Hi! I'm trying to finish a novel and I'm at this stage when there's only 5 or 6 chapters left to finish my first draft. This is not the first time I've been there, and all previous attempts have ended with finished works tidied away in a drawer somewhere. Problem is: half of my brain is already rewriting and editing the beginning and the other half is simply starting other projects.
I don't know if it's a sign I should ease up on it a little, work on something else for a while until I feel up to finishing my first draft properly. Or should I stick with it, even if I am writing more and more slowly and getting upset with what I am producing? Has anybody got any tips to get over this first-draft-fed-up syndrome?
Ah, but that's a special part of the process, Colin: the point where the character takes over is a good one. It means that you've really made him into a person, and he refuses to fit into the mould you created before you got to know him. If you hadn't bashed out all those words, you'd never have found that out.
You're writing a lot better than you were, as a result. Your story will be tighter and more engrossing than if you had done a 'join up the dots' story according to your pre-planned map of events.
Nathalie,
I have pondered long and hard about this: dare I disagree? Yes, I’m not at all experienced enough to give writing advice. I haven't ever finished a full length book, so who am I to say? But I feel I must pose the alternative view, one which led me last week to delete the 25k first draft words of my second attempt at a literary thriller.
I could have ploughed on. I could-should have taken the majority advice on this forum, not least Lorraine's, who urged me to, " bash it all out over Christmas and then we can talk about it". But I decided not to.
Who made me press the fatal key? My main character. I was quarter the way through telling his story when I felt his hand tap my shoulder. " What about this?. And why have you made me say that?”
He didn't seem to hear me say, “Editing later". Pulling at my lapels, he snarled:” You're dismissive of my mother and how she died". I don't think he would have allowed me to go much further without direct violence. I knew I was riding roughly over his life and his antecedents with carelessly placed hooves, just to speed my journey. So I deleted the lot.
We have started again, further back, with a clearer voice and greater depth. So far so good. He remains suspicious, but seems placated by the first chapter.
All I can say is, something is telling you to pause.
You control the story. Stick with the first draught. It seems you need to focus on how you want it to end. The great thing about it is that you control exactly what you write! Don't give up :)