writing-the-words:

If you are a writer, or the friend of a writer, Writer’s Syndrome is definitely something you should be aware of. Every writer, at one point in their life, experience Writer’s Syndrome, if they haven’t already. There are many symptoms of this syndrome:

• Thinking everything you’ve written is garbage
• Having no idea what to do next
• Feeling as if your characters have turned against you
• Loss of interest or motivation in your work
• Difficulty focusing or staying on target
• Unusual and out of place character deaths or actions

Many writers refer to Writer’s Syndrome as “The Wall”, “Writer’s Block”, or describe their situation as being “stuck”. Other writers might talk about wanting to go back and restart their book, or revise it. Some might want to trash their work all together. One of the most dangerous forms of Writer’s Syndrome is one of having too many ideas, and feeling as if you are putting aside your current work for a better idea that you’ve had.

You are most susceptible to Writer’s Syndrome when you are about three-quarters of the way through your work. If you or someone you love has been affected by Writer’s Syndrome, don’t worry, there is a cure!

Writer’s Syndrome has one real effect that makes it such a dangerous and difficult syndrome to tackle: this syndrome stops your productivity in its tracks. The key to overcoming Writer’s Syndrome is simply continuing.

The reality is: every good writer is going to reach a point where they think their writing sucks. If you think you are a perfect writer, then you will never improve, and you will never actually be any good at all. A good writer has to be willing to adapt and change as they age and learn, and as the world changes. This doesn’t mean to stop what you’re doing and revise everything you have so far. The way Writer’s Syndrome works, you often run into three scenarios.

Scenario 1: “My work is garbage and I quit.”

Scenario one is when you press delete on everything you have, shut your computer, down a bottle of whiskey, and listen to your significant other complain about how writing was never a real career choice and you need to go find “a real job”.

The solution to scenario one is accepting, “yes, maybe this is a little shitty”, and then continue going. Let the shit swell and stink and spread – but actually finish what you are doing. When your work is complete, and you have a full novel beginning to end, that is the time to figure out whether or not you really did write  a terrible story.

Of course, the next question is “This is actual shit. Now what?”

Now you have two options. Your first draft, is most likely, going to actually be shit. Sorry. It happens, no one is perfect on their first try. You probably didn’t know your characters as well then, you didn’t know exactly where your plot was going. Now, you’re better. Now is the time to start revising and make it better.

There is an alternative, when you realize that what you wrote is absolutely the worst thing ever written, and there is no saving yourself from it or going back. It is irredeemable, revision will do nothing. From here, your best bet it to show the work to a close friend. Someone who can read it and say, “No way, dude, this is really good!”, but someone who is also honest enough to say, “What were you smoking when you wrote this? This is crap.” If you get a good review, revise. Take some time to work on other things first, so that you distance yourself from this “my work is crap” phase, but revise eventually. If your friend says your work sucks, then that’s a different story. At that point, you go into a stage of mourning. Take some personal time to grieve for the lost time you spent, and the caffeine addiction you now have to overcome. When you feel alright, SAVE YOUR WORK. Save everything. Back it up, email it to yourself, whatever you normally do. Do not press delete. Chances are there is something in those thousands of words that isn’t shit. There is something worth saving. It might be one minor character, or just one plot point, or it might be an entire section of the work itself. Nothing is ever worth deleting. Ever.   

Scenario 2: “I should go back and edit everything right now”

In scenario two, you are typically a good portion of the way though your work, when you realize you made mistakes. Probably huge mistakes. That first person perspective you thought was working? It’s not. Third person POV time. That really cute couple you wrote? Yeah, one of them is gay. Too bad they’ve been main character’s your entire story and you just realized it now. These things happen.

How do you fix it? Make a note: “JUST REALIZED ANNA IS GAY, HER AND JAMES ARE JUST GOOD FRIENDS” and continue writing from there, as if that was the truth the whole time. Whatever big mistake you made, just make a note, and write the rest of your story as if it was correct the whole time.

The danger in revising too early, before you finish, is that you never actually finish. You get 75% though the book, realize you made a huge error, go back and revise 40% of the way through before realizing another big mistake. Mistakes are everywhere. Just make a note, finish, and you’ll fix it in your revision.

Scenario 3: “Ah…I’m halfway done with this but…this new idea is way better…I’ll come back to this one later!”

Scenario three is the kind of scenario that has you up at three am with your fifth cup of coffee sitting empty on your desk. You are really into your one plot, but at the same time, another plot has begun to grow. Well, you don’t want to lose it, do you? You’d better write it now, while you’re passionate. After all, you’ve put way to much work into this first story to forget about it, you’ll come back soon.

If you’re the type of writer who has 6+ unfinished manuscripts / first drafts saved on their computer, this is probably you. This problem is a difficult one, because you really don’t want to lose the passion you have for either story. My advice? Stick to the story you were already working on, but don’t be afraid to open up a new word document and write a 1-2 page synopsis of your other idea. Having ideas is never going to be a bad thing, but you need to finish what you started the first time.

 Scenario 4: “I have absolutely no idea what I am doing”

Scenario four is that very special time in a writer’s life when they develop that passionate and personal hatred of that blinking black line on a word document. It is when you spend more time staring out the window that actually writing. 

For help with this, you can see the “Getting Started” post, but mainly, the best way to go is just to go. Brainstorm ideas, allow your characters to lead the way, even if it is a little off-plot. Going for it is your best bet, don’t worry about how it turns out! 

Best of luck and happy writing,

Marina Montenegro