If you've rewritten every chapter twenty times, and you've given up your other hobbies, I find myself wondering if you might be _too_ focused on this novel. I'm not saying give up the novel. And I'm not saying that you don't need to work hard on a novel. But I wonder if perhaps you're so mired in the specific words of this specific novel that you may be unable to judge it with anything like a fresh eye. Do you ever take breaks from it to write other entirely unrelated things - short stories not involving your novel's characters, nonfiction, blog posts, something? It seems possible that putting it away for month, maybe two or three, and writing other things, and _reading_ lots of different kinds of books, and maybe visiting your other interests, might let you return to it better equipped to do the next round of revisions. Sometimes when you're inside something you just can't see it. ChickenFreak
Edits can harm your work. While I support re-editing... alot of times.... it can sometimes really harm your work. Here's an example. Go to the fantasy section and look for Demonbound. Read it. I'm told it has a lot of power in it. Amazingly, it's a first draft. I bet if I edited it, it would suck. On the other hand, my released-on-another-forum-but-not-on-here chapters one and two(Demonbound was a prologue) were re-written frantically, many, many times. Both are equally good.
Maybe you're just a bad editor? I read your story, and, long story short, it needs editing. Both the minor type (punctuation, etc.), and the major type (cliche "rally the troops" scene.) It's been said elsewhere, but is worth repeating: writing is rewriting and rewriting. In my experience, the first images to enter my mind as I write are the cliche ones -- parts from my favorite movies, TV shows, books, etc. I think it is probably the same for the majority of writers.
I understand why you feel frustrated. You feel like you've done everything you can, and when that isn't enough, you have no idea how you can make your manuscript better. Do you ever read your old work, and think, "How could I ever write that? The flaws are so obvious!" If so, that means you're still growing. If you work on other stuff, then maybe in a year, it'll be obvious to you how you can improve your current work.
I do write other things, otherwise I wouldn't have a short story right now that I am submitting to places. Also, my novel is 35 chapters and on average, I spend a day rewriting each chapter, so basically, when I go back to reading chapter 1 again, its almost always been a whole month since I last read it. Although it does go quicker now that I felt like it was closer to completion. I've re-read ten chapters in a day before and corrected only minor things. But I'm probably not going to change the fact that I spend a significant amount of time writing every day. This is my dream. If I want it to happen, I have to put the work into it. >_< Yes, exactly. And I do think all that is true. I don't think a writer is ever done improving.
I feel bad since I just responded to you in another thread, and I know people think writing is all subjective and everyone has their own process, etc. But it's simply bad advice to suggest to a writer that editing is a negative thing. First off, editing shouldn't really change much in a manuscript, so I think 'revision' is the term you're looking for. And secondly, revision and editing--not simply writing a first draft--is what separates the amateur writer from the pro. If one wants to be a professional writer, they'll HAVE to learn to edit and revise. Only golden gooses poop out anything worthwhile the first time, and even then it's still just an egg. I'll check out your chapter, though, and I can guarantee you (like literally guarantee if you want to pay for my services) that I can make the manuscripts better with editing (or with revising, were it my piece to revise). Also, basing the quality of work on the opinions of a public writing forum filled with mostly amateur writers (not an insult, a reality, as I am as well) is a bit foolhardy.
