Moving Past Chapter 1

You've written and re-written Chapter 1 a dozen times, you have an endless stack of story ideas from the techno-thriller, starring a maniacal Jack Frost, to the Victorian Mystery starring a fashion-obtuse Conan The Barbarian, but what you really want to do is actually finish something.

Question is: What is holding you back? Perhaps you're trying to make the story too perfect on the first draft? Because first drafts SHOULD suck and just be about what people are doing, why, where they are and how. All the pretty prose, good grammar, riveting action, clever dialogue should could come later (unless the muse is in).

I'm no Writer Extraordinaire, but I've got some completed projects under my belt, and others that are close, so it takes me back to my own path. If you are so interested, come walk with me for a moment while I reminisce.

I started my writing in '95 (perhaps '94), where I spent a lot of time working up the world building and a brief outline of many, many sequels to occur over the course of millennia. (Trying to keep the story small and manageable, right?) I dabbled in the world and the story, off and on, over the course of the next couple years before I pretty much shelved it until 2007. Other things took over during that time, and as dear to me as it still was, it didn't take precedence. Through the years I had a lot of little story ideas, and had four chapters done in the main story that started it all.

When I revisited the Story in 2007, it was partly out of creative depression from other things. But, when I looked at it, I couldn't figure out how to move forward. For me, the Story was grand, epic, and actually: Too big to write. I had too many things that I needed to figure out first: regarding story, writing skill, etc. In (what I think was) a brilliant moment, I realized that I needed to do something in that world, but far apart and separate. It would give me time to build up my ideas of what was to come while still staying productive. That endeavor (Hammerblood) was supposed to be a "short story", then novella, became the first novel of a four-part series of which the first one is "done", the second is half done and the others are roughed out.

I can't tell you if I can return yet to the main storyline that started it all, but I can tell you that I have a couple novels almost completed, others are close, two short stories are done and I am certainly feeling more accomplished and capable after taking these different stories from beginning to end.

Perhaps there is something a writer stuck on Chapter 1 can take from all of that, or perhaps I just spent FAR too much time navel-gazing about my writing past. You decide. ;-)

How about your own progression? Do you have a story of your way past Chapter 1?