1. Vaughan Quincey

    Vaughan Quincey Active Member

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    Waiting to be 'better' before attacking a project

    Discussion in 'Genre Discussions' started by Vaughan Quincey, Dec 19, 2021.

    I've been working on a novel for longer than ten years. During this time I obviously researched about topics I wasn't familiar with. At some point I stumbled upon certain historical facts I feel quite passionate about.
    It seemed only natural I began a sort of spin off from the main novel. Didn't took long before the characters on the spin off not only developed into quite interesting ones, they even took over the main novel, playing pivotal roles on the plot. Now the main novel can't be understood without those characters.

    Now this 'spin off' novel, I came to understand myself as 'the novel I'll write when I become a better writer'. You know, the sort of project you just need to be everything and more. I need this novel to shine, partly because I feel so strongly about the background is set in, the themes I write about. So I feel a personal responsibility attached to the quality of my writing here.

    The trouble is, every time I go back and read what I wrote on the 'spin off', I realise not only how good it is, how easily words flow, and how accurately I describe that universe, but also I can feel in my bones how much this 'spin off' means to me. I wrote it with my own blood, so to speak.

    Now, in spite of knowing it won't be perfect, the temptation is becoming way too great to be resisted.- Just go ahead and work seriously on the book, at least until the first draft.
    To complicate matters further, I'm aware I might be using this novel to just avoid the 'big, important one', which I had planned as my 'serious' first book. I fear the 'spin off' getting out of control just like the 'big one' and turning again into a decade long project I won't finish.

    I've heard about other writers just following their instinct, as well as others feeling nothing but relief because 'they waited'. I was wondering how is your experience and (perhaps...) if you'd like to provide some advice here.
     
  2. evild4ve

    evild4ve Critique is stranger than fiction Supporter Contributor

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    - Now this 'spin off' novel, I came to understand myself as 'the novel I'll write when I become a better writer'.
    - I'm aware I might be using this novel to just avoid the 'big, important one',


    I thought the first of these seemed more like displacement language than the second.
    And the career planning seems like it should be a lower priority than the writing itself. It's surely best for the OP to open with the story whose concept they feel is stronger, and with the story that has benefited from the practice of writing another story before it.

    Which isn't to say the ten years was just a dry-run, but it strikes me that if the spin-off is fresher, rawer, and shorter it's more likely to be appreciated - and if the big/main novel is more author-personal (as a normal result of the length of time spent on it) then readers might benefit from having read the spin-off first. Another thing is that the spin-off characters might belong in the spin-off and it might be easier to tell if the two stories should be separated back out again once the spin-off is complete. Or closer to it.

    It might be useful to know more about the OP's creative process for both works-in-progress. How many drafts have there been? How many words?

    My experience has been a different way round from this and I'm not sure it maps across usefully. I've had the inconvenience of finding out once I've got there that the third story in a trilogy is a more accessible starting point than the first - but I plan to just go back and re-write the first story, and it's ring-composed so changing the order doesn't matter, and a draft for me is 3-6 months with the overall undertaking being 2-3 years.
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2021
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  3. Idiosyncratic

    Idiosyncratic Active Member

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    I'm in agreement, dive into the fresh novel, and use it as an opportunity to break the cycle. While it's true that there is no right way to write a novel, spending over 10 years on a single project and still not being near finished does suggest you've picked up some counterproductive mindsets or writing habits (we all have them). Use this fresh novel as a chance to step back and try new approaches and figure out where the kinks in your process are with a fresh new idea. Additionally, writing a second novel is probably the single best way to improve your writing skills. You can learn from rewriting a single novel, but with a new novel, you'll have a chance to explore different techniques, plot elements, emotions, styles, etc. Writing 100% new scenes will teach you more about crafting scenes than rewriting mostly the same ones, for example.

    As to feeling like you need to 'wait to become a better writer to write this novel', I can lend my own perspective. I have put off novels because I didn't feel ready to write them, but, I knew exactly why I wasn't ready. Once I wanted to write a novel with a smaller scale and focused central plot before leaping into a sprawling multi-book epic. Right now I'm putting off a novel because it's going to be a very character-driven novel with an almost literary tone, and up until this point I've only written genre fiction with a commercial tone, and haven't even read much literary fiction. This doesn't sound to be the case for you. You've started writing on it and it's calling you. It's flowing, the writing's working, the setting and characters are working, it's less complicated than the project you're already writing. It sounds like you're plenty ready for this novel, and it's the fear of it not turning out right that's stopping you. Don't let fear stop you, and remember, you can always, always go back and edit. You can always rewrite. You can even take a break and write a third book and come back and rewrite.

    Best of Luck!
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2021
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  4. ABeaujolais

    ABeaujolais Member

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    If it's something that gives you a drive for success, waiting until you're better before you step up is a mistake, in my experience. Stepping up before you feel completely comfortable is stretching the envelope and dipping your toe in the water at a higher level. Quite frankly, if you wait until you feel ready you might not ever make a plunge into the molten lava.

    When I was a youth sports coach, I considered my main job as helping players get ready to play at a higher level. I saw many players who wanted to play at a higher level, but they wouldn't try out because they weren't "ready." I also saw many players who were scared as heck but went for it anyway, and ended up quickly rising through that next level into the next higher level. The kids who waited because they weren't ready stayed where they were and eventually got bored.

    I have a good friend who left a lucrative career to start a business, but after 20 years of over-preparing, he still isn't "ready" to go to market. I tried to encourage him to move on it, which in my opinion was the only way for him to get ready for what he eventually wanted. I've seen many people try to start businesses who literally planned the business to death. By the time they were "ready," time had passed them by and the ideas were obsolete.

    I have a child who sent an audition tape to a well known music college to apply for admission. She got an invitation to try out for the President's Scholarship, which was a full ride and membership in one of the best choirs in the world. When the time came to travel to the university for the tryout, she decided she couldn't go because she wasn't "ready." I almost physically threw her into the car, but knew that wouldn't help. A good friend of hers, not nearly as talented in my opinion, attended that university and made the choir. My daughter lives withy regret to this day.

    Personally, I wanted to be a rock star when I was younger, and I practiced hours every day because I wanted to be great when I was "ready." By the time I was ready, and joined a band 20 years later, I was tool old for Spandex. People I knew when I was young didn't wait and realized success years before I even dipped my toe into the water. That's a regret I live with.

    There are many successful series that don't start with the chronological first installment so that's not an obstacle.

    I bet I'm telling you what a coach or mentor would tell you. Don't sell yourself short. You won't know if you're ready until you jump in. If you're so afraid to jump in because don't feel you're ready, it might be time to find an endeavor you're more passionate about.
     
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  5. Vaughan Quincey

    Vaughan Quincey Active Member

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    We agree on this, however I see it more as having enough experience on a practical sense, experience as a writer, rather than the 'making a name for yourself' aspect of the 'career'. Had I been thinking of that, I'd have never doubted that the spin off was the best choice, since to me it reads like 'storytelling'. You never know until the beta readers confirm, but I suspect it's the sort of project that rewards casual readers, which is no small feat in itself. (Had no idea I could do this sort of thing though...)

    Rules don't really apply on this particular case (the 'main novel'). We are talking here of (at least) half million words, not counting the notes throughout the 10 plus years. Three major revisions, and there are chapters I've (re)written twenty times (five of these could perfectly make it to the final version, it's up to me to pick up the 'chosen one'...)
    It was a lot of work. A lot, and also exhausting at times. So exhausting, I found myself often trying to give up on writing.

    I've made a post on another thread on how I approach the work on novels on an almost opposite way to 'Stories' (or rather short stories). I can deal with a short story in a couple of months (or even weeks, granted I'm allowed to write nonstop at least 8-10 hours everyday).

    The spin off is fine though - Enough material for a short novel's half, give or take. Plot is clear and fine as it is, though it could benefit from a couple of twists. Nothing I can't handle. Could get a quite decent first draft in 6 months.

    I won't deny that. I have this habit of wondering if I could improve a sentence, even a single word, or add more subtext, rewrite the whole thing again and again, and so on ... It has reached the point, you know, that a great deal of 'raw material' could be recycled for other projects.

    Funny that you mention that, because reading the spin off I'm having the very opposite feeling - That I've 'learned' a lot of 'storytelling' by working on the first novel. The spin off surprised me because apparently I'm using all sorts of storyteller 'tricks' without even being aware myself that I could 'do those' (if that makes sense).

    Oh, I know. You can always rewrite, and re-record (thinking of Taylor Swift here), but you are right, there is no reason why I should stop now, after seeing for myself the potential of this spin off. Also, it's a great opportunity to improve my own writing habits, since the motivation is there already.
    For what is worth, I used to appreciate writers who were subtle and 'literary', for the sheer beauty of their works and the awe I experienced when reading them. I think many of us share this.
    A few years later, as a writer myself, I realise what's fun and what's awe inspiring not always come together. Both are fine though. I'll try to let things take its natural course.
    Thank you.
     

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