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Thursday, July 16, 2009

UGH!

Did you ever read your lasted WIP and think, "Do over!"

That is exactly how I am feeling right now. I just re-read chapter 13, which I loved last week and thought, "UGH! I want to start over!"

How do I resist this pull? I've been down this road before and always answer its call. I MUST FINISH THIS DRAFT! But right now, I just want to scrap it and start again.... again...

UGH!

13 comments:

Clementine said...

Force yourself to keep going. With my novel, I rewrote chapter four a hundred times. Finally, I had to ignore it and keep going. After I finished the ending, I went back and fixed it.

Jean Wogaman said...

Yes, you must finish this draft! You're almost there. Once you're done, set this one aside for a month or two before you read it again. While you're waiting, start writing another novel.

Sheri Perl-Oshins said...

Amy and Jeanie, I know you are both right. It has been a very low down day for me as a writer. But Mama always said there'd be days like these, right???

Casey Something said...

I've done this *so* many times.

Push through, Sheri!

Sheri Perl-Oshins said...

Casey, I think I finally see it; starting over is another form of procrastination!

At least I know I'm with good company, Casey!

PJ Hoover said...

LOL! Always! But the fact that I know what I'm writing isn't supposed to be the greatest on a first draft really helps me!

Sheri Perl-Oshins said...

Hey, PJ! It's great to "see" you. I have to say I am very confused. A part of me feels working on somehting else for a bit might breathe new life into this book but another part of me says, NO, you must finish!

What should I do???? Oh the agony of indecision.

PJ Hoover said...

Hard to say! I tossed what I'd done so far on my WIP and started over. It's a first for me, but it REALLY felt like the right thing.

Sheri Perl-Oshins said...

I know, PJ. I've been there. But I've done that 5 times now. Maybe I shouldn't do that again... maybe I should...

Here's my problem - my brain is learning things faster than I am writing so when i go back and re-read I see all these holes or problems or telling vs showing, etc.

A part of me says just plow through regardless of those holes and go back and fix it later. but another part of me says fix it now. Make it better now.

Then a third part (I have many parts...) says take a break! I've been working on this novel for over two years. It's time to put it away and use what I know in my head on something fresh and new and then come back to this one.

But my fear is, what if I don't come back. I don't want to create patterns of unfinished novels and never finish!

PJ Hoover said...

okay, I totally leave bad writing to be fixed at a later point. I went back in this place because I'm doing dual POV and I figured out what the second character's story was. Or at least part of it. So it was a major change. Little stuff I leave for later.

Sheri Perl-Oshins said...

PJ, Ok. I see. I've gone back in my otehr versions because of big stuff. This time it would be more of proper layering, seeding, showing vs telling, things like that.

I think I decided that I need to stop reading and fussin and just finish. Get on with it!

Thanks for the advice, PJ.

Chris Eldin said...

Ha!
HaHa!
AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHA!
That's maniacal me, because I'm doing just this as we speak. Again.

Sheri Perl-Oshins said...

Chris, don't jump! Think of all the good you've brought to the world!

“Personal limitation exists only in our ideas of who we are. Give up all notions of who you are and your limitations will vanish.”

- Anonymous