“How can I get excited about my story?” #AskAbbie ✍️✨

[moderndayphilosopher]

Tell your friends about your characters!!! If you have writer friends, I’m sure they’d love to hear, and you’ll get so excited when you’re talking to them!!! 😊

[FluffinWolffox]

I had to learn this as well. I'd been working on a sci fi novel for years, and it was in bad shape. Every step I took to improve it made it a more complicated mess. It was stressing me out. I kept holding off another story idea because I felt like the thing I'd worked on and cared about for so long had to be done first.

Eventually, I put the sci fi aside. Now I'm outlining an animated fantasy series. It's grown so fast and I love it so much. In addition, all the things I learned from my process with the other story have made this one come together much better. I just had to remind myself it's fine to skip around and that I'm not abandoning the other story, just giving it a rest

[Ary-Jay]

Personally I draw pictures for each of my chapters, so I can indulge in the story a lot better and get a feel for how the characters look/react to certain things. It helps get me excited for the next story/chapter in a way

[retrotomato]

I usually take a break from it if I truly love the idea, maybe watch some tv or read other writers works on Wattpad, or create mood boards, my favorite though is creating a song playlist for the book it gets me back in the mood to write it again

[lecomingbegend]

"Enjoy the process of creative play. Joy begets brilliance."
😮😮😮
THIS IS SO NEEDED
❤❤❤❤❤

[leonmayne]

Abbie’s ‘This has to be a novel’ voice sounds like her Weston voice.

[fizzledits]

Wait ok I’ve been like this with editing, and this is amazing advice. Imma apply it to my edits, thank you so much

[wordsmith]

Wonderful advice as always abbie! Thanks to all your help over the years, I was just able to set up preorders for my first novel!! So all of you here who are wondering if you’ll ever cross the finish line—you 100% can do it, just keep going, it’ll be amazing!

[forevercatholic]

Thanks so much for this! I struggle with this too! QUESTION: #askabbie

Where do I start with my story, is it with characters? I always feel like I write a story and then my characters don't fit in that box. Thank you!!

[suugiart]

It took so much trying to write fantasy to realise that I am actually in LOVE with writing dystopian/apocalyptic novels.
I always really enjoyed fantasy novels, but writing them never worked.
And then I read my first dystopian novel and _knew_ that's what I wanted to write.
Finished the rough draft to my first novel in two months! Now I'm editing it.

[pyroasura]

A weird thing that i do is, when im driving, drawing or out to eat.
- I talk to my characters (not to visibly in public though)
- I ask them what happend that day
- I joke around with them
- I play apart in their scene that i havent wrote about yet. Just to get inside their world. Dress up and talk like them. While most of the time i dont hvae all this engergy to do these things. Something as simple as listenig to 3D surround sound ambience to their home world is engaing enough. ❤❤

[claudettelampley]

I knew my setting and three main characters. After two years of trying to get excited to write the girl I realized I HAD to write from the guy’s perspective. It’s changed everything including how excited I am to write about character growth!

[leviackerman]

I have been writing a story for over 3 years now and the main character's trait has changed so many times from draft to draft, like how serious he is or how he approaches to the problem, it has become my second nature. And unlike other scenarios that I make to please my mind, I don't make scenarios about my story. Because that ruins the excitement of imagining it for the first time.

[jamesonweston]

Love all the advice! I've been a screenwriter specializing in crime films for a decade. However this past Nanowrimo I decided to get inspired by a blend of Emma by JA and Poldark, a genre I know very little about and I am loving getting the story figured out thanks to you! My characters keep changing but they keep getting more and more real!

[francoanzalone]

Very true. I thought one genre was not for me, but then all of a sudden I could not stop writing it. Love your videos! Thank you!

[fantastic_fiona]

I’ve always tried doing fantasy, but never actually finished any stories. Then last fall I started a sci-fi book and IM STILL MOTIVATED 👏💯

[leannamation]

This seriously works. I had just a little fanfic idea that i didnt even think i was gonna write. Now ive thought out the whole novel and am always ecited to write it! I have a whole other original book series that im also working on. I dont work on it nearly as often as i do the fanfic, but i dont let that fact disapoint me.
Another tip is to "not write to publish, but write to have fun"

[Teckno]

She’s right. I was meh about my book, and now I’ve decided to add a new character that will change everything. It makes me more excited about the book just knowing I’ll get to write this one new character into my blah scenes! Just an idea! 🎉

[Beartastic_]

This is such good advice.I originally tried writing fantasy novels but then i tried writing horror short stories and its so much more fun to me.

[eallae]

Personnaly, stories spend a lot of time in my head and the passion for it comes in waves.
First wave : omg I got this new idea it’s awesome can’t wait !

Then I rush and try to write it OR I struggle to develop the plot (my biggest problem) and then I get frustrated

Second wave : I’m slowly getting this plot together and all the what if questions end up in more excitement. It doesn’t leave my head even when I’m doing something else. I’ll be at the dinner table and trying to listen to people while also wondering random stuff about my story

3rd wave : my plot id DONE and the fact that it’s finally developed enough and that it’s mine makes me so excited to write it.
We par ourselves on the back for finishing drafts (as we should) but we also forget that coming up with an original coherent story and likeable characters, sometimes evolving in an imaginary world is also a great accomplishment ❤