to finish or not to finish

Lily.M · Aug 22, 2016

Everything is fixable

Seriously, just have fun with the first draft. Even if you end up scrapping the whole thing and starting again from scratch, it'll give you a solid basis. Every draft, every word is experience and progress. Keep going with it and, like I said, have fun. Use it to explore your setting and characters without stressing too much about the quality of the writing. Your stress levels will be tested enough later on; preserve them! And good luck!

Myrealana · Aug 22, 2016

jjdebenedictis said:
Feeling like you're a talentless hack is a bog-standard part of the writing process. You should ignore it; happens to everyone, and usually on every single project.

It really is. It's a matter of your taste getting ahead of your skill. It will happen many times, if you continue writing.

If you can't take that, then, by all means, quit. I wouldn't want to advise anyone to continue down such a difficult path as writing fiction if it's not what they really, truly want.

However, if you still love writing, and still desperately want to tell your stories, then push on past the self-doubt. The only way to bring your skill up to snuff is to practice.

JCornelius · Aug 22, 2016

Chandelle said:
I don't have another story to tell. This is it./.../.

That's quite unlikely to be the case, but if you really feel that way, and want to combine both the hobby vibe with making the book count--remember Patrick Rothfuss, whose debut The Name of the Wind took a decade of tinkering while he was busy with other things.
Maybe your project needs another year or five or ten at a leisurely pace, before it reaches its potential.
Maybe you and it both need to grow more.
Maybe you can take a break and write a few vignettes set in that world and utilizing the novel's characters, just to get a better feeling of it all.

Chandelle · Aug 23, 2016

JCornelius said:
That's quite unlikely to be the case, but if you really feel that way, and want to combine both the hobby vibe with making the book count--remember Patrick Rothfuss, whose debut The Name of the Wind took a decade of tinkering while he was busy with other things.
Maybe your project needs another year or five or ten at a leisurely pace, before it reaches its potential.
Maybe you and it both need to grow more.
Maybe you can take a break and write a few vignettes set in that world and utilizing the novel's characters, just to get a better feeling of it all.

LOL, at my age (41), I don't have decades to wait.

Which is fine. I finished a draft, longer than anything I've ever written. I guess that'll have to be good enough.

JCornelius · Aug 23, 2016

50 is the new 30 and 70 is the new 50, you teenager!
Anyway, since life has obviously accumulated, so must have opinions. That's on the subject of "I only have one story to tell". I'm sure that there's also: "I have a million zillion opinions about everything." And that's what will power the next stories (or perhaps even the current one during edits and revisions). Opinions, instead of diffusing in ephemeral rants in real life or online, when focused become the animating force around which plots fall into place and characters evolve.
If Terry Goodkind and Terry Pratchett can power their fantasy with their opinions, so can ~~any other Terry~~ you!
Good luck

Barbara R. · Aug 23, 2016

You are young in writer years. My m-i-l published her first book with Northwestern University Press at age 80; her second will be coming out right around her 90th birthday.

Myrealana · Aug 23, 2016

Chandelle said:
LOL, at my age (41), I don't have decades to wait.

Which is fine. I finished a draft, longer than anything I've ever written. I guess that'll have to be good enough.

You most certainly do.

If it takes ten years for you to hit your stride, you'll be 51.

How old will you be in ten years if you give up today?

Chandelle · Aug 23, 2016

JCornelius said:
50 is the new 30 and 70 is the new 50, you teenager!
Anyway, since life has obviously accumulated, so must have opinions. That's on the subject of "I only have one story to tell". I'm sure that there's also: "I have a million zillion opinions about everything." And that's what will power the next stories (or perhaps even the current one during edits and revisions). Opinions, instead of diffusing in ephemeral rants in real life or online, when focused become the animating force around which plots fall into place and characters evolve.
If Terry Goodkind and Terry Pratchett can power their fantasy with their opinions, so can ~~any other Terry~~ you!
Good luck

Ha! Thanks.

We'll see. I haven't been able to open the file for the past few days without gagging. Maybe that will come later, I don't know.

WriteMinded · Aug 24, 2016

Without reading all the responses, let me say this. I wish I knew the stats, but thousands, maybe millions of people have started writing a book, but never finished it, or any book. It is a wonderful feeling to finish a book. Wonderful. Nothing like it. And it lasts a while - unlike some other wonderful feelings. Certainly long enough to start another one because, surely, you will want to repeat the experience.

Lily.M · Aug 24, 2016

WriteMinded said:
Without reading all the responses, let me say this. I with I knew the stats, but thousands, maybe millions of people have started writing a book, but never finished it, or any book. It is a wonderful feeling to finish a book. Wonderful. Nothing like it. And it lasts a while - unlike some other wonderful feelings. Certainly long enough to start another one because, surely, you will want to repeat the experience.

Definitely agree with this! Even the end of each draft feels like its own wonderful achievement, and finishing the final draft and knowing it's 'done'... That in itself is motivation to finish! It's a very addictive feeling, too.

cmi0616 · Aug 24, 2016

For most writers I know, self-doubt/disgust is just part of the writing process, albeit an obviously unpleasant one. And the worst part is that more often than not, the self-doubt/disgust is warranted: your first draft is bad because almost every first draft of every novel ever published is bad. For me personally, there's a feeling that comes about 2/3 of the way into a first draft which manifests as a voice in my head going "why are you doing this you suck stop it you're embarrassing yourself."

The kind of not-very-sophisticated method I have for determining whether or not I should ignore the voice is this: If there's a few scenes that seem halfway alive, or if I think a protagonist has got legs, I finish. Then--as others have suggested--I set it aside for about a few weeks and read what I've written. Usually, my head's clear enough by then to ask myself honestly whether the first draft is salvageable.

I think it's also important to say that there's no shame in putting an unfinished first draft in the trunk. When I was really young and trying to write a novel, every time I didn't finish something I felt like an utter failure. The fact of the matter is, aborting projects that for whatever reason aren't working is just part of the gig. It happens to everyone, and it's okay, and if the spirits aren't calling to you anymore, move on to the next project.

Chandelle · Aug 24, 2016

But what if there is no next project?

cmi0616 · Aug 24, 2016

Chandelle said:
But what if there is no next project?

That's also fine. Based on your original post, it sounds like writing is a hobby of yours. Hobbies shouldn't be sources of anxiety. They should be fun. If you're not having fun, I wouldn't make things any harder on yourself than they need to be.

If you see writing as more than just a hobby, though, there should always be a next project. Even if you don't have any ideas, make yourself write, and you'll land on something eventually.

Chandelle · Aug 24, 2016

cmi0616 said:
That's also fine. Based on your original post, it sounds like writing is a hobby of yours. Hobbies shouldn't be sources of anxiety. They should be fun. If you're not having fun, I wouldn't make things any harder on yourself than they need to be.

If you see writing as more than just a hobby, though, there should always be a next project. Even if you don't have any ideas, make yourself write, and you'll land on something eventually.

Nope, just a hobby, but I'm a perfectionist, even with hobbies. Personality flaw.

spork · Aug 24, 2016

cmi0616 said:
For me personally, there's a feeling that comes about 2/3 of the way into a first draft which manifests as a voice in my head going "why are you doing this you suck stop it you're embarrassing yourself."

It's also important to let go of those feelings about the first draft once the manuscript has been polished. I tend to hang on to those negative feelings long after I've corrected the original problems. I'll go back and read through a segment that is "just all crap" and realize that I actually like the way it turned out. I tend to get stuck on those first impressions.

OP, just remember that most writers struggle with self-doubt. Too much of it can cloud that inner voice that tells you when something really isn't working or needs to be re-drafted. This is supposed to be fun! I'm sure that you will find your groove eventually once you start to edit and polish and see the good qualities in your work.

Noir/Blanc · Sep 2, 2016

JCornelius said:
There's an "everything or nothing" mental trap into which almost everyone falls at the start: "Either my stuff will be brilliant from the start, or I won't be bothered. Because I'm so special and awesome, that anything I touch must be gold. And if it's not, I'll get drunk and forget the whole stupid thing." It's frequently enough tied to an unvoiced secret fantasy along the lines of "I'm probably brilliant and lucky and I'll write this as a hobby and then it will catch on fire and I'll come back and buy this town."

Shoot! *Re-thinks master plan*

to finish or not to finish

Lily.M

Bleeds Tea

Myrealana

I aim to misbehave

JCornelius

Chandelle

JCornelius

Barbara R.

Old Hand in the Biz

Myrealana

I aim to misbehave

Chandelle

WriteMinded

Derailed

Lily.M

Bleeds Tea

cmi0616

Chandelle

cmi0616

Chandelle

spork

Noir/Blanc