How do we know when it’s time to ditch a story and when it’s time to rewrite it?
That is the question.
A very important one, I might add. Since it involves months and months of a precious little commodity called time.
After my year-long adventure in tearing apart and restructuring my current WIP, I am convinced that rewriting a novel takes much longer than writing one.
It’s like putting together a very intricate puzzle while pulling from a pile of two puzzle piece sets. And to make it extra complicated, some pieces are missing. So not only do you have to figure out what pieces don’t belong, you have to find the right ones to add.
Oh the insanity!
So how do we know when to put ourselves through that headache and when to simply ditch the story and start on something new?
I will be honest. A big part of my decision had to do with sheer stubbornness. And fear. I was afraid. Because if I didn’t finish this story, who’s to say I wouldn’t be more inclined to not finish others? I wanted to prove to myself I could do it. Despite the agony. Despite the challenge.
But let’s take out the stubborn/fear factor for just a second. Let’s imagine those aren’t the best reasons to stick with a project.
How can we know when a story is worth finishing?
When we try to move on, but we can’t seem to let go.
I tried to give up on this story. I really did. But the dang thing wouldn’t leave me alone. It turned into this nagging chant. Instead of “Feed me, Seymour” (hello Little Shop of Horrors), it was: Finish me….finish me….finish me! Despite being a giant pain in my rear, this story had a lot of emotional meat. Which is what I love to write. I couldn’t let it go.
When we tell people the premise and get a positive reaction.
There I was at the ACFW conference. About to toss this story aside. Feeling both liberated and conflicted. When I start talking about the novel to a group of writing friends. Their response was overwhelmingly positive. The interested kind of positive, too. Not the, “Oh, that’s nice. Can we move onto something different now?” Which confirmed what I knew in my gut. The story has potential.
So I decided to stick with it. And when I finished the major restructure, I felt victorious. Incredibly so. Because the endeavor felt like a never-ending upward climb.
Here’s the thing.
There is a very real chance this story will never be published. And this is my sixth novel. Not my first.
But you know what?
That’s okay. Because the longer I travel this journey, the more I realize that unpublishable words are never wasted words and unpublishable stories are never wasted stories.
I learned a lot through this process. I grew a ton as a writer.
It was great practice. And very timely. Because soon I’ll be diving into content edits for Wishing on Willows. And I’m pretty sure I’m in store for another major restructure. Only this time I can enter with a semblance of confidence. Knowing, at least, that I’ve done it before.
Let’s Talk: What makes you stick with a novel? What makes you move on? Are you the type that stubbornly refuses to give up on a story when you should let go? Or are you more the type to let go of a story when you should try finishing it?
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I work on something until either a) I just know that it’s done, or b) I can’t stand anything about it anymore and I want to burn it in the fireplace. I’ve worked and re-worked a novel to the extent that I want to tear it all back and return it to its original condition–which I’ve completely lost at this point. That’s when you know it’s time to move on!
This is actually why I did NaNo this year (part of why).
I wanted to “dilute” the hold my first (5-year-old) novel had on me. I didn’t feel like I had an objective view of the story when I had 5 years invested and writing/evaluation contests out there, taunting me with “send the first 10 pages of your *completed* manuscript” and LINDORM was the closest to complete… and the second novel-start could have been a fluke, so let’s try this one more time…
But now I have two NaNo “wins,” two more tantalizing stories that also require real work, and I don’t feel any more objective, because now I wonder if I’m chasing something just because it’s *new.*
So, no new perspective, I guess. Just more angst.
Oh, Katie, how well I know the pain. 🙂
You have a lot of guts to do it on your own initiative. I HAD to do it, and it was still very difficult. But you’re right, in the end, it’s a confidence builder. That’s because it’s so hard that it makes everything else look easier!
I used to scrap novels, when I was just learning to write. I wrote three of them in under a year–and scraped them all.
That said I’m turning in a novel to my agent in another week, and I rewrote 56,000 words of it. I literally started at page 1 and rewrote the baby. Ouch!!! But it’s nice to finally have the baby done.
Glad you didn’t give up on yours, Katie.
I wrote several stories when I first began writing that I now consider practice stories. In their original form, not a one of them was marketable. However, at one point I took an objective look at them, determined which of my five historicals had the strongest characters, and embarked on a major rewrite.
Talk about hard work! It paid off though. The story won some contests and got me my agent. But I had to ditch and rewrite 3/4ths of that story, which I did. And then there were the spot-on sagging middle comments from my CPs, which led to another rewrite before I turned it into my agent, who said the story was (finally) ready for submission and subsequently sold it.
So, while rewrites can be painful, going through mine taught me far more than I learned when I was cranking out first drafts. I think the key is figuring out when a story has potential and is worth the effort, and when it’s time to tuck it away in the recesses of the hard drive. For me, that objectivity didn’t come until I’d been writing for several years and had taken time to study craft.
And do I have an unfinished story? Yup. It’s a contemporary romance that showed me all too clearly why I’m a historical writer. Who knew young people today don’t talk like teens did in the 70s? *grin*
Oh goodness. I empathize!
Right now I have a 52k manuscript that I have decided to scrap. It wasn’t an easy choice to make at all, but the plot simply wasn’t working very well. It was meandering, and I was growing bored with it, which made me wonder if my readers would feel the same way.
Now it’s back to the brainstorming process. This is the last book in a four-part series, so it’s not a project I can leave behind forever. I love the characters in it as well. It simply needs a new plot.
Chazak Amats,
– Hannah Mills
http://www.swordofink.com
This is a timely discussion. Finishing is the hardest thing in the world for a person like me. Writing is the only thing that I keep coming back to.
I cry; I throw up my hands. But I come back.
I am almost finished with my second novel and haven’t had to consider bailing quite yet. But knowing my stubborn, perfectionistic self, when (not if–I know my days are numbered) that time comes I am fairly confident I will be beating that dead horse. (Rest assured–No animals will be harmed in this process.)
I put my first book aside so many times for 15 years before I finally decided to just finish it! Like you, I received positive feedback from my target audience when I told them the premise of my story. That is always excellent motivation to continue!
I finished the sequel and was working with my editor on it, but had to put it aside when a literary agent showed interest in my other story!
It’s been a challenge to start a new story in the midst of editing an older one…but it’s been worth it. I feel I am a stronger writer because of it.
God has His reasons!!
Keep writing, Katie. I can’t wait to read your book!
Thanks for joining in the conversation everyone! I enjoy seeing how other people feel about finishing vs. scrapping a novel.
Great post to get me thinking.
Since I’ve only written one novel so far, this is a hard question to answer. At this point, I still believe the book has potential, but I’m not so confident that I want to do a complete rewrite–though I will do a comprehensive edit to work through some of the big problems I do see. Then, I’ll move on to Story #2 and do the same with it. I think it’s valuable to get the practice editing an entire manuscript even if it doesn’t end up going anywhere. Thanks for the tips!
I have to finish a novel, because I am the kind of person that has to finish what she starts.
My first novel was a historical and after working on it for 5 years, it was really going no where. After a chance to attend a workshop with Susan May Warren and Chip MacGregor, they both encouraged me to write what I want to write.
What a relief to put that historical to sleep. But you know what? I couldn’t do it yet, because I had ripped off the ending and was going to rewrite it. I had to go back, copy and paste the ending in (thank GOODNESS I didn’t hit delete the first time) and once it said THE END, I was happy and could put it away.
See how weird that is? Sheesh. 🙂
Hope the editing goes well for you, Katie!
You have no idea how very un-weird I think that is.
Both of my daughters play sports. And I always tell them how proud I am that they play hard all the way to the end of a game even when the team is down by double-digit points and there is no chance of winning. The same is true for my writing. I finish the story because I started it, regardless of whether it will one day be published or not.
Thank you for this post, Katie. Your blog is very inspiring. Keep up the good work.
Linda
I started a novel last year that I didn’t finish. I love the premise, but I realize now it needs to be rewritten as a YA instead. And I really don’t know anything about YA! lol
I loved what you said…unpublishable words are never wasted words…that is becoming my mantra! 🙂
Hehe, like you I think it’s half-stubborness that makes me stick it out…this feeling of, “I will conquer this story or die trying.”
I’m actually rewriting my second WIP right now…and I’m re-falling in love with the story. The same thing happened on my previous MS – I rewrote a huge chunk and was reminded why I loved the story in the first place. So, I think that’s another pro on the side of rewriting. That, and the surge of energy and feeling of accomplishment you get when the rewrite proves fruitful.
That said, the first novel I ever attempted is currently in a temporary/possibly permanent vault marked “Total Mess.” Yeah, sometimes you just have to let go. 🙂
I recently walked away from a story because I received a very nicely worded, “Not what we want right now.”
Really. It was said so nicely — with all the “we believe in you” sentiments woven through.
So I moved on to another story. And, yes, I love this story too.
But I’m not trashing that “other” story. I’m just putting it in the imaginary drawer for now. Convinced it’s time hasn’t come just yet.
But maybe one day.
Oh, I’m stubborn all right. Or at least I used to be. Now I feel almost like I’ve gone in the other direction, and I’m like “If I don’t get some immediate interest in this, I’ll just move onto the next.” So I’m trying to find that balance and it helps to have critique partners and other writing friends who can help judge.
I recently rewrote a story and it was definitely harder than simply writing it over, so I see where you’re coming from. But sometimes it’s best to hang on and make that story even better 🙂
Ha–once I gave up on my most recent novel (historical fiction), that’s when I finally got a serious bite on my query. I’d already started writing another book (contemporary fiction) and was feeling really good about that one. But the characters from my historical fiction were just as real to me as if they were walking around in my house. So I’m glad there’s hope for it yet!
I have had to make this choice before. Novel five is in the grave. I wrote the whole thing and as I began to work through edits it became clear to me it would need a major rewrite, which I was willing to do, but the story didn’t call to me. I left it and wrote more. Maybe I’ll revisit it someday, but for now I see it as a practice in character refinement.
~ Wendy
How interesting that you should write about this just now. I have about 16K words of something I was fired up about five years ago but abandoned. Lately I’ve been thinking about it. The premise is perhaps worth revising, though I would try a new angle of execution, which would mean starting over. The story has started to haunt me again.
Thanks for your insights on this as I have struggled with each novel. I usually make myself finish each one even if I don’t love it just because I feel it’s good practice. If I love it than that drives me as well. But I hate revisions and to tear apart a whole novel would be painful.
It seems really strange to me that you wrote this today. Not because of what you’re saying, but because of a recent revision break-through I had on a story that wouldn’t let me go through two and a half years of revision brick walls.
I even posted on it today, strangely, and I also compared it to a puzzle–or really, that I finally found all of the pieces I need.
I don’t know if it’ll ever be publishing material, but thank you for the reminder that it doesn’t have to be. Not to mention affirmation that I have done the right thing and I might not be crazy after all.
I’m definitely eight parts stubborn, two parts neurotic when it comes to finishing a novel.
I tried to give up writing my current WIP several times for several reasons, but now I absolutely love it. And like you said, it’s a story that just wouldn’t let go, and I actually tried to quit all together – not just this one novel.
It’s dificult to not feel guilty for spending so much time on a wIP that might/probably won’t go anywhere, but you’re so right. Time tells you that no words are wasted. Writers need to practice and learn the art of patience when it comes to figuring out which words will stick.
Great post that got my mind rolling.