You know that feeling, when you just sit to write something, you start yet you falter and hesitate figuring out a plot extempore, and then just give up...
Well there are a lot of established writers and proficient authors here, whose legacies are commendable, but for mine own part, I get this. Say, I am to write a story and I have been getting a circulation of a plot, regarding a Crazy Murder Mystery, where all the elements of horror, insanity, gluttony, lust, rage is present. OUTRIGHT, I can write atleast 2 or 3 pages, exceptionally, but then my hand shakes, I lose the plot, and I lose myself in the process. Have tried chalking out the points, I want to cover, yet after I encounter and tick two off, on the third, I fumble, and have brain freeze. I have a strict No Ai policy, and even if I turn up to that, AI creates really surreal and too simplistic, or outworldly complex plots, which are impossible to bring to life. Even if I force my mind to think, have a cup of coffee, take a nap, or move outside, I get even more jumbled up...

Now this may be my ailment, a mental issue, or a common thing.
I am a newcomer to this field, How do I cope with distractions, these losing the plot process, and recover from it. I KNOW, I KNOW, its silly to state my problem, with verbosity, but I want opinions!
Your kind help, rectifications or lectures are highly appreciated and welcome :)

OK Aiden, calm down - it's not just you, this is meant to be hard.  We all struggle sometimes; some of us struggle all the time!

What you're describing is very common.  The enthusiasm of planning and starting a new work carry you just so far: then you have to settle down to the hard slog of pushing it forward and making it work.  Personally, I always found the first third and the last third of a book almost wrote themselves, but the middle third was like drawing teeth!

To keep me on track, I always wrote a precis - maybe two or three pages long, covering the main points, who's involved in what, and the basic story arc.  It kept me on track when I was in danger of wandering, reinvigorated me when I was flagging.  Sometimes I followed it fairly closely, sometimes the book took over and the precis was forgotten.  But by then it had already done its job.

The only other thing I would say - and you've already identified this issue yourself - is that your writing is unnecessarily wordy and obscure.  This too is a phase most writers go through.  We start off thinking good writing means using words other people mightn't know!  As we progress, we learn that nothing could be further from the truth.  Good writing communicates clearly with the widest range of readers.  Don't worry too much with your first draft - get the story down.  But use your first edit to weed out all the "writerly" bits that so pleased you when you first thought of them.  We call it Killing Your Darlings.  The book will thank you for it.

After that, enjoy yourself.  This isn't easy, but then it isn't supposed to be.  You've started off in absolutely the right way, by asking yourself what you could be doing better.  The more you analyse your own work, the better it will become.

Best of luck.

   For Adrian   

   I can't disagree with anything Jo has said, but perhaps I can add a bit more.
   
   If you're writing fiction, think of your work from a storytelling perspective.  If you were telling it live, around a campfire, you wouldn't get bogged down with unnecessary detail.

   What you must have is a story to tell.  Many a novel started with rampant enthusiasm peters out part way through because the writer had one scene fixed in their mind but not much else.  That one scene is easy to write because it's clear and eager to get out of your head.

   Because that bit's easy you won't  hesitate, won't  agonise over the 'perfect' words.  You just use the ones which tell the tale and it flows naturally.

   Some people write beautifully, one sentence smoothly flowing into the next.  But if at the end of it the reader feels 'so what?' then they probably didn't have a real story to tell.

   =====

   Sometimes all you really have is that one scene, which might make a good short story.

   You can ask yourself the 'what if?' questions and see if it kicks anything else loose.  What if your main character was a different gender?  This can open up a whole range of options.

   What if they were much older or younger than you originally imagined?  There are physical and mental limitations for either option.

   Try these ideas for size, see if they unfold extra dimensions for you..

   =====

   Jo suggested writing a precis, which can certainly help.  But don't put too much detail into this.  Why?  Because stories, and the characters who drive them, evolve as the tale unfolds.  Sometimes only a little, sometimes a hell of a lot.  If your precis is too detailed you're putting them into a straitjacket which will work against you.

   =====

   You will read  some famous writers saying they hate every step of the journey.  Particularly the editing stage after the first draft.  Others relish the opportunity to make it better.

   But before you reach that stage you have to have something to edit.  So once you know what your story is, press on and finish that first draft.

   You may well find that the whole hard-won first chapter was just you 'getting into your stride' and the story doesn't really need it.  But you needed it to get to the good stuff.  This is what Jo referred to as 'killing your darlings'.

   Gyppo

Ineffably grateful, to both of you.
Thank You, for addressing the doubt with such fervour and sharing your perspectives and personal ideas for improvement.
Will try them, and maybe send a summary of the draft, after I'm done for approval?

And yes, I am writing a fiction novel and gotta kill the darlings, no matter how alluring they are.

You're welcome.

One more tip.  Sometimes you'll find yourself flagging/dragging on a particular part or scene - and you'll realise this is because you don't know enough about that subject to write with casual confidence.  For the first draft, if you know how the rest of it should go, just mark that bit up for later research and press on with the rest.  Momentum counts for a lot on the longhaul.

Highlight it in some way so it's easy to find later.  Make the wonders of word-processing work for you, even if you treat it largely as a typewriter with a memory. Red will jump out.  Or a very different font.  The alternative font is best if your printer is only black and white.

Gyppo

Glad you found it helpful, Aiden.  Nice of you to say so.