Wednesday 15 January 2014

Back to WIP - or not??



New year – New Aspirations!
 At least that’s what it’s meant to be. But maybe the aspirations are not so new…  It’s been quite a while since I worked on my WIP and whilst I did have every intention of continuing with it, I now feel like starting a new project! I guess it’s the New Year thing – new broom and all that!
The thing is my WIP is 60000 words done so it seems a shame to abandon it. But I won’t shelve it forever. I think I’ll just get going on something else and keep it in the background. I will, in any case, have to sit and re-read it all anyway - just to remind myself of where I was at. So maybe when I’ve done that I’ll feel re-invigorated and excited by it again!!
Perhaps the solution is to try a few short stories and then see how I feel… (sighs and pulls face…)

 But then again – some brilliant ideas are calling out to me. They just don’t want to wait on the backburner and I worry that I will forget or lose the main idea if I prevaricate. I have made notes but that’s not the same as starting a new project fired up with the enthusiasm and excitement which will carry me through the first chapters.
I know many people say they start a work with great hope and then part way through go stale and abandon it, especially if the writing gets tough or the plot starts going nowhere. But I must say I am a finisher and rarely give up on a work even when it gets hard. There is satisfaction in just completing and often the work is better for struggling through some hard parts.
So, maybe I will get back to my original work, after all…
Are you a 'completer/finisher' of one work or do you have more than one project on the go at a time?

5 comments:

  1. Seems such a shame to leave a 60,00 word WIP. Perhaps time away will give you a new perspective on where to take the story?

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  2. I always have more than one thing going on. I even read multiple books at the same time (at different times of the day– I don't read a page from one book and then a page from another immediately afterwards).

    Love,
    Janie

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  3. It IS a shame to let a 60k WIP be condemned to the shelf. I did it with a 55k WIP once, though. Not because I lost interest so much as because I knew it had some insurmountable problems. And part of the plot line was so similar to my last book, I caught myself typing the wrong character's name in parts. THAT was telling!

    In that case, I put it aside to work on a Shiny New Thing that eventually turned into my best writing deal ever. At one point I read through that old WIP to see if it was salvageable and decided it wasn't. Not without a change in plot, POV, and possibly target audience.

    So I guess you need to ask yourself, why did I put this project aside? Is there something to come back to -- or is my subconscious leading me somewhere else?

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  4. I write whatever my heart tells me to write. Whatever I have to lay aside is never wasted. Most of the time, I go back to it with all kinds of new ideas later. If I really miss it after starting something new, then I know I need to return to it as soon as I can. However, like you, I love to complete every task if possible. It's just that sometimes the first exciting thoughts about a new project won't leave me in peace and I can't resist plunging in. I think I work best if I trust my instincts. Good luck with making your choice.

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  5. These are tough decisions. I've had a few projects going on, but I don't always publish them.

    Maybe you can start a new idea, print out your book, or put it as a mobi/e-pub to read on a kindle or something so you're not completely abandoning it? Just a thought.

    Good luck with old and new writing endeavors.

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