When Your Book Takes Forever to Complete
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Photo credit: Hammonton Photography / Foter / CC BY-NC
Writing is an amazing, magical thing. When you write, you
create new worlds, become friends with unique characters, and have the ability
to share your amazing stories with others. But at the same time, writing can also
be one of the most frustrating pastimes. I’m not even talking about rebellious characters,
unexpected and devastating plot twists, or even writer’s block. I’m talking
about the sheer amount of time it takes to bring the book from initial concept
to finished product.
The whole process starts with finding an idea. This can be
as easy as it popping into your head while you’re doing the dishes, or as
difficult as hours spent brainstorming ideas about were-rabbits in space searching
for a usable idea. Then, once you have your idea, you need to develop it into
plot strong enough for a first draft. Depending on your idea and process, this
might include months of research and outlining before you can even get the
first words down on paper.
Then you start writing, and things get worse. Each draft
takes months to finish, and no matter how many times you edit the book, it
always needs just one more draft to get it right. It might take months, or even
years before your book is polished and perfected enough to even think about
sharing it, and sometimes, after weeks of editing, it’s still difficult to see
if you’ve improved the book at all. It’s enough to make you want to throw their
hands up in the air and swear off writing for the rest of your lives.
But please, don’t.
It’s true, books take a long time to finish. From first
concept to final draft, some books can take years to finish. Editing can seem
like a fruitless, never ending task. There are times when you’re going to b tempted
to give up, especially when people keep asking you if you’re publishing your
book soon, or when they can read it. I know exactly what that feels like. I’m actually
about to dive into my sixth round of editing on my fantasy novel, so I’m certain
I’ll be feeling like this again soon.
But here’s the truth. Yes, writing takes a long time. But it
needs to. When you write, you’re not just smashing words onto a computer
screen. You’re creating an entire world. Even if it’s based on the real world,
you still have to recreate the real world inside your pages, and that’s no
small task. You’re bringing your own people into existence, with all the
personality, conflict, and life of a real human being. When you write, you’re creating
a whole other universe. And there is no way to rush the birth of a new
universe. All those hours you spend slogging over edits, wrangling with
descriptions and characters, filling in plot holes and researching details,
they’re hours spent crafting a world and people that are real.
The book may be taking a long time to write, but worlds and
characters are complicated things, and they need that time to grow and develop
into their true potential. That magic you’re weaving on the page, it needs time
to build into a rich, vivid story that readers can not only read, but experience.
There are few things more amazing than being able to give a reader a story you
have written, and have them get drawn in by the characters, the story, the
world building, all those beautiful things that need those hours of hard work
and sweat to perfect.
So maybe your book is being stubborn. Maybe it feels like
the process will never end. But don’t give up. Because your world, your
characters, your plot and your words worth taking that time to get right. Sure,
it takes a long time, but you’re weaving magic there. Trust the magic, and give
your book the time it needs, and deserves.
Do you ever feel like
12 comments
I've been working on this one novel for five years, and it can be frustrating, because there are so many plot holes that ten-year-old me never thought of attending to or looking at. But you're right, it does take time; it really is all about polishing that draft and creating the world of your book its strongest form.
ReplyDeletexoxo Morning
That's a difficult situation sometimes. But the amount of time a book takes to write doesn't necessarily mean that it's a bad book, just that it needs more time to fully develop, which you definitely seem to have a handle on. If you get frustrated with it though, you could try taking a look back at the first draft. That always helps cheer me up immensely, seeing how far my writing has come.
DeleteOh, I absolutely agree. I haven't been working on my projects for as long as most other writers I've chatted with online have, but I'm painfully aware that university is bearing down on me and I will have much, much less time to write. And so I am desperately trying to write all the ideas, and it's so nerve-wracking when revisions take longer than I expect or an idea just won't form completely. Thanks for the post, Imogen!
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely an issue when going to university. I've struggled a fair bit over the past three years to shoehorn writing into my everyday life. That's when i usually get despondent. But it sounds like you're getting prepared for that, and being prepared for writing to take longer than usual and for having less time to do it in is half the battle, just accepting it. Hopefully those pesky rewrites are going to behave for you soon though. It's always annoying when that happens.
DeleteIt kind of kills me that some authors can write a book a month, LOL! As someone wanting to get into self publishing, I want to learn to write faster. HOWEVER, I am also having a son soonish, and I need to realize that if I want to keep writing, I need to be realistic with myself. There is nothing wrong with taking a year or more to finish a book - it's more important getting a good product to readers.
ReplyDeleteGreat post - I needed the motivation :)
www.stefaniemacwilliams.co.nr
That's very true Stefanie. We've all got different lives, and because of that, we all write different amounts. Having a baby (and congratulations by the way!) will definitely change your routine a lot, and that will take a lot of adjusting to, I'm sure. But at the same time, I'm sure that when things settle down after he's born, you'll be able to reschedule your life so that family and writing can both fit in. And that's all you can do really, try to give yourself the time you need. Good luck with your self-publishing. It sounds like you're giving your dream everything you've got, which is amazing.
DeleteThis is very encouraging! I have one book that writing it is going pretty smoothly and another one that's taken my five drafts to get it so I think it's somewhat ready and now that I'm through with it I've realized it needs more changes. XD It's frustrating, but I know this one will be ready eventually. I love the story so much.
ReplyDeletestoritorigrace.blogspot.com
It's funny how one book can go so smoothly and another simply refuses to behave itself. I know how you feel though. Sometimes that love for the story is pretty much the only thing that keeps me going through the frustration. I'm sure that after all the trouble is smoothed out though, it will be a stronger story for all the heartache it's put you through.
DeleteOh, yes. Writing can just be so daunting sometimes, and it's hard. It can feel like things are never going to work out, things are too hard to continue, that it isn't even worth it to write anymore. I think about these things many times as I work on my drafts and it can be super depressing. But thanks for the encouragement. Slow as it may be, we'll get somewhere awesome, eventually. :)
ReplyDeleteI think everyone goes through tough moments of depression about how long a project is taking, even if you're the fastest writer. The most important thing is to remember that it's supposed to take a while and that it will eventually show itself to be the awesome project you know it is inside.
DeleteThis is such a relevant post to me. I've been working on this project for so long, and I go through stages where I think it's garbage or I loose my motivation. Usually that's when I'm not writing and once I get going again things seem to look up:) I just have to work through it. Thanks for the encouragement!
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think the depression about writing comes from a stagnation, like you know it needs fixing and more work, but you're not doing anything yet, and taking the time to become proactive about working on it can really help. I've definitely noticed that in my writing too.
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