Tuesday, May 19, 2009

A Question for YOU

I'm slugging through. Writing this book is like walking through knee-deep mud. I know writing is hard for most writers. I know in my head that both of my first two books were sometimes hard to write.

But I loved the books in my heart even when they were hard to write. I always loved the concepts, loved the characters, loved the idea of what they would someday be.

This book is so much harder. In my head I think it's a good idea. I know the plot and the characters. I even feel connected with the main character in the way that my heart breaks for her when I think about her. But I don't love it. I don't love spending time in it. I am constantly rethinking it. Debating it. Not just is it a good plot or a good story, but is it the right one. It doesn't mean I even think the writing is bad so far. I just don't feel like this is "the one."

So you writers... what is your opinion on this? Does a writer need to love the book they are writing and be unable not to write it - feel bound to write it or they will burst? Or do you just slug through it, hoping eventually it will be something you'll feel proud of?

4 comments:

  1. I would never presume to tell someone else what they should do, but personally, I can't continue working on a book if I don't fall in love with it. Hard is one thing, not loving it is another. I have a project I was working on that I kept saying the same thing about (wasn't sure I loved it), so I took a step back, several weeks actually. I'm going back to it this week and giving it another try, but if I'm still not feeling it, I'm scrapping it. At least for now. I'll work on something else, something new, something I *can* fall in love with.

    Seriously, though, that's just my two cents. A novel is too long a project to spend "not feeling it".

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  2. Kimberly... sigh. I think I'm leaning this way too. It's like marrying someone you respect but don't love. I really, really want to write. I just don't think this is what I want to write.

    I'm going to change it to first person for a chapter or so and see if that makes a difference.

    You're right. A book is a long project to not feel!

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  3. I really need to love the story and characters, especially now that I know how long it takes to write a novel. Although I have to admit I do get sick of them once in a while.

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  4. I have to go with what Kimberly said. I do think you have to love a book--or at least love the character. Maybe you haven't found the exact right direction to go yet with that character. Maybe you do as Kimberly said--step back from it for awhile. Let it simmer in your unconscious and see whether that helps you find a direction that feels right.

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