The Ever-Continuous Story

As I near the end of the draft of my latest project, I find it increasingly difficult to actually finish. With only two scenes remaining, my writing has slowed to a snail's pace. Also, I find myself getting distracted because I am already developing plans for a sequel.

I guess the characters of this project have finally gotten under my skin. Meantime, all other projects and responsibilities in my life are not getting much attention.

I have sections in my back yard where the grass has grown so tall that I'm afraid to mow it in fear of what might lie underneath the jungle-growth. Had to take some time last weekend to replace a radiator and perform some other needed maintenance on my daughter's car. I hear the subtle voice of a previous writing project calling me, begging for attention, and yet, I still keep thinking of the continuation to a work not even finished yet.

On the upside, I will attend a meeting for my local writer's group tonight for some much needed inspiration and motivation.

Tell me, other writers. Do you ever run into this problem? Do you ever get to the end of a draft and find it nearly impossible to simply eek out enough words to complete a couple of remaining scenes?

How do you go about just letting go and finishing the project?

Comments

  1. I get bogged down more often in the middle. That tells me I'll be doing some editing later, because if I'm bored, the readers will be, too.
    Watch out for snakes in that grass!

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  2. I have the same problem and I guess it comes down to self-discipline. I know when I near the end, I just want to get it over and done with so I can move on.

    CD

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  3. I'll let you know if I every finish :->

    I've finished some, but almost always, I, too, slow down toward end and start revising the earlier parts, with the argument that if I change much earlier sections, the end is most likely to change, too. It's not actually true, not by the time I get to that part of the book. I might polish the ending, but the main substance rarely changes based on the earlier material. More likely the reverse--the middle changes because of something I noted was missing in preparation for the ending. Unless, as I've been doing lately, the ending becomes the ending of a book later in the series as I realize a huge interim piece needs to be its own book.

    Finishing anything is hard because it marks a big change, and change is always hard, even if its a good thing.

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