You know when you’ve been working on a WIP for so long that you start to wonder if it’s even any good? That’s where I am with my NaNo book right now, and that’s a big sign that I need a break from it. Once I finish this round of revisions, I’ll send it off to another beta reader and happily work on something else for a little while. Then when my NaNo book comes back to me again, I’ll be excited to see it and ready to get back to making it better. (Or at least that’s the plan.)
How are the rest of you doing with your WIPs? Anyone else in need of a mini WIP vacation?
- Categories: WIP
I do get that same ‘is-this-any-good’ feeling when I work on revisions. Sometimes even on the first draft. That’s when I know it’s break time. My middle grade book is about half way through the second draft and I’m having to convince myself it’s time to get back to it. So far, it’s not working…
he-he-he. I’m ON a WIP vacation. I’m playing around with another novel which I’m enjoying immensely. However, I’m a little afraid that even when I get revision suggestions back on the WIP, I won’t want to go back. What do I do THEN?
Hope the plan works better for you! Do you have something else to switch on to?
I’ve already crossed that mountain with my WIP and now I’m chugging full steam to the finish line of querying.
I had a really great breakthrough on my WIP this week. It gets good after 80 pages. So now I know I need to focus on those first 80 pages and go to town!
Yes, please give your ms a break! There have been so many times I’ve wanted to toss projects out the window because they were complete c*#p. A little distance (for me that’s at least a month) and I see again the shiny things that I forgot were there.
Andrea, I’ve definitely had those manuscripts that I’ve dreaded going back to. Sometimes it means I just need more time away; other times it means I have to be firm with myself and get back to it no matter what! Just take it one scene at a time. Good luck.
Anne, sometimes I think manuscripts should come with chocolate sprinkled throughout. Then we’d be dying to get back to them! I do have something else to work on: another revision. *forehead slap*
Way to go, Laura! Good luck with querying – I hope it goes smoothly, painlessly, and QUICKLY.
Congrats on the breakthrough, PJ! I love when that happens. It can be so motivating when you know exactly what to fix. Good luck!
MG, that’s exactly how I feel; I need to remember the “shiny things” in my ms, the things that got me excited to write it in the first place. Sometimes I need months and sometimes it only takes a week or two away before I can go back to it with fresh eyes. I’m hoping this will be a nice, short vacation.
Anna–I am just getting into my stride with my revisions, so distance wouldn’t be great at this point. I am hoping to find a chunk of uninterrupted time sometime soon to pound out a big portion.
give it a rest, go for a hike. That always fixes things for me.
Heather, I hope you get a nice long stretch of time to focus on your WIP. Good luck!
Terry, I’m not quite as daring as you are so I don’t know if a winter hike will do it for me, but a trip to the gym should work just fine.
I enjoy revising and cutting. When I’ve let a ms. rest for a while, I return to it and gleefully slash the bad stuff and rewrite/make notes next to the good.Even with a first draft, doing that can power you up to push forward.