/lit/ - Literature

>>15986858
It sounds to me that you are being a bit too "technical" in your approach to the construction of your novels. You thinking of a plot as a way to "try to get from point A to point B" is an example of this. Your professor saying your work is not organic is another good description.

Remember: this is an art, not a science. And some of the creation of art is about its inconstancy, its lack of cohesion, its un-mechanistic qualities. You cannot just plug forward, not always. That's not to say that you shouldn't have a work ethic or you shouldn't have a regular routine when it comes to writing. You absolutely should. There's a ton of "writers" out there who don't write anything at all, because they're waiting for things to "feel" right. You have to do more than that.

But it sounds like both I and your professor are telling you that you are trying to force the issue too much. Again: this is art. There is an aspect to it that cannot be forced, cannot be brute-forced. Sometimes you just have to sit back and breathe. Wait. Fuck around and do nothing at all. Let your mind breathe, let your heart be still. And, eventually, something will bubble up. Ideas will come, and a structure will form. You won't have to try so hard to form the connective tissue around your pivotal scenes; rather, the entire story will kind of grow, blossom, like a garden.

So I suppose my answer is that if you want your writing to have a "soul," you need to both try harder and not try at all. You need to be willing to take time, step back, and just let a story happen. It sounds like you're forcing the issue a bit. Don't.