[Monkey Face]

I have several unfinished "books" lying around, and being dissatisfied with the way they are progressing was the major factor in them gathering dust.

It's nice to know that you were brave enough to forge ahead and change things as you went.

We all have demons to loose. Some of us just don't like to admit that the demons that are out are ours. :o])

[NicknamedBob]

Most folks find it easy to start. Like myself, they may have powerful, visual imaginations.

If they also have good descriptive abilities, then it is just a matter of learning a few basic things about grammar and punctuation, and you are well on your way.

And then, typically, one would run into a stumbling block: The realization that as powerful and evocative as the images are, and as fascinating and well-delineated as the characters are, there still has to be a story.

You have to tell a story. Just describing scenes, and filling page after page with dialog may be good finger exercise, but the reader is going to notice that nothing is really happening.

Some people call this a plot, and most writers have a concept of a plot before they begin writing. It is also possible though, to just put interesting people in an unusual circumstance, and then let them work it out.

For me, the plot became the character's realization of just how unusual their circumstances were, and their subsequent efforts to return to a semblance of normality.