Progress
I’ve got a few major writing projects under my belt now and am 30,000 words into a manuscript I really intend to finish. Parts of it are good, like better than anything I’ve ever written. And parts of it are very scary.
Sometimes I re-read what I’ve written and see the mistakes I made in my earlier projects. I slap my head and say, “Did you not learn anything? UGH!” Some things are bad habits (mostly pulled from my days as a journalist) and others are the result of trying to force what’s in my head onto the screen.
When you start a new project, do you feel like you’re really starting over? That things that applied to your previous manuscripts don’t apply?
My current WIP is especially daunting because I’m writing in an unfamiliar POV. Maybe it will be great, and maybe it will be a stepping stone to something even better. Only time (and editing) will tell.
Sometimes I re-read what I’ve written and see the mistakes I made in my earlier projects. I slap my head and say, “Did you not learn anything? UGH!” Some things are bad habits (mostly pulled from my days as a journalist) and others are the result of trying to force what’s in my head onto the screen.
When you start a new project, do you feel like you’re really starting over? That things that applied to your previous manuscripts don’t apply?
My current WIP is especially daunting because I’m writing in an unfamiliar POV. Maybe it will be great, and maybe it will be a stepping stone to something even better. Only time (and editing) will tell.
27 Comments
Barbara Kloss
I know exactly what you’re talking about! It’s hard going from a finished, very edited product to a rough draft again. You almost feel like you forgot how to write. I’m sure your edited, final product will be fabulous!
HollyAnn
Old habbits really do die hard, but that’s what amazing critique partners are for: to tell you when you’re regressing…and praise you when you’ve overcome an issue you had before! And hopefully you’ll eventually learn to fish…and feed yourself with the knowledge your cp handed down to you.
Becky Wallace
@Holly: You’re right! I’m lucky I have such great crit partners. The one who has seen my current WIP asked me why I stopped taggging dialouge. I had no idea I wasn’t doing it!
Shari
Good luck with your new project. I always feel like I’m starting over, yet each time I do feel like I’ve improved a teensy bit.
Tracey Neithercott
I know what you mean. Starting over makes me wonder if I’ve forgotten how to write. Never mind that the first chapter generally takes me longer to write than chapters 2-15 combined.
Good luck with the new WIP!
Carol Riggs
How brave of you to tackle the challenge of an unfamiliar POV! You’re stretching yourself and your writing that way. Good luck! Just keep at it. 🙂
Trisha
Whenever I start a new project, I fully expect that I will be writing a fair bit of crap. But I’m worried more about the plotline than the quality of writing, at that stage.
Regina
I just work on getting the story out and then work on reworking it later. I try not to dwell on how it comes out until it is ready for editing. Then I will mold it how I see fit. It is a process. Sometimes it is like starting from scratch, but other times it is like I am continuing on with another factor of a story. Like I stay in mode or something.
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