[CrastersBabies]

I'm new here. I really enjoy reading the threads on this board. So a hello to you all.

I finished a first draft to a novel about a month ago (medieval fantasy). And I'm happy with the first draft. It's not bad, but it's not perfect. Lots of revision on the horizon.

So, those of you who have written novels (maybe more than one!) how do you deal with the "oh my GOD, I'm freaking out" moments?

Right now, I feel a bit overwhelmed in my revision. I've made my first run, filling in plot holes and correcting continuity/time issues. Tweaking grammar where it really gets nasty.

Sometimes I think, "wow, I really nailed that chapter" and other times I think, "holy cow, what in the world have you done? This is rubbish."

And, the novel suffers from erratic quality (in that the last half is far better than the first). I found my stride midway through. It happens.

But, I go through these highs and lows of being super giddy to being completely doubtful that I will ever find an audience, that someone will give a milkmaid's poot about any of it.

The feelings come and go.

Maybe this happens to a lot of folks?

If it has happened to you, I'd love to hear from you. Or, if it HASN'T happened, maybe you have some magic you can held me.

My head hurts. Make the voices stop. =D

[EMMAXIS]

I'm new here. I really enjoy reading the threads on this board. So a hello to you all.

I finished a first draft to a novel about a month ago (medieval fantasy). And I'm happy with the first draft. It's not bad, but it's not perfect. Lots of revision on the horizon.

So, those of you who have written novels (maybe more than one!) how do you deal with the "oh my GOD, I'm freaking out" moments?

Right now, I feel a bit overwhelmed in my revision. I've made my first run, filling in plot holes and correcting continuity/time issues. Tweaking grammar where it really gets nasty.

Sometimes I think, "wow, I really nailed that chapter" and other times I think, "holy cow, what in the world have you done? This is rubbish."

And, the novel suffers from erratic quality (in that the last half is far better than the first). I found my stride midway through. It happens.

But, I go through these highs and lows of being super giddy to being completely doubtful that I will ever find an audience, that someone will give a milkmaid's poot about any of it.

The feelings come and go.

Maybe this happens to a lot of folks?

If it has happened to you, I'd love to hear from you. Or, if it HASN'T happened, maybe you have some magic you can held me.

My head hurts. Make the voices stop. =D



I don't know about other people but it has happened to me and, after finishing my third book in May, I am still freaking out. It makes a lot of sense that you and anyone else would be freaking out, when you consider the thousands of hours of work that's put into writing a book without ever knowing whether there'll be any payoff (or whether anyone will even care). My blog, The Writer's Disease, deals a lot with this sort of thing. The emotion I most frequently get, and I am sure you can relate, is desperation. I feel like I have to do something all the time. My only recommendation is The Writer's Book of Hope by Ralph Keyes, not so much a how-to write well but more a therapeutic guide for people suffering writer's angst. People who don't write for a living really don't understand this angst.

The other thing I realize is that the only way anyone can keep on writing without calling it quits is to write for the love of writing. It is a paradox, because writing is a form of communication, hence the need for a listener. So writing just to write is hard, and something I am teaching myself now. But if you can get through that mental block, if you can rise above the ego (which is the real challenge) then success if inevitable.

Nick

[CrastersBabies]

Nick,

Thank you for taking the time to post! It's interesting to imagine me going through a sort of writer's angst. I browsed through your blog a bit and will have to delve in deeper.

I will also check out Keyes too. Thank you for the suggestions!

(BTW, I have used the Flash Fiction book in teaching creative writing. I think my favorite story from the collection was about a man on a horse trying to get across the river. Sorry, I cannot recall the name. I'll have to dig the book out.)

[MrBF1V3]

Yeah, I'm there a lot. Depending on what I'm reading, my mood, the weather on Saturn, I'm either a genius or a total idiot, sometimes both.

I usually try to give myself a few weeks between first draft and first edit, most of the time I fail. I want so bad to get it done, or at least better. The feeling of desperation has lessened somewhat because I've edited at least three of my own novels, and I have an idea of how long it should take. Patience is a harsh mistress, but well worth it in the end.

EMMAXIS is right, you have to write for yourself. If you wonder if you'll have an audience, consider ways to make the story better. What would blow you away?

B5

[CrastersBabies]

MrB you hit the nail on the head for me. I hate my story being in such poor condition at present. I can see the greatness it WANTS to be and maybe it's a mom-complex I have going right now. I need my baby to shine!

(stage mom exits)

May I ask, MrB, how long your revisions took? I'm sure they're all different (depending on the book), but I'm curious. I really am going into this blindly right now. If I had to estimate, I'd say a few months at LEAST. 6 maybe.

[tmso]

I finished my novel last November during NaNoWriMo. I am currently on my fourth re-write/revision. I think after this one, it will be ready to put up on Critters for another round of revision (hopefully, not too much). That should put me at the end of this year. Then, since I pretty much have already decided to self-pub, I will be hunting around for a copy editor, THEN once I get it back from them, I will self pub. I'm giving myself a personal deadline of June 2012.

At least, that's how the fantasy plays out in my head. :o

[kmtolan]

You could consider the layered approach.

First draft is crap, is supposed to be crap, and you don't care.

Second revision still reads like crap, but now its organized crap resembling a plot and sub plots

Third revision is all about bringing your characters and descriptions to life now you've got a semblance of plot to work with. Oh, it still doesn't read great.

Fourth revision is where you make it read great - grammar, sentence construction, the boring but oh-so-essential stuff.

Now get a bunch of folks who owe you NOTHING and have them read it. A reading group of peers is perfect for this - either online or around your community. Try and stay away from the cattle-car critique sites.

Now submit the damn thing with a reasonable query letter, then march on.

One approach among many.

Kerry

[EMMAXIS]

Nick,

Thank you for taking the time to post! It's interesting to imagine me going through a sort of writer's angst. I browsed through your blog a bit and will have to delve in deeper.

I will also check out Keyes too. Thank you for the suggestions!

(BTW, I have used the Flash Fiction book in teaching creative writing. I think my favorite story from the collection was about a man on a horse trying to get across the river. Sorry, I cannot recall the name. I'll have to dig the book out.)


I do remember that story. There are some fantastic stories in there. My favorite involved a couple who had lost their children at a parade, only to realize their children had grown up. It was about how life passes you by and it had the most amazing transition into death ... it gave me goosebumps.

[CrastersBabies]

You could consider the layered approach.

First draft is crap, is supposed to be crap, and you don't care.

Second revision still reads like crap, but now its organized crap resembling a plot and sub plots

Third revision is all about bringing your characters and descriptions to life now you've got a semblance of plot to work with. Oh, it still doesn't read great.

Fourth revision is where you make it read great - grammar, sentence construction, the boring but oh-so-essential stuff.

Now get a bunch of folks who owe you NOTHING and have them read it. A reading group of peers is perfect for this - either online or around your community. Try and stay away from the cattle-car critique sites.

Now submit the damn thing with a reasonable query letter, then march on.

One approach among many.

Kerry

Kerry hello!

Yep, I'm perfectly content with having a terrible first draft. I work on momentum. But, I guess some of it is just kind of overwhelming me. I do have a revision plan, but having changed a big plot point 3/4 of the way through, I'm cleaning up some residual stuff.

Also, I keep a "loose ends" file where I write things that I need to add or change and I'm working my way through that stuff.

My plan will certainly be more than 3-4 passes at this point. I tend to break it down even more. I think I just feel a bit wayward right now, even with a "plan" in place. It's a lot. A lot more than I thought to bite off.

Time to chew! :)

[MrBF1V3]

May I ask, MrB, how long your revisions took? I'm sure they're all different (depending on the book), but I'm curious. I really am going into this blindly right now. If I had to estimate, I'd say a few months at LEAST. 6 maybe.

I'd say 6 to 12 months, depending on the size of the document and what you're doing.
In my first draft my focus is the story--move it along, get it all together. I don't think it's crap, I think it's rough, and often sketchy. It's the version you tell your kids when you want them to go to sleep.

Starting on the second draft I give myself permission to take as much time as I need to add the details to make the story good. Sometimes a single first draft paragraph can turn into a next draft chapter especially if I just threw something in that really needs context. Sometimes the story changes and I have to revise through a whole story thread to keep it consistent. I don't know if I could write as well without a computer, many times my editing is non-linear.

Then I often need at least three more revisions to get all the grammar/speling errors out of the way.

B5