The Relief of Releasing your Manuscripts to the Past...

KTC · Jul 20, 2009

That time has come. I have tried to place a few of my manuscripts over the past year or two...to no avail. 3 or 4 are still out there, but I'm putting them in the trunk.

It seems like this should be a sad thing, but what I feel is relief. I've been in a holding pattern, not really feeling like writing anything new. Now that I've decided to throw in the towel on these ones, I feel relief. Even while making the decision it was hard...but now that it's made it feels like the right thing to do.

In the past I would have deleted all history of them...but I'm just going to file them away someplace safe and forget about them. Well...not forget about them really...just use them as stepping stones on the journey. I'm sure they helped me to hone my writing...they just weren't good enough. They weren't what people are looking for. So, they shall quietly sleep the sleep of the peacefully dead.

Here lies:
Sebastian's Poet
The Reasons
Summer on Fire
Dubious Pickles and the Space Between the Walls

R.I.P.

I'm free!

It's liberating.

I bet I'm not the only one who finally gives up and moves on...

Kevin, writing his next manuscript.

quickWit · Jul 20, 2009

KTC said:
it was hard...

that's what she said

KTC said:
they just weren't good enough...

Not unlike yourself

KTC said:
They weren't what people are looking for.

Again...

KTC said:
So, they shall quietly sleep the sleep of the peacefully dead.

Here lies:
Sebastian's Poet
The Reasons
Summer on Fire
Dubious Pickles and the Space Between the Walls

R.I.P.

I'm free!

It's liberating.

While I'm truly saddened that Dubious Pickles and it's brothers are being shelved for any length of time I'm glad you're feeling better for having done it.

Huh. Zzah.

mscelina · Jul 20, 2009

I can empathize. My trunk is populated with stories that didn't 'resonate,' with characters that didn't 'click,' and with worlds that never got a chance to live.

KTC · Jul 20, 2009

mscelina said:
I can empathize. My trunk is populated with stories that didn't 'resonate,' with characters that didn't 'click,' and with worlds that never got a chance to live.

Yep. I just came to the conclusion that I was wasting energy on the part I hated the most. I did what I could. It's time to move on and see if I can't hit on something the next time. You can really put yourself in a holding pattern by not moving on.

Sage · Jul 20, 2009

While I have a few oldies that are trunked with the thought of making them better some day, and one that is trunked with the intention of keeping it there eternally, I have hope that some of my older novels were fairly good were it not for my failure to query them correctly.

But for now they are sitting atop the trunk, hoping that a newer work will get an agent who will love them as well.

dgiharris · Jul 20, 2009

Sage said:
While I have a few oldies that are trunked with the thought of making them better some day, and one that is trunked with the intention of keeping it there eternally, I have hope that some of my older novels were fairly good were it not for my failure to query them correctly.

For the life of me, I couldn't figure out how my attempts to edit past stories into greatness have failed. And then I had an ephinany.

The problem is that my writing has progressed and evolved. In short, I'm a better writer today than I was last year.

Now, when trying to rewrite/edit older works, I've discovered that I get lost in my own 'old' voice. A sorta de-evolution happens and I find that I'm not writing with the skill I have today, but rather a sorta hybrid technique that fuses my past writing ablity with my now current writing ability with the end result being a mess.

I've found that the only way to rewrite an older story is to completely chuck it in the trash and rewrite 100% from scratch while only 'barely' referencing the old story more for plot points and structure than writing.

But with all that said and done, sometimes it still doesn't pan out. Thus, I throw it in the retirement drawer and am filled with a sorta peace. And my next story is better for it.

In short, know how you feel.

Mel...

Sage · Jul 20, 2009

dgiharris said:
I've found that the only way to rewrite an older story is to completely chuck it in the trash and rewrite 100% from scratch while only 'barely' referencing the old story more for plot points and structure than writing.

Yeah, that's basically what I was planning to do if I ever went back. There'd be a major POV shift, a lot of things cut out, and a completely different voice used.

KTC · Jul 20, 2009

I actually read an old trunk novel once, put it away and--with the new reading fresh in my head--rewrote the entire thing. It came out a thousand times better than the original. The story was different and better, too...but had a lot of the original's elements. I actually like doing this.

Haggis · Jul 20, 2009

Well done, Kevin.

scarletpeaches · Jul 20, 2009

You do what you gotta do, Kevlar. You're too good a writer not to hit the big time; maybe with a novel as-yet unwritten.

Just be careful the baboons don't steal your trunk and eat the contents.

bettielee · Jul 20, 2009

Here is a bag of fairy dust to put in the trunk to keep away the gnomes.

I wish you luck on the new journeys you are about to embark on. I bet they will be exciting...

Linda Adams · Jul 20, 2009

I gave up my first book--unfinished. There were a lot of problems and frustrations with it, and it got to the point where I realized that if I didn't trunk it, I wasn't going to get any novel done. After a finished a second novel, I realized I'd grown out of the first one. I'm glad I trunked it, and I wouldn't go back to it at all.

The second one also got trunked. I wrote it with a cowriter, and the relationship fell apart at the point we were submitting the story to agents (probably a good thing to happen at that juncture, rather than after an agent was interested). He ended up wanting ownership of it, so I walked away from it. That was very hard to do because I'd had faith in it and what I'd learning writing it (it had even gotten a full request).

Namatu · Jul 20, 2009

dgiharris said:
The problem is that my writing has progressed and evolved. In short, I'm a better writer today than I was last year.

Now, when trying to rewrite/edit older works, I've discovered that I get lost in my own 'old' voice. A sorta de-evolution happens and I find that I'm not writing with the skill I have today, but rather a sorta hybrid technique that fuses my past writing ability with my now current writing ability with the end result being a mess.

I worry about this. I'm returning to an older work later this year, and it will be done with great trepidation. Aiee!

Congrats, KTC, on moving on. You've now freed up a lot of space to breathe and create new worlds without feeling responsible for keeping the old ones afloat.

KTC · Jul 20, 2009

Namatu said:
I worry about this. I'm returning to an older work later this year, and it will be done with great trepidation. Aiiee!

then try what i tried. just read the piece from front to back then put it away and completely rewrite it blind.

dgiharris · Jul 20, 2009

KTC said:
then try what i tried. just read the piece from front to back then put it away and completely rewrite it blind.

I more or less second this.

If you were a cook, cooking a complicated dish. Would you go into the freezer, dig out last year's dish and try to 'fix' it.

Or would you sample last year's dish, then start over from scratch?

It took me a while to figure out that the best way to rewrite something (Especially if you've progressed as a writer since the first version) is to just completely start over with a blank page.

Now, my skills are still growing. But if I had plateau-ed, then I might feel differently. But the truth is (or I suspect) is that as writers we are always growing. Thus, it is probably best to start from scratch.

Especially if its been longer than a few months since your last attempt.

Anyways, that is what works for me now.

Mel...

Namatu · Jul 21, 2009

KTC said:
then try what i tried. just read the piece from front to back then put it away and completely rewrite it blind.

I do that with scenes. I suppose I can do it with the first third of a novel!

Phaeal · Jul 21, 2009

My three novels in the trunk will one day come out for revision. I never say die. Just rest for a while.

Last year I untrunked six short stories and revised them, basically to cut word count. Four of the six have now been published or accepted. The other two remain in circulation.

My current novel being subbed will be subbed until it's accepted or the world ends. And then, when the world restarts, I'll sub it some more. Ain't saying die on this one, no way.

But subbing isn't hard once you get used to it. I have plenty of time to work on new stories and a new novel.

I think of my trunk as a hotel, not a permanent residence. If some of the hotel guests never move out, it won't be their fault. They keep reading the real estate ads. New possibilities come on the market every day.

Pepper · Jul 21, 2009

I have over ten manuscripts pushing daisies in a box somewhere. Yeah, I suck. They had no redeemable qualities. Good learning experience though.

KTC · Jul 21, 2009

Phaeal said:
I think of my trunk as a hotel, not a permanent residence. If some of the hotel guests never move out, it won't be their fault. They keep reading the real estate ads. New possibilities come on the market every day.

i like it like that

aadams73 · Jul 21, 2009

KTC said:
i like it like that

Me too. I have a small handful of trunk novels waiting...

Cranky · Jul 21, 2009

Well, I guess we all have to do what we've got to do, K. Still, permit me to sniffle a little over The Reasons and the idea of Dubious Pickles. I read some of the former and loved it, and just the bit I know of Dubious sounded fascinating to me.

Maybe one day, when you've got that big deal I have no doubt you'll get, perhaps you'll then find a home for these stories, too.

blacbird · Jul 21, 2009

KTC said:
That time has come. I have tried to place a few of my manuscripts over the past year or two...to no avail. 3 or 4 are still out there, but I'm putting them in the trunk.

At -20 F they make good kindling. Trust me on this.

caw

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