Writer's Intuition

       While writing, plotting, creating characters, and all of the above when it comes to building your novel, do you get that nudge from within, telling you something isn't fitting right? I get it from time to time, well several times actually. Sometimes I listen, sometimes I ignore it. It's best to listen, but sometimes your too tired and you just want to get words on the page, and you think I can make changes later; which you can. Writing is much more than just the first draft. I think we've all heard the real writing begins at the edit. I somewhat believe that, but I do so much writing during the first draft, I don't think the edit could compare. I am also a write who edits as I go, so that probably helps.

     I am curious to what other writer's intuitions tell them. I get the nudge if I feel like something sounds cliché, rather it's a sentence or a block of the plot. They all say, and when I say 'they', I mean every how too writing book/article/blog written, to avoid clichés like the plague, sooo cliché, right?. I would say I try avoid them like when I'm at the grocery store and I see someone I know, but I don't want to talk to them, or make eye contact because then I'd have to stop and talk to them. That's when I will skip aisles and go back, making more time for myself at the store, which I end up being in longer than I want (and spending more too).

     Another poke I will get is when a character's personality traits aren't adding up, or they are too flat. You have the character in your head, exactly how you want them to be, how they speak, dress, but sometimes its hard getting them to fit. Often I will hit the drawing board (cliché too, right?) and start again, diving into the character and fleshing him out as best as I can. I worked on a ghostwriting project recently, and I just couldn't get the main character to be the guy I wanted him to be. I had to go back several times and poke at him.

      I have a difficult time with endings. Even in college I dreaded the conclusion when writing a paper. I get kicked instead of nudged around this time. I usually have to take a step back, maybe shelve the story for a week or so and let it come naturally. Forcing it never works.

    I am curious to when other writer's feel the nudge? What makes you take a step back and think this part/character/plot point is wrong. It doesn't fit. How do you get it to fit?