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Although I still tend to want to shy away from the word "failure." It just sounds so...final, doesn't it?
What I'm talking about is my maiden novel, which crashed hard not too long ago, and has been replaced by a sophomore effort that is more appropriate to my
I felt such shame in setting it aside, in not bulling through the revisions and getting to a point where I was satisfied enough with it to call it finished. I've only recently come to terms with the decision, finally understanding that just because it's "on hiatus" right now doesn't mean that someday I can't go back to it.
I know I've mentioned some of this before, but it's just such a liberating feeling that it bears repeating! I just wished I could have picked this lesson up a bit earlier in life. ; )
Things have been a bit up in the air around here - Elf had a dread cough this past week, combined with a low fever that kept her home from school the entire week. I was afraid that she would lapse into the diagnosed-as-pneumonia, re-diagnosed-after-chest-x-rays-bronchit
Despite having her home the entire week, I was able to get a fair amount of writing done: 5,700 words for the week! I was psyched, to say the least. I had set myself the novel-in-90 goal of 750 words or 1/2 hour of work on the novel per day, 5 days per week. Which put me at 3,750 words per week - a goal that, until this past week, kept eluding me. But to be honest, as long as I am seeing consistent forward movement between 2.5-5k words per week, I'll be happy. Not too demanding a task master, am I?
So here's where things stand:
(word count meter courtesy of writertopia.com)
- Mood:
happy
Comments
I was given that sage advice by an experienced writer. I set my novel aside a few years ago. I needed to learn some things. I'm learning them in the short story length. And I don't mind. My novel is there when I'm ready to write it.
Oz
unfun difficult annoying frustratinglet's just say there's a steep learning curve. But yes, I'm starting to understand now, and knowing that I'm not alone in this is really heartening. Thanks for your words of encouragement, Oz!Every time you write, each novel that you begin (whether you finish or not), is part of that learning process. It sounds to me like you're doing brilliantly. And well done on hitting such a great wordcount so soon. I'll be looking for updates more regularly. :)
I wrote the first draft of my first novel, Fur-Face, back in 2003. It took more than six years to get anyone interested enough to want to publish it (albeit in e-book form). That said, in terms of writing style and proficiency, the draft they're publishing bears little resemblance to the awful mess I made of that first attempt.
If you like the story of your novel, come back to it once a year, to see what needs improving. So long as you continue to improve as a writer, it makes sense that you'll be able to continually improve upon your first novel.
Hope that helps :)
I do hope to go back to mine some day...I really love the characters! I hate just leaving them in limbo like this.
But I might try what you suggested, and revisit it annually. At some point, I'll have the chops to do what needs to be done to call it finished! Thanks!
The overall story is the same, but I've packed a lot more story into a lot less words.
My biggest mistake was not realizing I didn't know what I was doing from the outset. That led to me wasting about four years on pointless revisions.
My main project this year is to take the awful first draft of my second novel, A Union of Snakes, and revise it.
I think my best approach is to treat that first draft as a really long outline :)
I love this - I think it's what we all strive for, or should, anyway.
And this? Yeah, I'm not familiar with that at ALL. ; P
I read a post somewhere, and being that this is the second time I've referred to it, I probably should have bookmarked it, where the author came to the conclusion that pantsers, in their multiple revisions, are doing the same thing that plotters do when they write their outlines. It's just that we're wired a little bit differently, I guess.
So will you totally rewrite A Union of Snakes?
I think it's the only way.
As for outlines. I really believe that, regardless of what they may say to the contrary, every author writes one, it's just that for some, it's their entire first draft ;)
I have now accepted that everything before (Hard times, 'wasted years', FAILURES!!!--say it with pride. You lived long enough to have them and admit to what they are. Not to mention the good stuff too) was what was needed to make us better and our work richer. Nothing is wasted my fellow slow learner. We just need to be sure to recycle the hell out of those experiences. It's what a writer does. We experience the world around us, digest it all, mix it all about and then regurgitate something creative.
And I too am working on a sophomore work and have put aside the freshman for now. I am okay with that although it may frustrate others in my life. It's still there and I am still proud of its existence.
Oy...
How embarrassing is it that SO MANY people have read this book. The story and characters are still full of awesome, but the writing. Whew. It was the best I could do then. Now, I can do better.
It's been 11 years since I wrote that book the first time. I redrafted it about 6 years ago. Now, with all my learning-stuff at the ready, I'm rewriting it again.
Sometimes, it just takes a while for such things to ferment.
Thanks!