Part Six: On Finishing Our Stories
It's not easy to stick with a long project, to remain interested enough in the characters to follow the story through to its conclusion, and to avoid the malady of writer's block. But it can be done. Hey, if I can do it, you can, too! :)
For me, finishing my first multi-chapter fan fiction was easy. I completed it during last November's National Novel Writing Month (www.NaNoWriMo.org). So I was already excited about reaching 50,000 words in a month, and completing my fan fic novel was my main goal, with the secondary goal of getting ahead by several chapters on my current fan fic novel.
Secondly, publishing each chapter as I wrote it on Wattpad.com and FanFiction.net also provided me with the impetus to keep writing. I had readers who were eagerly awaiting the next chapter of my WIP, and I didn't want to let them down. My boss, a professional writer, told me that writing weekly installments of fan fiction stories makes us rather like Charles Dickens who serialized his novels, publishing them in magazines before they were bound and sold as novels.
So how else can we reach that finish line and complete our WIPs?
Holly Lisle, who offers some excellent tips on writing in general (her site is a treasure-trove of delicious articles and she also has a free weekly newsletter chock full of writing tips!), has written an article on finishing our WIPs:
“How to Finish a Novel” by Holly Lisle
http://hollylisle.com/how-to-finish-a-novel/
Timothy Hallinan, who wrote the excellent article “To Outline or Not to Outline” in Assignment #3, has a wonderful series of short articles (27 in all) that breaks down writing and finishing writing your WIP. He starts at the very beginning of the writing process and offers some stellar advice for beginning and more experienced writers alike. His articles are full of common sense and practical applications, so I hope you'll find it helpful:
“Finishing Your Novel” by Timothy Hallinan http://www.timothyhallinan.com/writers.php/
I hope that you find both of these resources helpful in keeping that inspiration flowing, dusting off that abandoned WIP, and completing it beautifully. I know you can do it!!!
YOU ARE READING
Advice to Young Writers
Non-FictionI am asked several times each day to read the stories written by young writers here on Wattpad. As there is no way that I could possibly read and offer quality feedback to all who ask, this book is my Advice to Young Writers, based on my own 20 year...
