Anyone get to the point of f***k it all?

[anthorn]

So i've been working on a project for so many years. 2003 to 2017, same characters, some new ones added, the world and story constantly adapting and changing....but nothing ever seems to get done.

Is there a point where you just give up? I mean, I worry I might end up being one of those writers who only ever have one world worked out. I worry that I may never get the project done. I have other ideas, but at the same time, the Aspergers in me is like, nope THIS PROJECT! SCREW the other ones. DO THIS! So I kind of got the urge to complete it.

I worry that maybe I should've packed it in 2 or three years ago. The only bright side is that my writing has improved a lot.

I don't know if the problem is that I'm copying and pasting stuff as well as writing new chapters so I'm probably not exactly in the story as it happens...Or if it's because my mind knows it should be something else, that it must be rallying against the fact that my conscious mind doesn't realise there isn't a strong plot there. I'd say it's in The Blade Itself territory in regards to plot (as in there pretty much isn't-or it don't become clear until book 2)

The characters I've got down, I think, because I've realised that instead of trying to have every cool story for my two favourite characters, thus resulting in a thousand different ways to start the story, I can just invent more characters. So that is also a plus.

Sorry if I'm venting but you have no idea how irate I get with this poo. And it's annoying because this is like the only thing I'm good at.

Maybe I should scrap the story keep the characters and world and rethink things from scratch.

Ah joy...

 

[Brian G Turner]

There's something to be said for new perspective. Sometimes it's a case of being too close to something that you can't see the wood for the trees.

Copy/pasting is also a big problem - it preserves old mistakes, instead of teaching you to ruthlessly cut things out. Teresa Edgerton once said something about writing chapters from scratch when rewriting - I dismissed that as too much hard work, but in the end found she was right.

One thing I have tried, that can be either a fun exercise, or result in a story in itself, is to write something as an offshoot. Maybe a background story about something - in short story or novel format. That can help flesh out your characters and world, and possibly provide inspiration for the main story, without actually intruding on it.

Also, read widely and voraciously. No excuses - you need to see how different writers successfully tackle different themes, styles, and technical challenges.

Just a thought.

 

[NbDawn]

I've definitely been there. It was so bad, I put off writing for about 9 years! Fortunately, I'm also an artist and so took up that hobby for the period. It really did my writing some good to step back for a while. You may not want to take that long, but a short period might help you. And a fresh start. Perhaps take some time to read for a while. Or try breaking away from your "baby" and write new characters in new settings with some short story writing exercises.

 

[Steve Harrison]

If it's any consolation, it took 25 years to get my novel published. Every few years I would rewrite the manuscript and submit, convinced it was worthy of publication. The story didn't change and over time, but, like you, I felt the writing was improving and, eventually, a publisher bought the book.

As to giving up; it never really occurred to me!

It sounds like you have several stories worth of material, so I just wonder if selecting and working on your favourite, and accepting you may have a series, may help you to finish.

Good luck with it.

 

[anthorn]

I've definitely been there. It was so bad, I put off writing for about 9 years! Fortunately, I'm also an artist and so took up that hobby for the period. It really did my writing some good to step back for a while. You may not want to take that long, but a short period might help you. And a fresh start. Perhaps take some time to read for a while. Or try breaking away from your "baby" and write new characters in new settings with some short story writing exercises.

Oh I wish that was possible. Unfortunately my mind does not work like that. My mind is literally forcing me to complete this first. I just can't think of other projects

 

[The Bluestocking]

I worry I might end up being one of those writers who only ever have one world worked out.

First of all - ain't no shame in having just one storyworld. Some of the world's most popular authors have that - Lee Child, Terry Pratchett, Cassandra Clare, JRR Tolkien et al.

It's really a question of how rich your storyworld is. Some storyworlds can spawn a neverending supply of stories, characters etc.

I have just one storyworld - it needed to bubble away in my imagination (at the back of my mind) for 15 years before I finally got to the stage where I had a story to tell and characters who came to life for me. And so I am now working on my first proper WIP after a few false starts within my storyworld. And I have another in development which is set in another part of my storyworld.

Also - sometimes good things take a while to develop. Just keep at it. It's frustrating that things take so long to come together but when they finally do, it'll absolutely justify all those years of slogging.

I feel you, I really do. Like I said: it took 15 years for my storyworld to develop before I finally got confident enough in my writing and storytelling abilities to give it a proper go.

And over the last 4 years I had to push through several false starts, stumble across the right hook to kick off my story, and figure out that I do better in a writing group (and took me 2 years to finally settle with my current writing group who are an excellent fit).

I'm now hoping to finish my WIP by this Christmas and to start revisions.

So keep going - it'll happen.

 

[Toby Frost]

And it's annoying because this is like the only thing I'm good at.

I know the feeling.

If you want my advice, I would step back from this and think hard about what you're trying to do, what story you want to tell. Since 2003, you have probably changed a lot. Your priorities may be completely different, and the story may have changed with them. I would definitely advise against copy and pasting text that's over a couple of years old, both in terms of the quality of the writing and the story being told in it. What is the best story that can be told about these people (and perhaps couldn't be told about anyone else)? It may be that approaching this from a tangent will work better than trying to re-do the same text.

I don't know how much you have planned, but I am always wary when people say that they've mapped out a 30-book cycle or something like that, when the question is really "Can you do one book?". It might be an idea to write a shorter novel that is both complete and open-ended, or a parallel part of the main story (like the Daenerys chapters in A Game of Thrones). It's also worth mentioning that if the book is a chore to write, it is less likely to be enjoyable to read. Good luck with it!

 

[The Big Peat]

Yes. I posted a similar thread not that long ago for one thing. And I've seen other such screams of frustration. I know a lot of us have had projects with very long gestation times as well. What you're not going through is not unusual, for better or for worse

My recommendation is to put it aside for a little - or possibly even a lot - and get some distance from it before making any decisions. Maybe try writing something else, maybe take a break altogether, but its really difficult to make decisions when you're that close and frustrated.

 

[Phyrebrat]

The harsh truth of it is how would you feel if you gave up? I'm guessing you'd be upset and miss it.

I'm not sure how is best to proceed in your case as we're all different, but rather than bin it, could you write shorts based in the same world? It'll keep your mind in that atmosphere but have the benefit of giving yourself a break. It may also throw up some problem fixers. You have my sympathy; my wip has been wippish since 2009. I can't say there have been times when I have though screw it, because I would miss it too much. But there has been time after time when I've been immobilised by doubt. People will tell you the best way to get through that is to just write but if you're like me,that doesn't work. To write I need to be relaxed and comfortable with what I'm doing and if I'm not, I can't.

What did happen, though, (not ideal, however) was that I binned 30k of words from the start as I realised my problem arose because I had taken a wrong turn and each iteration went further off course. By trashing it all and keeping just the first 300 words, I got on track and sped through the narrative. Sometimes blocks happen because we've backed ourselves into a corner.

pH

 

[Stephen Palmer]

There is absolutely no magic in copy and paste. You however do have to convey magic to your reader.

My advice is begin something completely new.

 

[AlexH]

Oh I wish that was possible. Unfortunately my mind does not work like that. My mind is literally forcing me to complete this first. I just can't think of other projects

Maybe Brian's suggestion of setting a short story with the same world/characters is a good compromise then?

 

[zmunkz]

It depends on your goals here... If you want to tell this story, and it is your purpose for writing, then stick to it! You will get there.

If you want to be a career writer and this is merely book one of an imagined many, then I strongly encourage you to put it aside and write something else. Come back to it later.

First of all - ain't no shame in having just one storyworld. Some of the world's most popular authors have that - Lee Child, Terry Pratchett, Cassandra Clare, JRR Tolkien et al.

Absolutely true, but I would flag this with a strong caution tag before running with it as general advice. I think a lot of would-be authors do themselves a disservice by fixating on that first story/world to the point they never get to really practice writing whole books, and the result is most don't ever get off the ground.

Some do, absolutely, and the result can be utterly brilliant. I'd add JK Rowling to your list. However, excluding outliers and speaking to averages, I'd wager that your odds of breaking out are stronger if you spend your time writing whole stories rather than fiddling within a single world for a very long time to extract the perfect story.

Again, unless that is what animates you to write. If it is, then do that, without hesitation.

 

[tinkerdan]

I'm having a bit of trouble wrapping my head around your exact problem.
I sense that you might be saying you have 'a' story in your head and it wants to come out and it won't let anything else out until it's done.

Yet there's some hint that you have this world, universe, or setting that you are stuck in and you can't leave it until you finish.

Either way though; what might work--or might not--would be to either take your character and change the POV. If you have done close third change it to first and play with the story that way for a bit. If you are doing omniscient try going with first or third. Or better yet, if you are focused on a single character try changing characters.

Basically do some of what Brian suggested and write these as if they are a story spinning off of the main story.

I've got a dozen stories I could tell and they might all fit into the same universe; but I'm focused on one because I need to finish it; however I've published two books to it and just need to get the third finished and I'm seriously considering some heavy editing to the first two and some form of re-release.

But this is all something that works for me this way and you obviously need to chose what works for you.

 

[The Bluestocking]

First of all - ain't no shame in having just one storyworld. Some of the world's most popular authors have that - Lee Child, Terry Pratchett, Cassandra Clare, JRR Tolkien et al.

Absolutely true, but I would flag this with a strong caution tag before running with it as general advice. I think a lot of would-be authors do themselves a disservice by fixating on that first story/world to the point they never get to really practice writing whole books, and the result is most don't ever get off the ground.

Some do, absolutely, and the result can be utterly brilliant. I'd add JK Rowling to your list. However, excluding outliers and speaking to averages, I'd wager that your odds of breaking out are stronger if you spend your time writing whole stories rather than fiddling within a single world for a very long time to extract the perfect story.

Again, unless that is what animates you to write. If it is, then do that, without hesitation.

I did not mean it as general advice but as an observation that it is possible to focus on a single storyworld (or even character, in Lee Child's case) and still be able to keep telling engaging stories that won't give you too much of a headache re completion and which are saleable.

And as another discussion I'm in (on Facebook with a number of other writers) has pointed out - sometimes, it really does take the *right* storyworld to get your creative juices flowing. Writing stories based in a storyworld that you personally don't like will run the creative well dry and create resentment and drudgery.

On a personal note - this has worked for me. Once my storyworld came into its own and I found that I love spending time in it, my characters walked in and introduced themselves and away we went with them going on adventures and me writing it all down.

Finally: of course, the sticking point is - as you pointed out - always: "Can you finish your story? Do you have a story you can finish?"

 

[Susan Boulton]

To answer the OP's question, yes, more than once and I don't doubt I will do it again. The first novel I wrote was a monster, 350,000 words plus, I still mess with the mess it is when I feel annoyed that it has never been completely finished, but I know it won't get seen by anyone. That one was the first big "F" it... Followed by my second effort, which I dearly love, and maybe one day might edit for publication. Then came my novel Oracle, and my novel, Hand of Glory and a good half dozen projects that vary in length from a couple of 1000 words to well over 70,000.

The first draft of Oracle was written in 2004. The first draft of Hand of Glory in 2006. The versions that were submitted and picked up for publication, had been changed, but back to the original, chunks removed, chunks added, characters removed, characters added and so forth. They changed as time passed.

What I am trying to say, no one can advise you if it is the right time to say "F" it and abandon your work for good. It is something only you can decide.

 

[Dan Jones]

@anthorn I was in exactly the same position as you almost two years ago. I'd slaved away on a fantasy novel which involved a lot of world building, it had gone through 8 drafts, and after one beta read which came back with some criticism that it was good, but with some fairly fundamental flaws, I simply thought - yes, you've guessed it - "Eff it". And I put it to one side. Not lightly, mind. I tinkered with it to try and make it work, but after another few weeks I thought, "no, I need some fresh headspace."

It was the single most liberating thing I've done as a writer. Since then, I've completed one novel, sold it to a publisher and gotten a traditional deal off the back of it, written almost 3 novellas, successfully submitted two short stories that were published in anthologies and have written another ten short stories besides. I've also started another novel, which I've since dropped because it wasn't working, but that took four months to figure out rather than four years. All that done in two years. I have no doubts that I would never have been this liberated, this free and this prolific had I slaved away under the bloody-minded pretence that I can "fix" my other novel.

Susan is right. Only you can decide when / if it's time to call it a day, but I'm grateful my own experiences.

This isn't to say that you can't fix your own magnum opus, but my advice would be to at least take a break. Either take a break from writing completely, or write something new, even if it's just a 5K short. You might amaze yourself with how and where you apply your improved writing chops.

 

[NbDawn]

Oh I wish that was possible. Unfortunately my mind does not work like that. My mind is literally forcing me to complete this first. I just can't think of other projects

Try doing some writing exercises. This could trigger some ideas. Google sci-fi or fantasy writing exercises to find some for free. Or purchase a writing exercise book from Amazon. Even if they don't trigger any ideas, at least you will be getting some writing practice in.

 

[Vaz]

Yep been there, have a binned epic Fantasy wip to prove it.

I'd echo what most others have said here, step back and take a breather for a couple of weeks and then come at your story with fresh eyes.

Also, something that a member said to me here a while back has always been helpful: "Get to the truth, the heart of the story you're trying to tell and you won't go wrong."

Hang in there, you'll get through this pain in the ar*e patch.

v