Since I began writing several years ago I have put my novel manuscripts through so many stylistic changes, critiques, and restarts that I have effectively written a novel's worth of beginnings (up to 30,000 each time). I plot in the pre-writing and writing stages, and though my plan for the latter half of the book often ends up resembling a rough guide than a strict chapter by chapter summary, I invariably stop after two or three chapters because of a niggling feeling that the story isn't working.
This week I decided to start over again (!), and while it is liberating that I'm no longer held back by a story that has stalled, it is also equally frustrating because I don't know if I will be repeating this cycle in six months’ time.
Some published writers regard all their false starts as a long apprenticeship phase while others quote word counts that writers must complete before they find their supposed voice.
I would like to hear the experiences and advice of other writers on this. How do you know when your story is working? How often have you returned to the start (or deleted a significant portion of your work) because of some niggling feeling that your foundation or path is the wrong one?
I have considered the 'How strong is your book idea service' but haven't actually used it. To be honest I just want to finish it (which I nearly have!! Did I mention that?) as my first goal is to actually write a novel. For me that will be the first achievement and then my thinking is I have something concrete to put out there, ready to be pulled apart by whoever, but at least I have created something, and that is the work of an artist, which is what I am. Create first and then unleash it on the world and see what it thinks.
I certainly feel motivated after reading your comments so thank you all so much for sharing.
Since I’m right back to square one with my novel, I think I’m edging more towards Mark’s way of going about things; that is, structuring the novel, developing the characters, and strengthening the foundation before dedicating any time to the actual writing of the story. I’ve gone through a number of planning methods in the past, but the urge to write has always pulled me away from planning the novel in any real depth. My writers’ group will be running a Snowflake Method study session later in the year, so I might sign up for that and see how strong my story idea is.
Adrian, I also fully recognise the time wasted dilemma that results from a lack of planning; I don’t know how many times I’ve read a blog or listened to a podcast about how all writers can benefit from plotting. The advice almost always includes comments like “Even ‘pantsers’ can benefit from a basic outline.” I think many writers start off with a sound idea or premise (and maybe a hint of an ending), but once they write beyond the inciting incident or first plot point/disaster, they become lost—hence the innumerable blog posts in the writing community about writer’s block (which is essentially not knowing what to write next and/or being overly self-aware of the fact and unleashing the inner critic upon your work-in-progress).
That being said, I do appreciate the advice of “you have to keep writing” and “get the rough draft down” as June and Katie respectively put it. I guess that if we stop (as I am doing!) then we are no closer to a first draft of anything. This is such hard advice for me to follow when I know something is inherently wrong with my manuscript. This time I hope to avoid this dilemma by building a solid outline and then just getting the first draft written. It might be worthwhile to use the Writers and Artists service “How Strong is Your Book Idea?” too. Has anyone else used this?
I found it easier to get the rough draft down and then go back and fix the problems.
The story doesn't always work first time round and sometimes your characters come up with the solutions all by themselves when you get to the final chapter.
The thing to remember is that you can always edit and fix a story that hasn't worked but you can't change something that doesn't exist yet because you didn't finish the first draft!