Epic storytelling: how do people do it?

[locker_monster]

I just finished my first epic fic. Over 43,000 words. *falls over, amazed* I have never written anything that long before, so this is a milestone for me. 76 pages!

It looks like I started this thing back in December, so maybe three months total to finish this first draft. I'm surprised I managed to finish at all. I rarely complete fics. I can get started easily enough, but I always run out of steam before the end. Or I abandon a fic, leave it alone for a long time, and then I come back and finish it very crappily. This one though...

I started a "write a little something every day" project around the time of NaNoWriMo last year. I had already started a fic so I figured it would be easier just to keep working on it than start a new project for NaNo. I tried to work on it every day but not surprisingly I ended up abandoning it. But I liked the idea of writing something every day, even if it was just a sentence or two. Maybe that's how I actually finished this epic. I worked on it every day or almost every day, time permitting. But I found it became so consuming. I got obsessed with trying to write something every day. Pretty soon I found it didn't want to do anything else but write on the weekends. Going out sounded like a chore, playing video games fell by the wayside, and I started reading less. In a way, I'm glad the majority of the work is done. This fic was turning me into a social hermit.

But clearly, it helps to have a goal and maybe that is what has been lacking for me. I just write by the seat of my pants most of the times. Reminds me of the BSG writers but that's neither here nor there... I still need to read it over, do some edits, and then hand it off to a willing beta, but right now it's a nice feeling to be done.

Comments

[celisnebula.livejournal.com]

I have no idea. I can do one-shots with no problem. But longer stuff kills me. There are people in my main fandom who not only bang out a couple of long piece works 45K or longer, but heck, have finished 6 books in paid publishing (which I own), and are still going strong.

To stop the dangerous WIP syndrome (of which I've three unfinished ones online floating around), I've decided not to post anything until it's completely done. Of course that means I have 10 different pieces, all of various length, that are sitting on my desktop, none which are even close to done. But I'm trying to finish them, especially the huge Doctor Who/Torchwood/Harry Potter crossover that I've been working on for nearly 16 months - it's sitting at 15K in words right now, and not being touched cause I wrote myself into a corner and I need to sit on it for a bit.

[locker-monster.livejournal.com]

It is mind boggling. I know for me, it's a confidence thing. If I think a story is crap, I abandon it rather than try to make it work. That has resulted in a lot of unfinished stories.

And I hate the idea of posting a WIP. I admire people who can post as they write. Me, I need to see the whole story before I post it. But at the same time, a WIP has instant feedback and that can shape where the story is headed. All depends on the person I guess.

[ninamazing.livejournal.com]

THAT IS AMAZING. You are an inspiration.

I have been trying to do the "write something every day" to get me to finish my original stories, but all that happens is I write lots of BSG porn. :(((( I am trouble.

[locker-monster.livejournal.com]

Heh, not so much an inspiration as social hermit.

Well, at least you're writing something. :-) The thing I found with the "write something every day" approach is that after awhile, you start to feel bad if you miss a day. I wouldn't call it an unhealthy obsession, but it was an obsession. I even sneaked in some writing while at work. So it feels good to have accomplished something, but it'll be nice to take a break, too.