The Point of Quitting and Starting New

How close are you to finishing? If there's not much left to do, you might push through to the end. You can still set it aside for a few months or years and work on something else if you're very tired of it, but at least then when you get back to it you'll have a complete draft to assess.

But if there's still a long way to the end, there's nothing wrong with setting it aside unfinished and working on something you're more excited about. I put down and pick up manuscripts all the time. I once tried to figure out the order in which I'd started and finished things, and it went something like:

1st started--1st finished
2nd started--5th finished
3rd started--unfinished still
4th started--2nd finished
5th started--4th finished
6th started--3rd finished
7th started--6th finished

The one I started 3rd (over a decade ago), I just picked up again in January and expect to finish in the next few months. So for me, nothing is ever dead. Just resting.

I've found that writing something each day and getting a writing routine established helps me through times of extreme self-doubt and blockedness. When I am stuck on a particular writing project with no end in sight (what you describe, Dragonairis), I give myself writing treats by dashing off new flash fictions, short stories, poetry.

What I don't do is to start another huge project like a second novel because that takes so much energy and research, planning etc and often means I may not get back to the abandoned novel-in-draft for a very long time, if ever. I simply take breaks of a few days or weeks.

Eh. I say why not start something new? Unless you're working to some deadline? One of my methods for dealing with writer's block is to have at least a dozen stories, long and short, going at any time, so when one bogs down I just flip to another. Generally I can come back to the first after a break, or on some days I'll just go through them all, adding a few hundred words to each, which makes grinding out story when I'm not feeling it much more entertaining than if I stuck to just one.

I cannot imagine quitting. This is the story I want to write, period. Almost done.

i couldnt start again with my novel. I have imagind this world for so long, created the characters etc. must.....go......on....

It sounds like it wouldn't hurt to start anew, maybe take some of the ideas you like from the NaNoWriMo push, and use them to launch the new story?

Better to start writing something you're really feeling in tune with, and excited about, than carry on pushing with something that's not igniting a spark. It sounds like its early stages, not to diminish a quarter of the way, but some of that could be salvaged for a new story.

Most of the writers I know feel a slump in their enthusiasm somewhere near the middle of the books they write. It's a relatively common thing.

Old Hack said:

Most of the writers I know feel a slump in their enthusiasm somewhere near the middle of the books they write. It's a relatively common thing.

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So true. Maureen McHugh made this chart several years ago, about the stages in writing a novel:

I would say not to view it as quitting, but as setting aside this project for a while and working on other things. After all the planning and the failed NaNo attempt your creative mind just needs a break to work on something fresh for a while and get over the burn-out on this particular project, probably.

I know some people always insist on finishing what they're working on before starting something new, but I've never found that forcing out words on a project I have no enthusiasm for leads to producing good work. Losing all enthusiasm is also often a sign that there's something amiss with the project, and setting it aside will eventually lead to returning with new, fresh ideas. That's my experience, anyway. YMMV

Just ran across this thread - and it hit home.

Its not that I don't care, but the current project is becoming more of a chore than fun. I have been thinking of trying something totally new, if for no other reason than to clean some cobwebs out of the brain. The ideas are not flowing smoothly right now, and while I sometimes just put the basics on paper, then go back and flesh things out, even that doesn't seem to be working now.

Just write. Whatever. It's about writing not finishing. Write something new and refreshing; you can always get back to the ruins.

I often feel that writing hits a roadblock, but find that if I skip the problematic chapter/scene and write later on it starts flowing again and then I find it easier to go back and do that annoying bit later on.

Okay - I give in. I'm working on the last third of the book, and the ideas just aren't there!

I read over some of the early parts, and its not bad - then read what I've written lately, and its flat, boring and just plain horrible.

I may take the advice of some here and do something different - write something new - maybe even go back and restart on old project I'd dumped.

Frustrating!

If I let myself I'd be starting new projects every second month. There's just something so shiny about a new idea, all full of potential and not bogged down by the realities of actually writing a novel. So when the urge to start something else comes along I try to fight it. I even take a month away from writing completely rather than swapping to something else.

Ah, the perpetual conundrum to which there is no answer.

Sometimes we need to stop bashing our head against a brick wall because ... hey ... it's a brick wall. "Brick wall versus head" tends to be an uneven fight. Other times we need to keep on bashing because the wall is about to fall over.

The world is full of awful novels that never should have been finished. Sadly, the nether is also full of fantastic novels that were never finished because someone gave up too soon.

We could tell you to start something new because the love isn't there for your current book. This could be all the advice you need, because book 2 could be the one that makes your name. Or this could be the worse advice we could have given you because you could then start another project which you don't finish, and another and another.

Which applies to you? Sorry, I haven't a clue.

Some random thoughts which may or may not help:

• if you're the kind of person (like me!) who starts lots of projects but doesn't always finish them, then this could mean that you ought to keep going. You might be giving in too easily.
• OTOH, if you really have fallen out of love with this book, there is no shame in stopping and starting something new.
• You could always press pause, then try something new, then come back to it later.
• the usual prescription is to keep on writing - try a different angle on this book. Try a different book. Try anything. Just don't get stuck.
• If you've just stalled on a long project, why not change gears with a shorter project next time? How about writing a short story instead of a novel, so that you have the reward of something finished.
• You could ask for a second opinion from a friend or beta reader.

Best of luck whatever you decide to do.

megan_d said:

If I let myself I'd be starting new projects every second month. There's just something so shiny about a new idea, all full of potential and not bogged down by the realities of actually writing a novel. So when the urge to start something else comes along I try to fight it. I even take a month away from writing completely rather than swapping to something else.

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Tried and failed. New idea shines too brightly I guess! The resistance is futile...

Once! said:

• You could ask for a second opinion from a friend or beta reader.

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I like that idea.

Though I have an appreciable amount written, its a long way from being ready for a beta reader. Having another writer look at it, who will in turn give some decent criticism, might just be the prod I need.

Tnx -

I would say it depends on how bad you want it published would determine if you take a break on it and start something new. I know the feeling and pushing through and finishing it is loathsome but it feels better at the end.

I definitely agree with a lot of the advice here. I've been working on a project for about five years now and have restarted twice. Every time I go back to something I had written a year previously its like I'm looking at something I hadn't even written. I suddenly see all the flaws and places where it doesn't make sense. I also see the potential, if it has any. I think setting aside a project can be an extremely valuable experience. It allows you to look it over later on with fresh eyes. Sometimes you need a break from something you've been dedicating all your thoughts to. That's totally normal and it's also totally okay in my opinion. If I hadn't taken a break every now and then from my current project I would still be lost in a puddle of words. I think as long as you plan to return to it and finish it's okay to start something new. That is, as long as you're not starting something new every few weeks. That could turn into a never-ending trap of sorts.

Marlys said:

nothing is ever dead. Just resting.

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Amen!

Unless you plan to destroy your story (don't, you're going to regret it later), you can always pick it up later. I have drafts and concepts from as far back as 1999. It's OK if they just sit there, waiting for me to resume working on them some day.

Point is, you're free to do anything you like. This freedom is liberating, but can also be daunting. I'd suggest you pause your current story and start something new to see how it goes.

I set projects aside, many reasons, but I start something new, whether based on the work or something just to do something. The brain needs exercise and getting stuck in a rut is not what it wants. As so many do, go to another creative form, poetry, sculpture, beer and belly button analysis. Get your brain working on things and it will tell you when to toss, rewrite or continue on a new arc.

I'm beginning to think I need to treat my MS as a learning experience, put it aside and start something else. Then in a few years time I can pick it up and do it properly.

How long have you've been working on this story? ARe you on a deadline-whether for yourself or for an agent/publisher? You may need to get back into the writing the story in order to want to writing. You can write a little scene perhaps! Sometimes when I don't want to write a story, it's because I know it's not fully developed. I also know that developing the story makes me exited to write it. It honestly depends on a lot of things like I listed above. If you honestly think this story isn't waht you want to work on, because you are bored or something else, try working on another oiece. Maybe even writing a short story(not one with much planning, that always pushes me into deeper writer's block) could help. These are just suggestions so feel free to add onto them or not use them at all!