When do you scrap it all? When do you look at a manuscript and think, "No way in hell"? I have a manuscript like that right now. The premise of the story is good, I love the characters, but there's SOMETHING in it that's just not ringing true to my "voice" and it's drivin' me NUTS.
My goal is to revise a chapter a day. Considering the revisions this book needs, that's a lot of writing. I won't be a total idiot - it could end up being a chapter per two days, and even at that, we're talking two weeks to get it done. The first three chapters have been revised so many times, I shudder to think of each chapter taking as long as those three did.
Here's the problem: I have two people wanting to see the work. One's an agent, one's an editor. And since it IS a good story and it DOES have good characters, and since people DO want to read it, I can't find myself able to walk away from it. So I guess I oughtta stop bitchin' about it and get the revisions done. I mean, I won't really know how good it is until it's finished, right?
Argh.
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6 comments:
I feel your pain!!! Sometimes I think we get so close to an ms that we can't see it for what it is. We think it's total crap when it's actually way better than that. I'm at the same stage you are (less the agent/editor waiting to see it). Revising a chapter a day sounds like a doable goal :-)
Better get the revisions done before too much time passes. Agents and Editors tend to forget and move on.
For what it is worth, unless there are dire reasons, never "scrap" a a written creation. It is part of you. You gave it birth and your raised it from infancy. You'll never know when such a work might be quite valuable, to you or someone else, merely because you wrote it.
Tess, I thought it was pretty doable, too.
Hmm, anonymous, you're right. Now you have me curious as to who you are! I didn't say WHEN they requested it - it could be something that just happened (grin)
Steve, you're right, as usual. I don't mean to totally toss it, though. More like stop devoting so much time to the revisions (to be honest though - I haven't put THAT much time in it anyway. ~sigh~)
Bethany, you're on! We need to trade email addresses so we can keep up with each other!
You guys are the BEST! I'm so glad I'm blogging again. The comments I get here make me feel ... crap, I don't know - connected or something else decidedly corny. You all know how lonely writing can be...
Monday, September 05, 2005
Yes, I'm still breathing...
Deidre Knight wanted my stuff and I'm too much a loser to get it done and to her. And now the KOD thing is coming up and all I feel is panic, and Evan Fogelman is going to be there!!!
Ah yes, that post. Wow, you do keep track! Actually, though, there's someone else that requested it just a week or so! *panic face*
And what a wicked reminder that the KOD Retreat for this past weekend got canceled because of Rita. And then we didn't get a drop of rain! Rah!
Sure wish you'd sign your comments so I don't have to refer to you as "anonymous"! :)
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