The Struggles of a Twenty-Something Writer

Is it just me, or did May fly by really fast?

I would like to say that my summer has thus far been immensely productive, but unfortunately I would be lying. I haven't worked out as much as I wanted to, I haven't written or read as much as I would like, but I still have two months to get it together.

I've been hoping that inspiration would hit me like a lightening bolt and I would have an entire story--or at least a couple of chapters--written in one night. I know it doesn't usually work like that (I've been doing this a while, even if I've never gotten paid for it), but that doesn't keep me from dragging my feet.

Motivation to write, even when I don't have a clear idea of what I want to write, is one of the hardest things to come by, in my opinion. I can be completely in the mood to write, and I sit down at my computer, and...

...the cursor just keeps blinking, taunting me on that stark-white blank page.

What I usually end up doing is reading through a story I've already started, something that I want to work on, and spend my entire "writing time" making minute edits and reading over what I already have, but not adding anything substantial. Sure, I may write a short little scene, or add a sentence here and there, but at the end of my time I feel like I've accomplished nothing and have wasted my entire evening.

There seems to be a general feeling towards my generation that we are lazy and never follow through on anything, that we don't work for what we get and expect everything to be handed to us. While this is definitely true for some people, I like to think I don't fall under that umbrella. However, I feel like the most stereotypical American twenty-something when I try to write and can't. I'll confess something: I've never finished a novel. (Well, I have, but I didn't think it was publish-worthy, so I don't count that. It's stuck away in some notebook somewhere amongst all my things.) I desperately want to, but all of the words seem to leave me around Chapter Four. Yes, I've tried writing short stories and flash fiction and other types of fiction, but the ability to write a full-length novel is something I aspire to have.

So, basically if anyone has any tips on how to get past the Chapter Four Writer's Block, let me know! I'm excited to hear your strategies.

Love Always,

Kristin