I have taken a hiatus from any serious writing, partly from my own volition and partly because the world just doesn't stop and wait for anybody. I now want to write again so badly I can taste it. This afternoon the spiral notebook is coming out, the laptop is opening, and hopefully the words flow like booze on prom night. Only problem is, I don't know if I want to revisit my "completed" manuscript or dive back into my new one...
Do you have a new story already in mind? In most cases I would much rather write new than edit 'old' but I force myself to edit old and then reward myself by writing new. Don't know if that makes any sense, but it's what I do, lol. Congrats on getting back to it.
I have a feeling you have the next HP Lovecraft growing inside you. It's going to erupt from your chest whether you want it to or not.
I guess the question is: what will give you the most mileage from your current renewed enthusiasm? Will be best be used to polish your finished project, or will it best used to propel you further into your new one?
As much as I adore writing (seriously, there are no words for my love for it, which is rather ironic), I do wish I could take a quick break from writing - a week, even. So a few months ago I went on holiday to France, hoping to have a good three weeks away from writing. I managed it...for a day and a half. It was shocking. I started to get itchiness in my fingers. Ideas in my head weren't just simmering: they were boiling up and out of the pan. My point: enjoy every second you're away from writing, just as much as you enjoy every second of writing. After all, you're not going to have a long time away from your baby.
Well, that was disappointing. I sat down with my manuscript, ready to revise and prepare again for another agent search. Instead, I realized I was looking at 85000 words of pure and utter shit. It is extremely difficult for somebody who is adept at articulating compelling verbal arguments and telling stories to not be able to transfer that ability to written word. I guess that is why not everybody is an author.
I do too, over and over. Each time I change less and less. I'll write ahead then go back and re-read from the beginning, or a chapter back then write on ahead and do it again.
I try to do the same. I thought I had a pretty good story written. Then I became heavily influenced by the "can't do this," the shouldn't do this," and "what is marketables." I went and butchered a manuscript that I liked for the sake of what I thought others want and ended up with a beast so awful Dr Moreau would cringe from it
While that's certainly a tragic situation (and one a lot of us have been in I'm sure - I know I have) it's not irreparable. What I did (though this may not be helpful for you) was work on a new one, rebuilding my confidence, and devoted at least a half hour of writing time every day to 'fixing' the one I had misguidedly trashed. It worked, or is working anyway. Still have a ways to go on it, but I'm at least happy with it again. Best of luck - whatever you decide.
