are upon me and I find I am very reluctant to wrap it up. In fact, I am actively avoiding it by constantly rewriting other sections of the novel.
I've come up with these reasons for my procrastination.
1) I've been in this woman's head for six months now and I don't want to let her go.
2) I fear the real work now begins in trying to find an agent, a publisher.
3) I am worried that the most important part in a crime novel, the ending, is not good enough. That the reader will be disappointed.
4) I have an alternate ending that I don't think is right for the character but is probably more splashy, more dark.
5) I'm not sure if I should leave the door open for a future novel with this character.
6) My daughter will read this now and I don't want to disappoint her. I mean, my God, would you want your writer-daughter to be disappointed that you, in fact, are not such a good writer after all.
7) I know there are things that will need to be changed, but this is a very tight book and that will be difficult.
8) I have to let my writing groups read this now and they will have lots of ideas that may make me lose confidence.
9) I think my character has changed over the course of 65,000 words. I know people change, but I am not sure I didn't soften her up unintentionally. Maybe I need to go back and darken her up.
10. I'm plain scared about what will happen next.
Do you share these sort of thoughts at the end of a project?
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14 comments:
3/4: Go with your first instincts. And you can always change it later. I assume you're writing the last ten pages, not doing the final-I-mean-it-this-time edit of the last ten pages. So there's still time to sleep on it, tweak it, and see if it flows as a whole.
5: As long as she's not dead, the door's open (and even then...) There's no need to loosen ends to underscore the possibility of a sequel.
6: I so can't offer advice on this one. :)
11: When I finish the project that I think I'm actually going to send to agents and all, I'll let you know.
And congratulations.
1) I've been in this woman's head for six months now and I don't want to let her go.
Normal
2) I fear the real work now begins in
The real work begins when you rewrite. I know you've been doing that as you go along, but now you have to do it again, as a whole novel.
trying to find an agent, a publisher.
Just don't have the same agent as Megan.
3) I am worried that the most important part in a crime novel, the ending, is not good enough. That the reader will be disappointed.
I guess you'll have to take a chance and see what readers say.
4) I have an alternate ending that I don't think is right for the character but is probably more splashy, more dark.
If you don't think it's right then don't use it.
5) I'm not sure if I should leave the door open for a future novel with this character.
Are you thinking of killing her?
6) My daughter will read this now and I don't want to disappoint her. I mean, my God, would you want your writer-daughter to be disappointed that you, in fact, are not such a good writer after all.
She's your daughter and she'll probably be hard on you. But she's also a good writer and can be helpful. I understand your worry but unless you don't give it to her you're going to have to live with the worry.
7) I know there are things that will need to be changed, but this is a very tight book and that will be difficult.
It's never impossible.
8) I have to let my writing groups read this now and they will have lots of ideas that may make me lose confidence.
I'm sorry you have to do this. Having too many people read your novel can be very destructive. Can't you get around this?
9) I think my character has changed over the course of 65,000 words. I know people change, but I am not sure I didn't soften her up unintentionally. Maybe I need to go back and darken her up.
This is why you need to rewrite the whole thing...or go over it with that in mind.
10. I'm plain scared about what will happen next.
If you weren't I'd think you had to be committed.
Do you share these sort of thoughts at the end of a project?
Um, yeah.
I usually have to choke back the urge to rush a novel's ending because, by about 2/3 of the way through, I start to grow weary of seeing it day in and day out. Is it ever going to end?
What bothers me is the week AFTER the novel is finished. There's this big void I can't fill because I want to sit down and write more.
But there's nothing to write, only revise.
Thanks for the time you've put into these answers. I actually did finish it today. I'll begin the rewriting tomorrow.
And I don't think I will show it to my writing groups. Do they really want to read a whole novel anyway.
No, not killing her, but making her nasty enough you wouldn't want to meet up with her again.
Congratulations on finishing your novel, Patti. I will be lined up to buy one of the first copies.
M-You are such an optimist except where it concerns yourself.
Congratulations on finishing, Patti!! If it's half as good as your shorts, you're sure to have a best seller on your hands.
I only write shorts and even then it's hard to walk away from a character. There's just something about walking in someone else's shoes that takes a hold of a person and just won't let go.
And being scared of what comes next is only natural. You probably felt the same way when you first started sending out your short stories. The worst that can happen is it'll be rejected and if not, just slip on some high heeled boots and kick ass.
Congratulations on finishing, Patti!! I can't add anything except that I share your fears, too. Plus, I'm terrible at writing endings. Short stories really helped me there, but even now I sometimes wimp out on endings. Anyway, I think as you rewrite, those answers will come. For instance - you worry your protag is too light. If you darkened her, might that open the door for your alternate ending? Leave your mind open as you rewrite and you'll get a stronger story for it.
I just noticed that I gave you the same first sentence as Ms. Seamans. Creepy. %) (Sorry, Sandra!)
Thanks, guys. Nice to have the kind words from people who know...
I think I will work on polishing and rewriting for a few weeks, let it sit for a few weeks, then back to the shorts for a while. It scares me that no ideas for ss have been popping into my head. That was always the trouble with trying to write a novel before. I couldn't turn them off. Now I have to turn them on again.
Writing an okay short story isn't really that good of a training ground for writing a novel. You've acquired certain skills but a whole new set is required.
And oh, the ending. I had it in mind from the beginning but over time, it began to seem too...ordinary, too expected. I hate endings.
At every stage of my rewrites I found out new things about my characters that let me write a better and better ending. Even now, as close to done as the book is, I'm finding new things about minor characters that help me streamline scenes and keep the story moving. The biggest thing really is to keep an open mind and not box yourself in thinking something "has to" happen a certain way.
I would say short stories are a good training ground for writing elements of a novel, but not a novel in sum.
Congratulations. This is fantastic news and a major milestone. Don't let your fears and worries get in the way of that.
All of these fears are normal. If you were so confident that none of these were bouncing around in your head I'd wonder what meds you were taking and ask if I could have some.
You are a good writer. Though short stories and novels are different beasts, they're not that different. You have a body of work that shows you know what you're doing.
Rewrites are good for you. Embrace them, no matter how painful and irritating it might be.
Same for feedback. If it's not useful it's just noise and you can filter that crap out. If your writing group is making you lose confidence imagine them naked. The resulting shock and nausea should send any thoughts of that crap fly out of your system.
Along with your lunch, so use that technique sparingly.
Thanks, Stephen. Good advice all.
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