Wasting my time

[kristie911]

I've shopped around my first novel and have now dropped it in a drawer for awhile, sick of looking at it. My second is finished except but in need of editing...it's the second in a series (both are technically stand alone but each follows a different person in the same family...so they are heavily connected). I had jotted down ideas for the third but thought, "if I can't sell the first, what's the point of writing the third" Right? So I walked away and tried a completely separate work...and it sucked and so did the next one I started.

But that damned family kept "talking" to me and I finally gave up and went back to them...and started the third in their stories. It actually felt like a huge relief to go back to but I also feel like I'm completely wasting my time! Has anyone else ever run into this?

I feel like I need to get it out so I can move on but I don't want to waste the next few months finishing it either! I hate writing! Sort of... <sigh>

[scribbler1382]

No writing is a waste of time. Maybe when you're finished writing the third you'll have insights to things you can apply to the first and second that you wouldn't have had without writing the third. Writing isn't a linear list of steps, IMO, where you can do a, b and c to get d. You may start out that way, but after you've done steps a and b, you'll find secret steps b2, b3 and b4. And if you hadn't completed steps a and b you never would have found those.

Keep at it and good luck!

[triceretops]

I had the same reaction when I switched genres for my third book--going from two SF thrillers, to a contemporary fantasy. I wondered what in the hell I'm doing this for when I know that either SF book really qualifies as a series with memorable MCs. Use your instincts and feel comfortable that you've arrived "back home" again with your characters. Make them stand alone books, and there shouldn't be any problems.

Tri

[Garpy]

Or, you'll have ideas, events, characters...that you can cannibalize for another book. I have a drawer full of what I consider crap ideas, that have some element in them that is pretty cool, and that can be recycled as an ingredient in another book

[egem]

I think you should keep writing, but have a couple projects going at one time. I always have at least 3 sometimes 4, and that seems to help me keep the faith. The other two projects that you started and said sucked are IMO what happens in writing. It takes awhile to come across an idea and characters that will work sometimes, and I don't think 2 trys is reason to stop trying new things. Keep going with your other work, and keep starting new works until you find one that you like. I have many many works at the 3rd or 4th chapter that I did not feel were going to work for me at the time. Over time I go back to them and sometimes I find they are worth finishing, other times they sit unfinished. Not every work catches my interests at all times. If I don't like what I'm writing I move to the next project (one of the few I have going) and come back to the unfinished work later.

Don't let it get you down. It takes time. Just keep trying to make the first in your series the best it can be and keep it going to agents and publishers while you work on at least 2 more projects, maybe one in the series and one out. All of this is IMO. Good luck.

[Vomaxx]

"if I can't sell the first, what's the point of writing the third"

But look at the bright side: if you DO sell the first, you've got two more ready to go to bring in the cash of your eager fans.

(Of course, having written a trilogy myself, I have to think like that. :) )

[aadams73]

Of course you're not wasting your time! You're perfecting your craft :)

[emeraldcite]

Some writers go through several unsold novels before making the big deal. Look up some stories of first time writers. You might be encouraged.

here's a link to read: http://success.crimefictionblog.com/

Some success stories to cheer you up. It does happen and every story is unique.

[eskkar]

Same thing happened to me. Kept getting rejections on my first novel, so I gave up on it, tossed it aside and started on the sequel, since I knew the story hadn't ended yet, at least for me. When the second was approaching completion, someone asked about the first. It got passed around and eventually wound up in the hands of a NY agent, who sold both books in a few weeks.

So you never know what's going to happen. Write what you feel like writing, and don't look back.

eskkar

[WVWriterGirl]

I know exactly how you feel, Kristie. I'm in that same boat with you, girlie. I finished book one almost two years ago, knowing when I typed the first word of the first draft that the story was much too big to tell in one book. I settled on either a duo or trio, depending on how book 2 went. When I started book 2 while still shopping around book 1, my MC came out completely different - she was a curious, scared but energetic girl in the first book and suddenly, in the second book, became a surly, cranky, hateful girl. I didn't like her, called her all sorts of nasty names, and quit writing the book.

I've been doing short stories for quite a while, and I've tried two separate times to start a new "long-form" work. All of them have been what I term "servicable". They're good, not my best, and a few have managed to be published. They're not me, though, and nothing I'm particularly proud of. I've tried everything short of begging my characters out loud and sounding like a crazy lady to get my MC to behave, and nothing's worked.

A funny thing happened the other night. I watched a movie, The Legend of Bagger Vance, and it hit me, just like it hit the character Junuh in the movie. I'm trying too hard, worrying about it too much, and not allowing myself to just go with what my fingers and my heart are telling me. I let go, and about a week ago, Flick decided to cooperate, the ideas started to flow, and I'm once again confident about my characters, my story and my writing.

I felt the same way you did - I had the whole "why do I bother?" mentality going on. I hope you can get out of your rut - it's truly a horrible place to be. Best of luck, and I hope you can find the key to unlock your door soon.

[Celia Cyanide]

Don't worry too much about it--just do it. I tend to feel like I'm wasting my time, all the time, no matter what it is I'm doing. But if you think of it that way...what would you rather be doing? You don't have anything to lose by writing.