It's a cliché for a reason. I feel as though these past few weeks have been a drought for my writing and suddenly I'm overwhelmed with ideas! I'm not complaining; trust me. My creative wheels are spinning on many fronts, but are mainly focused on my YA novel. I recently met with my writing mentor, who is looking over my manuscript. After many weeks of emotionally distancing myself from my work, we had an honest conversation about its strengths and weaknesses. My conclusion? The strengths of my book are far outnumbered by its weaknesses. Shoot.
I still believe in it.
I even like it.
Yet, as an aspiring author, I'm starting to take myself seriously enough to realize I need to be marketable if I ever hope to get an agent. I find that I often favor poetry and beauty in writing more than plot. This is PROBLEM. The truth is, 90% of America is looking for the 'grab,' a thrill, an adventure or a mystery. I don't believe this means I need to cheapen my writing in any way. I think it means I have to work ten times harder if I'm going to make a beautiful story with a driving plotline. People sometimes ask me if my stories are more plot-driven or character- driven. While I tend to lean more towards character- driven stories, the truth is, I'm going to need both.
Part of me wants to start over. I don't mean that in a 'I want to give up on my story' kind of a way. Rather I feel as though I've learned a lot by making mistakes in my first draft. Part of me wonders if I could do better by starting over. I don't really care how it comes about; I just want it to be successful. Next week, I am going to start the journey of revision. To be honest, I thought I was going to use a butter knife to pick my MS apart. Now, I'm thinking it's going to take a machete.
now that you aren't afraid to kill it, i think it will reach entirely new and wonderful levels. in a perfect world, you can look at something you wrote a year earlier and think that, while it may have it's good parts, it's generally junk because you have grown so much as a writer in the last year. that is why works are never finished, only abandoned and you will never stop growing and changing as an author. good luck.
ReplyDelete-adam steele
Mmm...I like that. Developing and changing are exhausting, yet great at the same time. I wonder how it feels when your work is published? Would it finally feel finished?
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to read the final draft!!
ReplyDeleteD.F.
Why, thank you, D.F. ! :)
ReplyDelete