The Love/Hate relationship with writing projects

I’ve seen a few comments and blog posts recently that got me thinking about how I view my own stories while I’m writing them. More than one fellow author mentioned over the weekend that they hate their current project and think it’s awful and have begun doubting whether they have any talent at all.

This struck me as interesting. Until recently, I was not a writer who had a folder full of unfinished stories gathering virtual dust on my harddrive and I always wondered how someone could not finish a story. I’ve learned that phenomenon is partly due to different writing styles. Some people have no idea where the story is going when they start, so it can be harder to write unless the inspiration and momentum are there.

But now, as a person with several unfinished stories, I see everything entirely differently.

When I start writing I generally have a story arc in mind and some key scenes planned, but I leave the details to fall into place as I write. I know if I outline too much, the writing process becomes boring since I already know exactly what’s going to happen when and how. For me part of the joy of writing is having the unexpected happen on the page as the characters take over and tell me what they want to do, rather than the other way around.

So, given that I know where it’s all going, why wouldn’t I finish? Work on RARER THAN RUBIES is a good case in point. I knew the general storyline and ending, but due to health reasons I was unable to use the computer for a while. I lost momentum and every time I sat down to think about the story, I began doubting my original ideas, thinking that I needed to change things around to make the story better, though not actually writing any of the second half of the novel. I began to dread working on it. Not because I hated the story or the characters, but because I’d lost touch with writing. It wasn’t really about the story at all. Finally, I forced myself to sit down and write what I’d originally planned, deciding that if I didn’t like it after it was written, I would rewrite it later on. But as many people before me have said: you can’t edit what you haven’t written. It’s truer than ever to me now.

Another issue for me is that when I write, I rarely put the story down in order. I tend to visualize key scenes quite vividly and will write those first, filling in the missing scenes, connections and transitions later on. I’ve have one story where I still haven’t figured out one of those transitions, and it’s that one missing scene–actually a very important one for the story–that’s kept it from being finished. I keep saying, as soon as I finish the one I’m writing now, I’ll go back and put more thought into it. But I inevitably start a new project and that one’s still sitting around lonely and unfinished.

But back to the hating, which is where I’d intended to start. I’ve only ever actually hated one project I was working on. I tend to love my characters and care about getting them to a happy ending, so the idea of hating the story is very rare. That one instance was because the story ended up over 100k words and I was having trouble revising something so damn long. I still love that story, just hated having to read it over and over. I had two betas working with me very intensively on revision and I’d guess they both read it more than I did. I’ve never read it completely through even once.

So, is there any message here? Is there a secret to loving a WIP and finishing it? The  best advice is still to just keep writing until it’s finished, then worry about fixing things at that point, once you know exactly where it’s heading. It’s easy to go back and throw in clues or emphasize something more or less as necessary.

But as for finding the love: when in doubt, let a trusted beta reader take a look at it, whatever state it’s in and give you some feedback on whether it’s worth finishing. My own experience is that we get too close to the work, too critical. It’s important to get a neutral perspective. Beta readers and fellow authors can help a lot as a sounding board for working through any problems that come up in the story itself.

And it never gets old to hear someone say “I can’t wait to read the rest of this!”

What are your own experiences with these issues?