Bored with my own book?

Ralyks

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I'm in the editing process. I've probably gone over this book three times now, because I've done a little restructuring each time, so I've had to read it again to make sure there are no inconsistencies. Now as I'm reading it a fourth time (in the course of a year of rewrites), I'm rather bored with it. Is this a sure sign that the book itself is boring, or is it just a matter of me reading it multiple times? I wasn't bored when I wrote it or edited it the first time, and I am a person who very rarely (almost never) re-reads books as a reader. So…curious…do you get bored when re-reading your own book? Are you a re-reader of other people's books?
 

LOTLOF

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My stories are my precious darlings, and I never get bored with them, no matter how many times I go over them.

The heart of effective writing is making the reader care about your characters. Whether they love or hate them doesn't matter, so long as they want to see what happens next. You, as the author, getting bored with the story is a very bad sign.

What is the issue? Are the characters not engaging? Is the plot not interesting enough? Try and figure out what it is and try to fix it. That is what revision is for.
 

Chris P

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Yep. I sometimes think my main character could run through a scene with his head on fire (um, that doesn't happen in any of my books) and I would be so immune to my own words I wouldn't notice.

Maybe it's time to put it aside and let a beta reader go through it? Finish the edits first, though then see what a new set of eyes thinks? And don't read through it again while the beta has it.
 

Livilla

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I'm a dedicated re-reader. If I like a book at all, there's a very good chance that I'll return to it. There are books I've read 10+ times, and/or even when I don't read them repeatedly cover to cover, I occasionally just grab them and read a couple of pages or chapters again (and again). There are books I've borrowed from the library many times, and books I've taken with myself on multiple travels.

My own WIP, the first book I've started writing, only consists of a couple of (mostly incomplete) chapters at this point, and I'm not at all sure I'll ever finish it. So unfortunately I can't comment on whether or not I'll ever be able to re-read it without feeling bored, disgusted or horrified in the future. :)
 

Buffysquirrel

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I don't think the fact that you're bored with re-reading your book means your book is boring. But if you're finding it boring, this probably isn't the best time to be editing it.

I do re-read books. Once when I was reading Pride and Prejudice I started re-reading immediately I reached the end. It has an anodyne effect on me. And I love it, too.

If I get bored reading something I wrote, it's a sure sign I need to set it aside for a while and come back to it fresh.
 

sunandshadow

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tumblr_m4hs75Q91p1qdu8h5o1_500.jpg


Edit: Argh you beat me to it!
Here is someone else who needs to read The Unstrung Harp; or, Mr Earbrass Writes A Novel.
 

milkweed

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I agree with sending it to a couple of beta readers! I need to update one of my how-to books and I haven't done so yet due to the whole boredom issue.

The only thing worse than rereading one of my books is editing one of my videos... I hate the sound of my own voice! (sigh.)
 

spikeman4444

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I don't think anyone could watch their favorite movie everyday and not get sick of it. Same is true of reading. You need to step back. Maybe take several months off before going back to edit it. If that doesn't help, take more time off until you are excited. It sounds like your close to completion, so you in theory should be finding each round of editing even more exciting.
 

job

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I do not merely get bored with my books. By the time the galleys roll around, I actively hate the book and want to drag all the characters out and strangle them.
 

BradCarsten

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Been writing the same book every week day for 4 years and that excitement has never left. I still think about it all weekend and over the holidays. But its a long book and a LOT happens, so by the time I revisit a chapter, I've stayed away just long enough to miss it like an old friend.
 

folkchick

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It happens. You need to go off and do something else for a few days, maybe read some other books. Then come back and list everything you love about your novel, and start editing again.
 

Dragonwings

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I agree with the others. Take some time off of editing your book. Maybe a few days. It'll be there for you when you're ready.
 

Jim Riley

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I'm one that never re-reads a book. Or at least I don't remember reading them. When I was editing my first WIP, there were sections that I forgot I wrote.

Guess that comes with age.
Jim
 

Shirokirie

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Is this a sure sign that the book itself is boring, or is it just a matter of me reading it multiple times?
Nope, the book's not boring. You've simply read it too many times. Go give your eyes a break.
I wasn't bored when I wrote it or edited it the first time, and I am a person who very rarely (almost never) re-reads books as a reader. So…curious…do you get bored when re-reading your own book?
Actually, I'm one of those people who suffer through the futility of editing-as-you-write. So when I hit writer's block, the first thing I do is stop to think up all the directions I can go, then I go back and see what threw me to a halt in my WIP, because that's always the problem: I wrote something that wasn't worth the words, and frankly it's stopping my progress.

So I've re-read mine a number of times, to check for inconsistencies and plot threads that I want to address, etc. And no, I don't get bored of re-reading it. Most of the time I get excited.
Are you a re-reader of other people's books?
No. And that's no fault of the Author. I tend to read it once and the story essentially sticks in my memory, so I don't typically go back and re-read.
 

Jamesaritchie

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I'd be bored with anything after going through it three times. That's why I edit/rewrite/revise as I go.
 

Ellielle

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I don't really find myself bored when re-reading my book, but I do think it's the stupidest thing ever. I occasionally re-read other books, but only after a long time (over a year) has passed and only if I really loved it the first time around.

I'd say there's a really good chance you just think it's boring because you've been working on it so much. Breaks and beta readers are wonderful things.:)
 

lambauman

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I am not a re-reader. I do re-read some of my favorite books after a few years and feel like reading them for the first time. I have heard the same thing about revision too. Put the draft away for a few months, then you can read it with fresh eyes and more objectively. While waiting, think of another story to write. That's what I am doing with mine now. My 1st novel 1st draft is waiting for rewrite. Meanwhile, I am outlining my second novel. When I finish 1st draft of second novel, will put that aside and rewrite first novel.
 

Pammie Simon

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I re-read books obsessively without getting bored with them, but I don't think I've re-read any books with the same frequency and as in as short a time-frame as I've re-read my novel. I'm didn't get bored with it, but I WAS losing my ability to read it objectively. So I sent it off to betas and then focused on being a beta for someone else.

Now that I've gone back to it I'm newly enraptured and reading it with fresh eyes. So go ahead and finish your edits, then take a well-deserved (and guilt-free) break.
 

njmagas

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Oh god yes! This is happening to me right now. Granted, I'm still in the process of writing the first draft but the juicy, interesting chapters always seem to be just out of reach. It's frustrating. At times I just want to scream at my MC that he's a terrible bore until I hurt his feelings so badly he cries but honestly, 80,000 words and I'm still writing the beginning of the damn thing!!

(Though I have tens of thousands of words highlighted red for execution earlier in the MS, so I'm well aware of what needs to go.)
 

RedWombat

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I do not merely get bored with my books. By the time the galleys roll around, I actively hate the book and want to drag all the characters out and strangle them.

Oh god, ain't that the truth!

There are books that I am quite proud to have written, with characters that I still find charming--but by the time it went to press, I wanted to bury them all in a shallow grave with the plot thrown in on top of them.