Is my novel dead if I take a break from writing it for a few months?

abdall

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it's not dead. If you completely give up on it and have no intention of ever going back to it then it's dead. I'm working on like...3 different novels and I have to alternate between working on one for a few months then I totally drop it and pick up another one I've been working on, but none of them are dead. It's just my personally writing process, though. Don't get discouraged, just move at your own pace.
 

Lolly12

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No, never unless you bin it and never look at it again.

I've got two half-written novels and I'm concentrating on one of them for now.
 
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Odile_Blud

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I have a tendency to work on something, leave it alone for several months or even a year or two, and then go back to it. For me, I'm always distracted by the next story. It's difficult, because it's hard to get anything done, but at the same time, that's my writing process. I feel like if I concentrated nonstop on only one story, I'd grow bored with it and not want to write it anymore at all.

It might be okay to set it down for a while. I don't know because I dont' know your writing process, but I don't see anything wrong with taking a break as long as you get back to it.
 

Hopefully WLCT

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Do what works for you. I'm pretty sure 99% of the writers on this site will tell you that everyone writes differently. There is no right way to write. Take a breather if you need to. Don't beat yourself up,it's ok!
 

Cal_Darin

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I'm at about 52,000 words (I suspect it is going to end up around 80 to 90,000) but then I ran out of summer holidays. I spent a long time on character and plot development, so I am set up super well to finish it and I know exactly what needs to be written.

I'm worried I'm never going to finish it, though... that by the time I get back to it in a few months I'm going to want to write something else. I've never spent more than 4 months on a novel before, so this is unfamiliar territory. Anyone have wisdom on this? Is my novel dead :cry: or is there (realistically) hope?

You'll be just fine! I started something in March, got ~20k words into it, and then stopped in May because life. I found time to get back to it again in early November, and I just cleared 80k last night (and I just typed "THE END" this morning!)

I found that I never stopped thinking about it, even when I was taking time off, and so when I returned to it, ideas that had been giving me issues beforehand came far more easily! Don't underestimate the incubating potential of "shower thoughts"!

Good luck and press on!
 

D. E. Wyatt

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A novel is only dead if you never return to writing it. Remember, Tolkien started writing the Lord of the Rings in 1937, and Fellowship wasn't published until 1954.
 

Spicyqueso

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I actually started a couple novels when I was younger and then randomly got back to them and finished. The time period in between was probably about five years haha. I think something that can help if you know you are going to take a break is to write some notes about the characters, setting, and plot points so you can easily get refreshed. Also, start reading the book you want to continue from the beginning. Not only can it inspire and refresh you but you can also edit as you go. But nothing can stop you from getting back to writing after a break. And even if you start on something new, you may find yourself inspired to continue the other one.