I'm Struggling to Get Any of My Stories Started

Semeny Licket

Semeny Licket

Experienced
I've got various stories, and I had big ideas about how they could expand, but for some reason, once I've got them started a bit, usually only at the introduction chapter, I just can't keep going. My mind blanks for how to proceed. Take my story, Digital Reality, for example. The introductory chapter is set up to explain the world to the reader, and prompts a choice for an egg to choose which will select a partner Digimon to accompany the main character. The problem is, my mind just turns blank when it comes time to write the step 2 introductions. And then where do I go from there? Once you have your partner, I'm still lost on what to have actually happen. It's like my only idea seems to be the premise, and I'm just stuck in limbo for how to proceed from there. It's frustrating, to say the least of it.

It's like I write the premise, and then I just hit writer's block.
 
The premise of a story is usually the easy part, but going past that you need to write an actual plot and develop some kind of conflict, goal, or action.

So maybe try doing an outline. It doesn't have to be a detailed outline, but to take Digital Reality as an example:

Premise: [Insert Name Here] is about to enter an immersive virtual world, based on Digimon. Presumably some fucking is involved at some point.

1. Beginning: [Insert Name Here] chooses "Love." The egg hatches, revealing their Digimon.

2. Middle: [Insert Name Here]'s Digimon is affectionate...very affectionate...

3. Conflict: [Insert Name Here]'s friend finds out about the Digimon and they're...jealous?

4. Climax: [Insert Name Here] confronts their friend and the two expose their real feelings for one another.

5. Resolution: Digimon/human orgy

Now, I'm being a bit facetious here, and obviously you can extend this storyline in different ways, bring in other characters, or just have the protagonist work through daily life with their digital fuckbuddy, but this is an example of how you can outline a storyline. You can fill out the outline by adding ideas or asking questions, like:

1.i Which Digimon is it? What do they look like? They're sentient, but can they talk?
1.ii Newly-hatched Digimon needs to "bond" with their user by ingesting their data (i.e. blowjob).
1.iii [Insert Name Here] gets a message from their friend, inviting them out tonight, how do they answer?

Each of which can be a chapter, or a scene, or maybe a separate branch if the choices aren't compatible.
 
Any of the digimon involved would have to pass the Harkness Test and be effectively 18 years old.
 
When it comes to writing there are two school of thoughts: Gardener and Architect


Zeebop has already laid out the Architect approach. It's definitely worth a try.


Then there is Gardener, which is to just...write.

It doesn't really matter if what you are producing is complete garbage, the important part is that you are writing. By doing so you are forcing your brain to work.

Make your characters go to the store and buy a container of milk, have them do laundry. It doesn't matter how mundane it is, just do not stare at your blank screen.



Well, what ends up working for you ultimately depends on you, so give it a try.
 
Then there's the Gardentecht method.

Just write. Write until you write yourself into a corner. Write until you come to hate what you've written.

Then come up with a plan to fix it.

Burn it all to the ground and start over, this time, following your plan.

The tricky part is you have to have absolutely no ego about hating your own writing, otherwise the gardening phase can feel like a huge and painful waste of time.
 
Zeebop said:
Premise: [Insert Name Here] is about to enter an immersive virtual world, based on Digimon. Presumably some fucking is involved at some point.

1. Beginning: [Insert Name Here] chooses "Love." The egg hatches, revealing their Digimon.

2. Middle: [Insert Name Here]'s Digimon is affectionate...very affectionate...

3. Conflict: [Insert Name Here]'s friend finds out about the Digimon and they're...jealous?

4. Climax: [Insert Name Here] confronts their friend and the two expose their real feelings for one another.
Click to expand...
Not sure I want to participate in any of that.
 
insertnamehere said:
Not sure I want to participate in any of that.
Click to expand...
1. Establish insertnamehere's status quo as a perfectly normal and functional member of society who only writes erotica about normal things, such as horror incest.
2. insertnamehere's comfortable life is challenged when he reads the premise of Zeebop's Digimon fan fiction example. He resists the hero's call to action.
3. The evil Myotismon resurrects some long-deleted Digimon erotica on insertnamehere's computer, originally saved by a previous owner of the hard drive, which insertnamehere purchased on ebay. The computer goes berserk, and insertnamehere is pulled into the Digital World against his will.
4. Unprepared for this new reality, insertnamehere finds himself defenseless and surrounded by hostile Digimon. But then he is rescued at the last moment by an unlikely savior, the ravishing LadyDevimon.
5. LadyDevimon teaches insertnamehere the joys of fighting, collecting and training Digimon. insertnamehere soon develops feelings for LadyDevimon, but he keeps them a secret, believing that their love can never be.
6. Myotismon ambushes insertnamehere and kidnaps LadyDevimon, but he inadvertantly leaves behind a clue to his whereabouts: one half of a family crest similar to the one LadyDevimon wore.
7. Dejected, insertnamehere travels to the Village of Beginnings to collect his resurrected Digimon who were killed in battle. While there, Swanmon explains that the Crest actually contains the Fractal Code for a weapon that will allow him to defeat Myotismon, but he requires both halves in order to properly Render it. Swanmon also reveals the many, many Digimon who died in combat while attempting to follow Myotismon's orders. He learns that Myotismon enforces loyalty among his servants by inflicting torture upon them as punishment for the smallest signs of rebellion, and sadistically executes even his most loyal servants should they fail in their tasks, or simply cease to be of use to him. He asks the Digimon if any of them want payback, and soon a rebellion is brewing. Though, having been reincarnated, the Digimon are vastly under-levelled.
8. insertnamehere begins the arduous trek to Myotismon's lair. He takes good care of his Digimon, utilizing a broad variety of online resources to become better at the game. Soon the entire army is levelled up. Along the way, he learns of the DigiDestined, and hears a rumor that LadyDevimon is actually Myotismon's long lost sister.
9. insertnamehere's army begins its raid on Myotismon's stronghold. insertnamehere fights his way to the inner sanctum, only to discover Myotismon about to rape LadyDevimon. He shouts for her to throw him her half of the pendant. She is confused, but she does so.
10. insertnamehere tries to assemble the two halves, but they're both the right side, and the jagged lines don't match. insertnamehere is suddenly stabbed by Myotismon, and he falls to his knees clutching the wound.
11. insertnamehere collapses to the floor, and the pendant fragment he's carried his whole life on a chain around his neck spills out of the top of his shirt. It connects with LadyDevimon's pendant and they fuse together in a blinding flash of light. insertnamehere realizes that he was LadyDevimon's long-lost brother all along.
12. LadyDevimon evolves into the stunning Angewomon, and uses Heaven's Charm to heal her long-lost brother, insertnamehere. Together, they defeat Myotismon.
13. The army of reborn Digimon take over Myotismon's lands, vowing to run them better than he did. insertnamehere and Angewomon consummate their brother-sister relationship the only way insertnamehere knows how-- by vigorously playing Monopoly. Roll Credits.
I sincerely wish I was sorrier for this.
 
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CurvyLinesEverywhere said:
1. Establish insertnamehere's status quo as a perfectly normal and functional member of society who only writes erotica about normal things, such as horror incest.
2. insertnamehere's comfortable life is challenged when he reads the premise of Zeebop's Digimon fan fiction example. He resists the hero's call to action.
3. The evil Myotismon resurrects some long-deleted Digimon erotica on insertnamehere's computer, originally saved by a previous owner of the hard drive, which insertnamehere purchased on ebay. The computer goes berserk, and insertnamehere is pulled into the Digital World against his will.
4. Unprepared for this new world, insertnamehere finds himself defenseless and surrounded by hostile Digimon. But then he is rescued at the last moment by an unlikely savior, the ravishing LadyDevimon.
5. LadyDevimon teaches insertnamehere the joys of fighting, collecting and training Digimon. insertnamehere soon develops feelings for LadyDevimon, but he keeps them a secret, believing that their love can never be.
6. Myotismon ambushes insertnamehere and kidnaps LadyDevimon, but he inadvertantly leaves behind a clue to his whereabouts: one half of a family crest similar to the one LadyDevimon wore.
7. Dejected, insertnamehere travels to the Village of Beginnings to collect his resurrected Digimon who were killed in battle. While there, Swanmon explains that the Crest actually contains the fractal code for a weapon that will allow him to defeat Myotismon, but he requires both halves in order to properly render it. Swanmon also reveals the many, many Digimon who died in combat while attempting to follow Myotismon's orders. He learns that Myotismon enforces loyalty among his servants by inflicting torture upon them as punishment for the smallest signs of rebellion, and sadistically executes even his most loyal servants should they fail in their tasks, or simply cease to be of use to him. He asks the Digimon if any of them want payback, and soon a rebellion is brewing. Though, having been reincarnated, the Digimon are vastly under-levelled.
8. insertnamehere begins the arduous trek to Myotismon's lair. He takes good care of his Digimon, utilizing a broad variety of online resources to become better at the game. Soon the entire army is levelled up. Along the way, he learns of the DigiDestined, and hears a rumor that LadyDevimon is actually Myotismon's long lost sister.
9. insertnamehere's army begins its raid on Myotismon's stronghold. insertnamehere fights his way to the inner sanctum, only to discover Myotismon about to rape LadyDevimon. He shouts for her to throw him her half of the pendant. She is confused, but she does so.
10. insertnamehere tries to assemble the two halves, but they're both the right side, and the jagged lines don't match. insertnamehere is suddenly stabbed by Myotismon, and he falls to his knees clutching the wound.
11. insertnamehere collapses to the floor, and the pendant fragment he's carried his whole life on a chain around his neck spills out of the top of his shirt. It connects with LadyDevimon's pendant and they fuse together in a blinding flash of light. insertnamehere realizes that he was LadyDevimon's long-lost brother all along.
12. LadyDevimon evolves into the stunning Angewomon, and uses Heaven's Charm to heal her long-lost brother, insertnamehere. Together, they defeat Myotismon.
13. The army of reborn Digimon take over Myotismon's lands, vowing to run them better than he did. insertnamehere and Angewomon consummate their brother-sister relationship the only way insertnamehere knows how-- by vigorously pla Monopoly. Roll Credits.
I sincerely wish I was sorrier for this.
Click to expand...

You know, there is something I always wondered about Digimon


Is it just me or is the whole show heavily fetishized?
 
Semeny Licket said:
I've got various stories, and I had big ideas about how they could expand, but for some reason, once I've got them started a bit, usually only at the introduction chapter, I just can't keep going. My mind blanks for how to proceed. Take my story, Digital Reality, for example. The introductory chapter is set up to explain the world to the reader, and prompts a choice for an egg to choose which will select a partner Digimon to accompany the main character. The problem is, my mind just turns blank when it comes time to write the step 2 introductions. And then where do I go from there? Once you have your partner, I'm still lost on what to have actually happen. It's like my only idea seems to be the premise, and I'm just stuck in limbo for how to proceed from there. It's frustrating, to say the least of it.

It's like I write the premise, and then I just hit writer's block.
Click to expand...

Well, for starters you could ask yourself why did you choose this setting:

Did you have an image, a situation that made you think it would be a good idea to go with this pocket monster's stuff?
Did you plan to write the story with a specific kink in mind? Other than, you know... that one which is forbidden here on Chyoa...

Try to picture your main characters, sometimes once you know them and their goals, half of the story writes by itself.
You were thinking of a male protagonist with a female counterpart?
If you're thinking about John Doe, you're probably thinking wrong. Give him a name and a face.
I can't imagine you haven't already pictured in your head how the monster will be, since it's the key to your setting, but if you haven't, do it.
Same if you want to do a different pairing.

Then start gardening or planning or a mix of the two.

Edit.

Also, just so that you don't waste your time, take your time to review how these monsters are made or born and how do they look like, keeping in mind that they have to pass the harkness test and be 18yrs old (which also means having the maturity of 18 yrs, having existed for 18 years or being robots).
 
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Semeny Licket said:
It's like I write the premise, and then I just hit writer's block.
Click to expand...
I was in your position for a long time. For me, the problem with writing was/is that it's very slow, and you get very little positive feedback, so it's hard to stay motivated, hard to keep going. You write and you write and you write some more. Is it good? Is it bad? Who knows! Eventually, if you end up publishing your story, you might get some praise from your readers, but it's not a lot, and much delayed, which is much too late to your lizard brain.

What finally got me out of that rut was AI-assisted writing. Every time you write something, the AI writes something back. Sometimes it's awful, usually it's prettty good, and rarely it's much better than what you had planned and you end up rolling with it. It's the contant play of question (your own text) and response (the AI's) that kept me going through those early days... and weeks... and months until I could finally keep a story going on my own. Yeah, it took me a while. :P

Anyway, if you want to give it a try, this is what I used: https://play.aidungeon.io/main/newGame. There are also others that I haven't tried personally, like NovelAI or HoloAI.
 
CurvyLinesEverywhere said:
1. Establish insertnamehere's status quo as a perfectly normal and functional member of society who only writes erotica about normal things, such as horror incest.
2. insertnamehere's comfortable life is challenged when he reads the premise of Zeebop's Digimon fan fiction example. He resists the hero's call to action.
3. The evil Myotismon resurrects some long-deleted Digimon erotica on insertnamehere's computer, originally saved by a previous owner of the hard drive, which insertnamehere purchased on ebay. The computer goes berserk, and insertnamehere is pulled into the Digital World against his will.
4. Unprepared for this new world, insertnamehere finds himself defenseless and surrounded by hostile Digimon. But then he is rescued at the last moment by an unlikely savior, the ravishing LadyDevimon.
5. LadyDevimon teaches insertnamehere the joys of fighting, collecting and training Digimon. insertnamehere soon develops feelings for LadyDevimon, but he keeps them a secret, believing that their love can never be.
6. Myotismon ambushes insertnamehere and kidnaps LadyDevimon, but he inadvertantly leaves behind a clue to his whereabouts: one half of a family crest similar to the one LadyDevimon wore.
7. Dejected, insertnamehere travels to the Village of Beginnings to collect his resurrected Digimon who were killed in battle. While there, Swanmon explains that the Crest actually contains the Fractal Code for a weapon that will allow him to defeat Myotismon, but he requires both halves in order to properly Render it. Swanmon also reveals the many, many Digimon who died in combat while attempting to follow Myotismon's orders. He learns that Myotismon enforces loyalty among his servants by inflicting torture upon them as punishment for the smallest signs of rebellion, and sadistically executes even his most loyal servants should they fail in their tasks, or simply cease to be of use to him. He asks the Digimon if any of them want payback, and soon a rebellion is brewing. Though, having been reincarnated, the Digimon are vastly under-levelled.
8. insertnamehere begins the arduous trek to Myotismon's lair. He takes good care of his Digimon, utilizing a broad variety of online resources to become better at the game. Soon the entire army is levelled up. Along the way, he learns of the DigiDestined, and hears a rumor that LadyDevimon is actually Myotismon's long lost sister.
9. insertnamehere's army begins its raid on Myotismon's stronghold. insertnamehere fights his way to the inner sanctum, only to discover Myotismon about to rape LadyDevimon. He shouts for her to throw him her half of the pendant. She is confused, but she does so.
10. insertnamehere tries to assemble the two halves, but they're both the right side, and the jagged lines don't match. insertnamehere is suddenly stabbed by Myotismon, and he falls to his knees clutching the wound.
11. insertnamehere collapses to the floor, and the pendant fragment he's carried his whole life on a chain around his neck spills out of the top of his shirt. It connects with LadyDevimon's pendant and they fuse together in a blinding flash of light. insertnamehere realizes that he was LadyDevimon's long-lost brother all along.
12. LadyDevimon evolves into the stunning Angewomon, and uses Heaven's Charm to heal her long-lost brother, insertnamehere. Together, they defeat Myotismon.
13. The army of reborn Digimon take over Myotismon's lands, vowing to run them better than he did. insertnamehere and Angewomon consummate their brother-sister relationship the only way insertnamehere knows how-- by vigorously playing Monopoly. Roll Credits.
I sincerely wish I was sorrier for this.
Click to expand...

That's actually not bad.
 
JohnTitor45 said:
That's actually not bad.
Click to expand...

Right? It really came together in the third act! Nobody was more surprised than me. I don't even know anything about Digimon, I was just grabbing random concepts from the wiki when they seemed like they vaguely fit.

Gambio said:
There
Enjoy
Click to expand...

As you know, platonic tickle-torture is a trope frequently used by family-friendly media as a more on-brand alternative to tying beloved childhood characters to a chair and electrocuting them with a car battery.

Also, I didn't realize I needed to spell this out, but I didn't invent the characters in Debauchery is Underrated or decide their kinks. That's on Fiftyfiftyfifty. (I didn't invent the Maguffin Muffin, either. I just made better use of it. And gave it a cooler name.)

I have to admit, though, it's a good match for the Warrior class in Hopeless Hotties/Debauchery is Underrated. Really turns all that muscle against her by making her spasm involuntarily.
 
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Semeny Licket said:
I've got various stories, and I had big ideas about how they could expand, but for some reason, once I've got them started a bit, usually only at the introduction chapter, I just can't keep going. My mind blanks for how to proceed. Take my story, Digital Reality, for example. The introductory chapter is set up to explain the world to the reader, and prompts a choice for an egg to choose which will select a partner Digimon to accompany the main character. The problem is, my mind just turns blank when it comes time to write the step 2 introductions. And then where do I go from there? Once you have your partner, I'm still lost on what to have actually happen. It's like my only idea seems to be the premise, and I'm just stuck in limbo for how to proceed from there. It's frustrating, to say the least of it.

It's like I write the premise, and then I just hit writer's block.
Click to expand...
I haven't published any yet, though I'm finally readying several stories for publication now with the help of several other CHYOA-ers who have offered their support. That helps a lot, if you can find it. Going back and forth with someone else can help you figure out where you want to go, which I think is what your problem is.

I started with what I call blurbs. Essentially just story ideas, and I have going on 100 of them now. Some are incomplete, but about half are a FULL, COMPLETE story, each about a paragraph long. Beginning, middle, and end. All there. That's before I write anything, even the outline.

In my opinion, if you don't know how the story ends and how they get there, you don't have a story. You have a story idea you want someone else to write (theoretically, that someone else could be you, with a better idea of where you're going...the you you wish you were). To some extent, that's OK on CHYOA, even though I personally don't like it. But if that is a problem for you, and from your OP is seems like it is, then I think that's what you need to work on. Dunno. Maybe some people can write like that, just putting words down without knowing where they're going, but I can't. Sounds like you can't either.

I have severe problems with what I guess could be called writers block. Motivational issues. It's often hard to just sit down and actually do the work. However, once I get started, I usually write several thousand words at a time, quite easily. This is because I know where my stories are going before I write them, the only issue is filling in the details, dialogue, action. That isn't necessarily easy, but I think I'd find it almost impossible if I was just winging it, without knowing where the story was headed.

If that sounds intimidating, break it into chunks. It's important to understand you don't need to end your ENTIRE story, if you've created a really big universe, as you might have here. What I consider "stories" all exist within one planned CHYOA story. Each is 20-30 chapters long, about 20,000 words. The actual CHYOA story will contain dozens. What is important is that each has a beginning, middle, and end, and I know all three before I start writing. Even if it's not the FINAL end, I have an ending for the part I'm writing. Once you have a goalpoint, getting there is SO MUCH EASIER.
 
I will second the suggestion to Just Write. Literally write anything. Imagine your character was standing in the room and you had to physically describe their appearance to a blind person. Write down their favorite meal or hobby and why they chose it. What would they pick as a yearbook quote? What would they do if they caught someone cheating at cards? Where would they go on a first date? Just asking questions about them and answering them fleshes out the person, and then once you have a believable character, what they do will start to become clearer.

As for plotting, just write the skeleton of the story without any descriptions. Just talk about what people do in a very matter of fact way.

John gets off the boat -> He's hungry -> It's a new town so he doesn't know where to find food -> He asks a sailor -> He takes the sailor's suggestion for a pub two blocks away, etc. This is the skeleton of the story and you can hang the meat off it later.
 
Dissonant Soundtrack said:
I will second the suggestion to Just Write. Literally write anything. Imagine your character was standing in the room and you had to physically describe their appearance to a blind person. Write down their favorite meal or hobby and why they chose it. What would they pick as a yearbook quote? What would they do if they caught someone cheating at cards? Where would they go on a first date? Just asking questions about them and answering them fleshes out the person, and then once you have a believable character, what they do will start to become clearer.

As for plotting, just write the skeleton of the story without any descriptions. Just talk about what people do in a very matter of fact way.

John gets off the boat -> He's hungry -> It's a new town so he doesn't know where to find food -> He asks a sailor -> He takes the sailor's suggestion for a pub two blocks away, etc. This is the skeleton of the story and you can hang the meat off it later.
Click to expand...

...but when John arrived, he could sense that something was wrong. The pub was dark; the door, hanging open, as if the building were abandoned. His desperation overriding his sense of self-preservation, John entered the decrepit dive. The dust and the decay made it obvious that there would be no fresh food here, but... perhaps in the back, there could be a few canned goods?

When he pried open the meat freezer, John immediately regretted it. The stench of copper was overwhelming. And then, as the single bare lightbulb flickered fitfully to life, John saw it. It hung from a hook in the center of the long-forgotten freezer, its empty eyes staring silently back at him.

John had come face to face with the skeleton of this story.

"Find the the place all right?" the sailor laughed, clubbing John over the back of the head from behind. The blade of the butcher's knife in his hands glinted menacingly beneath layers of rust and dried blood.

The time had come to start putting meat on the bones.
 
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