progress, at least you're moving forward, right?

--

Gah. Yes, this post is indeed helpful. I like this a lot. I have commitment issues with my stories and to this site! Haha. Most of my stories I started years ago, but now that I'm back after a long hiatus, I have totally lost all train of thought! It doesn't help that my laptop lost all my files. Back to square one. :(

This one is a total mess. No kidding. I had an idea where it was going, and I still do (not really), but I worry if people can follow it.

Then there is this one. It's just really slow paced. Come onnnnnn storyline! I just want the action to start already.

Like, I don't know if other people understand this feeling - I want to continue, and I really try to, but I just can't?

@ Shadowette
I have this issue with one of my stories right now, the wanting to continue feeling but you can't, for some reason? With that story, I've decided to put it on hiatus because right now, I just cannot deal with thinking about it. I want to continue it, but I like you, am a ridiculously slow pacer and for some reason can never stick to my basic outlines.

To fix that issue though, I've made really detailed outlines so there's no way for me to veer from it. I've found that the more detailed my chapter by chapter outlines are, the easier it is to move the story along and actually enjoy writing the story.

I'm not sure if I made any sense or if it helped, sorry

I'm already having second doubts about my story "Lifeline" Like, I have EVERYTHING planned out and I want this to be my NaNo novel, but I doubt I'll make it to the 50k words which means I start getting discouraged and I start losing my drive to write.

@ cadaveres literarios
Maybe don't aim for 50k just yet? Start with little goals, like reach to 5k first and then 10k and so on. And with every 5k you reach, you treat yourself to something? I do this, but for me it's more like, if I don't reach 5k by a certain date, then I won't go to gym and live with having fat on me in the long run. Positive reinforcement I find is a great motivator for a lot of people.