AAAAAAHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGG!

I say do it. You won't be doing your manuscript (our your sanity) any good by forcing yourself to finish. When I'm sick of a piece, I always set it aside and do something else. It may mean working on another piece, or reading a book, or just going outside and taking the rugrat to the park.

You'll feel better about it if you do.

GPatten said:

AAAAAAHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGG!

I’ve just spent almost a week, 12 hours a day, pouring over my novel, readying it for submission, and I’m only a little bit closer. I’m burned out from editing. I hate editing; I want too write. I don’t have the literal gift to mess with the spelling and punctuation.


It seems as though I remember someone said something like this before.

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DEFINITELY take some time away!!!!! Go fishing. Grab a drink. Enjoy the company of friends. Anything to get your head out of your novel. Time will vary depending on how consumed you are by frustration in the "cleaning-up" process. (and by the number of As, Hs, and Gs in the post title, you seem pretty frustrated.)

As an alternative, maybe you can get a friend who's good in editing to pour over your novel while you do something else you enjoy...like writing.

And, you're right, I've read other posts that are all too similar to this one too. So you know that you're not alone. I had my personal "ARG!" a few months ago which had about the same number of letters as yours (wish I had found this place to vent back then). I took some time away. Forgot about it. Wrote a short story. Did anything that didn't make my brain hurt. Then I came back with a fresh look on it all. Works everytime!

Jerry, one doesn't pour over a novel; one pores over it. That's a small example of the kinds of things you say you have no gift for. Taking a break from examining your manuscript, as others suggest, is a good idea. So is showing it to someone who does have the gift for identifying things that you'll miss. I believe you said in other posts that you have a friend who reviews writing for you?

Ahem. You ARE aware that there are British people on this forum, right?

I'm British, and it alarms me that your plural of hero is 'hero's'.

I’ve just spent almost a week, 12 hours a day, pouring over my novel, readying it for submission, and I’m only a little bit closer. I’m burned out from editing.

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Jerry, I think you identified your own problem. Take a break!!! As far as people giving you crap about spelling errors and nonsense let's see how well they are writing after they reach 70. You've already said that you hate editing and you've always had problems with spelling.........hire someone to edit for you.......problem solved. You don't need to hire an expensive book doctor just someone who loves to read and was good in English classes. You can pay him/her in money or chores/labor. I'm sure you will find several people who would love to take you up on this offer. There are other people who will do it for free just for the enjoyment of being able to read your work. Go get em tiger!!!

All I can say is thank god for emoticons; otherwise we'd all be slashing each other's throats, eh?

I'm sure working twelve hour days would take its strain on anyone's writing. But you're pretty lucky to be able to do it. I would gladly sacrifice my spelling for prolificacy like that.

GPatten said:

For fear of offending any others here, I think I’ll keep my stupid mouth shut, my mirth to myself, and think of something funny. I’ll go to a corner of the room and giggle. God, I need some humor!

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Don't do that! Come visit in the Humor forum. Check out the WPR - it'll get you straight in no time.

(We enjoy humor down there - cracked or otherwise.)

Its all fun and games until someone get an eye poked out.


Really, if you're sick of it, take a break, period

As others before me said, take a break.

Last summer I went through a period where no one--editors, writer's board members, family members, strangers on the street--understood what I was trying to say. Time after time I was told I wasn't making myself clear or they totally missed what I was trying to say. I had one person angry at me, thinking I was demeaning him/her/whatever and I wasn't. I was trying to sympathize! So I took a break for a week. Shut off the computer, put away WIP, didn't go near a pen and pad. I read, went to the beach, watched television, did the recycling.... It worked. People stopped being mad at me or looking at me like I had three heads.

I know it's easier said than done, but do it. You'll come back with a clear head and an open mind.

Yes, take a break, and don't be so hard on yourself!

If you decide to hire someone to look at your manuscript for typos, grammar, etc., maybe you could find a graduate student in English, or an English teacher on summer break who would have the time and wouldn't charge too much.

Good luck, go relax, and don't worry about it right now!

hiring

Cabinscribe said:

Yes, take a break, and don't be so hard on yourself!

If you decide to hire someone to look at your manuscript for typos, grammar, etc., maybe you could find a graduate student in English, or an English teacher on summer break who would have the time and wouldn't charge too much.

Good luck, go relax, and don't worry about it right now!

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And then, whoever you hire, don't forget to go over it word for word yourself to make certain whoever you hired didn't make any really stupid mistakes.

mdmkay said:

As far as people giving you crap about spelling errors and nonsense let's see how well they are writing after they reach 70.

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Does spelling ability fall away as a person approaches 70?

GPatten said:

Zolah, I am well aware the British are on the forum and as I meant my pun to have no offense to them, I would hope they would chuckle and even enjoy my humor and understand, I’ve meant no offence to them using a common quip that even they sometimes use. In fact right now, the British people are the hero’s of today having rounded up the terrorists so fast. I just wish I could think of a witticism they use on us Yankees. I might need it some day in describing the Americans. We all are funny.

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Um, that was me joking. Famous British sensayuma and all that...

I'll go away now.

GPatten,

Wow, that's how I feel right now! I finally came to the conclusion that 1) I'm too close emotionally to my current WIP and 2) I'm burnt out from editing the darn thing. I came to this conclusion this past Saturday, so I've decided to work on another WIP which I'd sketched out awhile ago.

I already feel better. IMHO, there's nothing wrong with taking a breather in whatever way you want...kicking up your feet for a week or so...or starting up another story.

Hang in there!

~Nancy

GPatten said:

Thank ya Ben,
Damn apostrophes, I’ll never understand the punctuation of the written word. I just want to write, I’ve got stories to tell. Sigh!

For fear of offending any others here, I think I’ll keep my stupid mouth shut, my mirth to myself, and think of something funny. I’ll go to a corner of the room and giggle. God, I need some humor!

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Nah, you've made the day a little lighter. If someone wants to correct your grammer, (oops-grammAr) ask if they'll fix your manuscript while they're at it.

I'm like you, ideas pouring like rivers. Punctuation on the other hand is my nemisis. In fact, without a spell checker, I'm not sure my "nemisis" is spelled right. Or is that correctly? Oh, drats...

At anyrate, some lit teachers at local colleges will do stuff like this for an extra buck. Many are very underpaid.

You, too, GPatten. And thanks.

~Nancy

I think anyone with the privilege of still being in their right mind thinks that you should take a break. The only thing that no one has said yet is that you might be being to hard on yourself. Some writers work fast and spend as much time editing their manuscript as they do writing it.

There's a guy in the Uncle Jim thread (a great read) who says he writes upwards of 10-15,000 words every day. Some people are like that. They'll bang out a novel in a week and spend a month editing it. Other people, like me, write slower. I'll do between 1 and 4 thousand words in a day, and when I'm proof reading, I can get 10,000 words done to my satisfaction in two hours. It's just a matter of style. Some people go slower and get it right the first time. Other people go faster and correct later. Which are you? Maybe you already know, but if not, I recommend you give it some thought.

You might also find some tricks that work on yourself for the proofreading process. I read my manuscript out loud to anyone who will listen, and sometimes just to myself. The bits that will be labourious to read are labourious to say. A lot of writers read their manuscript backwards. Yes, backwards. This helps them spot mistakes such as doubled doubled words, which are sometimes difficult to see. Some writers hardly proof read at all.

This is all stuff to do and/or think about, I must stress, AFTER YOU TAKE A BREAK! Go outside. Flirt with someone who tickles your fancy. If you have a wife, girlfriend, or male equivalent, flirt with them. Play a ball sport. Do something, anything to get your mind completely focused on something other than writing. You might eventually even find a trick for that one day. Mine? I play chess.