Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Second Thoughts


A few weeks ago, I started writing a blog post and then, as per usual, got distracted by something else. I had plenty of other ideas for posting so I decided to let that one wait for a while. And boy am I glad I did.

It was terrible. When I read it back, I thought it was whiny and I couldn’t understand the point I was trying to get at—despite being the one who actually wrote it—and I’m thinking that’s a sign it’s time to scrap the whole thing. The worst part is I came perilously close to publishing it before I decided to go with something else (even then I had a feeling it was weak) and thus left it for a time when I fully realized how bad it was. Whew!

It happens. That’s why we have to take time off between the first and second drafts and after writing “The End” and getting ready to query. You should do it even if you think it’s strong because you might be under an O-M-G-I’m-finally-done high. And there is nothing, nothingworse than declaring your work “complete!” before it really is.

Make haste slowly.

Have you ever had any close calls? How do you know when something is “done”?

5 comments:

  1. Of course, with a blog, you could always delete it later. I know I have a few posts that I should probably cull.

    As for "done", I have no idea. I'll tell you if I ever figure it out.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I did that with my first manuscript. Unfortunately, because I was still new to the whole process, I sent it in before it was ready. It's hard when you're so ready to get out there. I've learned now that it's in my best interest to take it slow.

    I know that something is "done" when I can feel in my gut that it's right and can picture the whole thing without stopping and getting confused or hung up somewhere. I'm still working on getting there with my full manuscript.

    Good luck.

    ~Gina Blechman

    ReplyDelete
  3. We have over 30 unpublished draft-copy blog posts laying around our dashboard. Oh well, practice makes perfect, right? ;)
    erica

    ReplyDelete
  4. I haven't yet declared any of my works complete. ha.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think I've gotten to that point where it feels like it's done with the current MS. At least until I hear back from my beta readers...

    ReplyDelete

Please validate me.