Tuesday, April 24, 2012

U is for Unconvincing, Unfinished, Uninspired and Unique

Sometimes my WIPS (works in progress) come across UNCONVINCING to contest judges and/or editors. I take that to mean they aren’t buying into the plot, the conflict, that the entire story is flimsy or implausible or just downright lame. Most of the time I tell myself, that’s just their opinion but I have to admit their comments affect me--probably way too much.  I end up with an UNFINISHED partial manuscript because I’ve become UNINSPIRED.  My writing is suddenly bland, dull and uncreative to me.  I doubt myself because of something they’ve said. Just like you, I’m sure, I long to write a novel that’s UNIQUE. Yeah, I know, there’s nothing unique in this world, but there are books that are distinctive, exceptional in their own way, extraordinary compared to a lot of other books.  

Flipping through my Flip Dictionary, a book for when you know what you want to say but can’t think of the word, I’ve listed words that we can use instead of Unconvincing, Unfinished, Uninspired and Unique. I’ve used some of them above.

Unconvincing: flimsy, implausible, lame, questionable, suspect, unbelievable, weak.
Unfinished: crude, immature, imperfect, incomplete, raw, rough, rude, sketchy, unassembled, undeveloped, undone, unfulfilled, unpainted, unpolished, unstained.
Uninspired: bland, boring, dull, lack-luster, stodgy, uncreative, unimpressed, uninteresting, unmoved, unoriginal.
Unique: Alone, distinctive, exceptional, extraordinary, incomparable, individual,

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How do you revise if you have a storyline that comes across UNCONVINCING?
How many UNFINISHED manuscripts do you have on your hard drive or in a desk drawer?
What do you do when you feel UNINSPIRED?
Have you read a book with a really UNIQUE plotline lately? Share!

7 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

It's always amazing to me that in order to write well, or maybe write at all, I NEED to have confidence that what I'm doing is good. A harsh word or review here and there can certainly take a toll.

Shelley Sly said...

Critiques can be tough. I keep sending my manuscripts out for feedback, and sometimes it stings, but I keep doing it. I want to recognize my faults and grow as a writer.

So, revision can be tough (especially a big thing like an unconvincing storyline), but somehow, after lots of time to think and plan, I get back into it.

Good luck with your writing!

Pat Carroll Marcantel said...

A unique post! It's really good, Jess. When all this April crazy fun in writing is over, please keep in touch via e-mail? Promise? Thanks.

Unknown said...

Maybe all partial, i.e., unfinished, manuscripts are unconvincing because they aren't finished. Have you given them a chance to be convincing and complete and engaging?

D.G. Hudson said...

I've learned to take some time to digest the feedback from critiques.

When I'm uninspired, I read over some of the notes I've jotted down along the way, and they remind me of an angle or a scene I had forgotten about.

I write scenes when I can't come up with narrative.

Good U post, all those words that make us feel less-than, except for Unique, that's one I like.

I'm a new follower, nice to meet you.

Lynn said...

U make me inspired!

Angie Kay Dilmore said...

Sadly, I resemble this post.