I'm working on the second draft of my WWII historical novel right now and just finished with chapter one last night. I've definitely noticed a difference in the way I'm writing this novel as compared to my last one. Of course, I had worked on my last novel, Possession, for nearly five years. Yes, you heard me right. Five years. And in those five years, I learned so much on the writing craft that I had to constantly revise it to make it work. And by the time I had revised and revised, I was so deep into it that I simply couldn't put it aside and work on something else because darn it, if I had invested this much time into it, I was going to FINISH it and FINISH IT RIGHT.
Whew. End of ramble.
But now, Possession is done. Finished. And I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be working on something else.
Have you ever had a project that just wouldn't stop? Did you force yourself to finish it or just abandon it altogether?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
THERE IT IS
It's back. And who knows for how long? But for this day, for this moment, all is bliss. I'm happy, excited for the future, ready a...
-
I just finished reading Stieg Larsson's The Girl who Played with Fire . This is the second book in the series and features the character...
-
I'm a chronically ill person. I have fibromyalgia and myalgic encephalomelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). I'm in pain all th...
I am suffering the same malady myself. The more I learn about the craft of writing, the more I go back and revise my WIP. I'd like to say enough already, but I suppose I won't finish writing it till I can write it perfectly. I'll get back to you in 2055.
ReplyDeleteWhat are you doing with POSSESSION right now? Have you sent it out?
Oh yes! I can relate. But I'm trying to tell myself it's OKAY to let the story go. Easier said with contemporaries than historicals! :)
ReplyDeleteI really, really admire and envy your perseverance. The longest I've ever worked and re-worked on a manuscript was seven months. Then I tossed it aside because it wouldn't get right.
ReplyDeleteBut I do wish I had that perseverance and patience because nowadays, I'll toy with something for about a month or two and then scrap it if it won't get its act together--ignoring the writer's block and general procrastination that comes along with the aforementioned frustrations.
>.<
But congratulations on the completion of your manuscript!!
Nienke - the agent who requested the full ultimately said it "was almost there" but didn't ask for revisions. I've shelved it for now. :-)
ReplyDeleteSince it's officially the 15th - Happy Birthday Melissa.
ReplyDeleteOh god yes! I've been working on Outlaw Bride for almost 3 years now. Its gone thru so many morphs and changes its a whole different book from when I started, although the basic premise remains intact. Like you I learned so much when I started writing it. I joined RWA and my local chapter just shortly after starting it, so the wealth of education i received in that time really changed the scope of the book and how I wrote in general. Now with the new series I'm working on the difference is immeasurable and the flow soooo much better. I finished the first draft of book 1 in under 6 months. As opposed to 2 years for TOB.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete