Wisdom from Ex-Writers?

From what I know, writing isn't easy. Many people find they don't have the heart, time, or attention needed to become a professional writer, or at least money from their writing. Many don't find any readers, can't market their book, can't get physical copies sold, can't get electronic copies sold, or don't even get their works finished.

Many stories collect dust on sites or on computers and are never introduced. Some people encounter problems or dilemmas that permanently stunt their writing career.

Have you ever had a dead project, or a permanently unfinishable story? What advice or wisdom would you have for those who want to start, to help them avoid what caused you problems on the way?

I've actually got several on my fanfiction profile. So my advice would be that it's okay to have a dead project. Maybe you can rewrite it in a few years; maybe you should just drop that concept and let it die. One dead project (or even 3 or 10) does not mean you are a bad writer, nor incapable of finishing something.

That said, you should also look closely at just why that project died. Was it because you weren't capable of executing it properly? Was it just a bad concept, or did something get away from you somewhere, and you painted yourself into a corner? Was it too ambitious? Do you just have Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny! disorder? Knowing why you failed at previous projects can help you avoid making the same mistakes on your next one.

Everybody has those. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if you dont accumulate dead stories, you arent really developing as a writer. In most cases, I think that if you ask yourself why those stories died, and if you are honest about it, it's because they just dont interest you anymore. It's actually a good thing to move on to something else when that happens.

A more serious problem is when nothing ever gets finished and you arent really interested in any of your projects. That's a sign that you havent really found your area of interest. Even more experimentation is needed, maybe even trying to write something in a style you are certain you wouldnt like, just to find out. You cant force yourself to be interested in a project. I would, however, make a distinction between not being able to finish a WIP because it isnt interesting anymore, and still being interested in the concept but forcing yourself to finish writing it. The former is futile, but the latter is just good self-discipline for a writer. Write something creative, no matter how little, every day. That's important.