Writing a novel sux! Little help?

I've been working on this thing for a couple/few years. Recently took a needed break and came back to it with fresh eyes. Result? Holy crap! A goodly number of these 300 pages are wrong, wrong, wrong! Needs a page-one re-do. So I sat down two days ago to have at it again. For the last time. The final pass. It's now or never that I make this thing work or else put it in the bottom drawer for eternity. Meanwhile, the wife says, "Your last shot? You got that right. Either finish it or get off the pot and get a real job."

Any other writers of books out there who are going through or have gone through a similar situation? I'm not looking for mindless, "Come on, lad, you can do it!" affirmations. How about someone saying, "It damn near killed me but I pulled and off and it was worth it, and you know what the key is? Sitting down at your desk every day and trying, at least trying, to write. Facing the anxiety of the blank page. The effort is everything." Something like that. Thank you.

Thank you.

Have you considered getting an editor? Having someone else slog through your writing often does wonders.

I appreciate your words. As a working journalist for a couple decades, I have of course worked with magazine and newspaper editors. I'm beginning to sense that my flaw with the novel was to keep it to myself for too long-- to not let anyone in because I had grandiose notions of presenting a full, complete and perfect product to the world. But as someone who works with writers told me recently, "This may come as a surprise to you, but novelists don't work in isolation."

Thanks, SteppingRazor.

She started it as her thesis for her Masters degree. After approximately 9 revisions, during which Barbara Kingsolver awarded her the Bellwether Prize in 2006, it has finally been "put to print".

From what I gather, she writes at the same time every day. She has stared at the blank page through many writing sessions.

I, on the other hand (I write short stories, novels, poems, etc. but never published except back in high school), write when the creative juices flow.

Here are some tips for writer's anxiety:
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/writing_anxiety.html

Hope it helps.

I think that's going to be really helpful!

She's worked on things for years and at the end, they're nothing like they were at the outset. The key is generally the AIC method (ass-in-chair). Sit your ass down and just do it. Probably 90% of with will be utter shit, but just write something. It doesn't even have to have relevance to the story, and you may pull a good line out of somewhere doing it.

And you call yourself a writer? Sheesh!! :D

Take heart. I would kill to have written 300 pages, even if they totally suct. I write a sentence and it sux, so I just give up.

You've done well. Take a few deep breaths, and advice from someone other than me.

we met once a month to read and critique each other's work. everyone there was supportive when they could be and critical when they needed to be, and it was really very beneficial to me. i got loads of ideas and direction for my writing that a month of staring at the words for hours at a time on my own couldn't provide.

maybe you could check around at local bookstores, the library, or coffee shops for something like that. could be that a fresh perspective on your work could get your juices flowing again.

good luck!

Uh, you're not just trying to up the sale of coffee products are you?

I would think that if you didn't really enjoy it, regardless of what others think of your work, you shouldn't even bother with it. Just my 2 cents worth.

but I'm going to jump in here anyway. :)

I was going to post a question of my own about publishing + philanthropy, then I saw your post.

This probably isn't very helpful, but I'll share anyway...just in case, as we never know what serves as inspiration or an "aha" moment.

One year ago I was contracted to edit a novel. It was my first fiction project - I have worked with various non-fiction books over the years, but fiction was a completely different story. I was taken enough with the basic outline of the novel to agree to edit it. Upon really getting into the research phase (research is really my first love), I saw tremendous potential with the very basic outline of the novel with which I was initially presented. Long story short, I ended up ghostwriting this 400-page novel, taking it to a completely new level.

What I want to share is that I ended up including very, very personal experiences as I took on the role of the main character. When I agreed to do this project, I had no idea I was going to be faced with the very sudden and unexpected death of my father within one month, and a steady procession of challenging events to follow throughout this entire year.

I kept trying to back out of the project, but the client would hear nothing of it. It ended up being a VERY cathartic project as I poured the proverbial heart and soul into the writing of this novel.

If you can perhaps pour yourself...your authentic heart of hearts...into it in some way (if you haven't already, that is), that would be my first bit of advice. If there is a character or message that you live and breathe...to me, that is a must.

I just finished the manuscript in November, and the "author" went to a writer's conference literally the day I finished and hit "send," transferring the final copy to her. If you've ever been to these writer's conferences, not much is to be expected as far as networking with agents and such. It's a learning process but concrete leads are a rarity.

I was delighted when she called the very next morning, after having met with a reputable agent and literary critic, to find they both requested to see the FULL MANUSCRIPT, based upon the synopsis and first three chapters. While that is a huge accomplishment, the publishing industry has become so darn brutal that I'm trying to come up with unusual marketing campaigns, even before any agents may make an offer of representation.

Please feel free to PM me if you are looking for a like-minded editor, as that is certainly key. We may not be of like mind, but...hey...we are both here at DU.

My sincere best wishes to you. I appreciate the Herculean task you are facing.


:hi:

edit to include the fact that I'm jumping in 'cause you're a Steelers fan!

..I appreciate your sharing your experience. I related to it quite a bit, down to the fact that my own father has passed away in the course of my writing this book. I'll ponder further all that you've said. I really appreciate your words.

Go Steelers. They're underdogs tomorrow, banged-up and bruised as they are. But I think they're going to defy expectations and win.

Hey, I think we writers should interact more, eh? Marketing plans and all...bouncing off like minds.

Again, best of luck to you!

:toast:

P.S. And I'm very sorry for your loss. Truly.

Westegg, you have the key: The only way to write and finish a novel is to sit down at your desk, every single day. Even if you can only write one page, you've written one page, instead of obsessing and worrying and thinking you can't do it. One page a day will get you a 100,000 word novel at the end of the year. Editing is a bitch -- I hate it. At the same time, having someone else look at your work might add perspective, too, and they don't have to be a professional. Have you asked your wife to read your book yet? I realize it's hard to show your work to anyone else, but you won't be able to show it to an editor or an agent till you take that risk. (My husband reads my stuff, BTW. I also belong to a critique group, and have a plotting partner I talk to online and over the phone.)

I'm finishing the editing on my second single title contemporary romance. I will persist until I am printed, and I'll start another book next week as well. There is no other alternative. There is all kinds of anxiety on that blank page. There's also exhilaration when things are going well, and the sense of accomplishment when you finally type the words "The End" that nothing else in life can match. Finishing the book drains me and I am exhausted, but it is WORTH IT. You can do this.

I don't know if there is a chapter in your area, but believe it or not, there are writers from other genres active in Romance Writers of America chapters around the country, and RWA may be able to offer the extra "push" you might need. RWA also teaches writers to become authors with workshops, classes, speakers and good old fashioned encouragement. http://www.rwanational.org

Good luck,
Julie

...and I appreciate the kick in the pants that I really needed. I know. You're right. I have the key. Stop the worrying, the second-guessing, and start the writing. And keep it going. I know, I know. It's tough, though. But okay, so what? Good things in life are often tough to achieve. And it's within me to make it happen. Your attitude, Julie, is first rate, as is your approach to writing. I'm going to try hard to be more like you from here on out.

Writing is like breathing to me. I have to do it. The only way I'm going to get what I want is to keep doing it. Another author told me recently that the first million words are practice.

I heard a speaker today at my RWA chapter meeting tell the group that what we think about and confess openly will be our reality. I've met a lot of successful writers in my life. The ones who are truthful write, write, write, but they also have a healthy dose of persistence and determination. The latter two will create your success, along with more than a little luck.

The best way to create luck is to be ready when it happens.

IMHO, YMMV,
Julie

p.s. The speaker I heard this afternoon is Mary Buckham. http://www.marybuckham.com She has workshops and online classes. They may help, or not. It's a suggestion. ;-)

since my freshman year of high school (I am now 26). I wrote one draft and then put it aside when I went to college. Then I came back to it in 2002, and realized the whole damn thing had to be rewritten. So I did, and I finished in 2005. And I've been tweaking, tweaking, tweaking it since then. Last year, I submitted it to about 22 agents. Alas, no luck.

Then I joined a writing association (Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association), and I met some wonderful people who invited me to join their writers' group. They've been very helpful, supportive and encouraging. We're about halfway through my novel right now (we meet twice a month and I give them a chapter each meeting), and should be through it by the end of July. Then I plan to try one more round of agents, and if they don't bite, screw 'em, I'm going to self publish.

Hee hee. After that long-winded tale - my suggestion to you would be to join a writer's association, or try to find a writer's group (if you haven't already done these two things). Networking and spending time with other writers has been incredibly helpful.

And I am very familiar with the feeling of writing something I thought was absolutely brilliant, and then coming back to it later and wondering what the hell I was thinking. :D

I used a partial novel as my Masters Thesis. Then put ut away in a drwaer and forgot about it.

I pulled it out a couple of months ago and began a total rewrite, changed a major part of the storyline, etc.

I am up to about 180 pages and stopped.

So I gave a copy to the 2 DU'ers I trust most with it and they have read it and are offering suggestions and advice. One of them is a former editor and will be brutally honest with the red pen. Hopefully this gives me another kick-start.

:hi:

RL

Or is it more like Moby Dick as told by Saki?

:P

make changes. trust me, I worked for an editor and they can make miracles out of mush.

mush to miracle. Bring it on, baby! :bounce:

Do it!

The Bradbury one is memorable for this essential quote: "Who are your friends? Do they believe in you? If not, you have no friends. Go find some." That's a particularly relevant sentiment for you right now.

"Suddenly, a shot rang out!"

Or "Suddenly he was driven over by a truck!"

I know every time I've stopped writing and come back to it, I took one look and said, "What the FUCK was I thinking? This needs to be fixed... and this... and this..."

I think you need to find a balance between planning as much ahead of time as you can without overdoing the planning and making the book end up too structured and stilted. That way you can use the plan to help you plow through without running out of steam and finish.

Then once its finished you can look back and say, "What the FUCK was I thinking? This needs to be fixed... and this... and this..." :P

I just finished my rough draft, but as I was going over it, I realized the first 1/3 of it (at least) needs serious retooling.

I'm struggling to get back to work on it, but I'm taking a well-deserved break from it right now.