This will be a shorter post in my "Challenge" series, but it goes a long way. The word of the street from agents and editors alike is: "When you feel you can polish and revise no more on that manuscript, you set it aside for a few months and come back to it. Even the most accomplished novelists will always say they wish they could change this part, but had to say 'I need to set this aside once and for all.'"
I have been on the revising end of my first manuscript, Bond of Darkness, for a hard 4 years now. Yes, I know this is a long time, and see my previous post about agent Kristen Nelson's rant on "The Curse of the Sophomore Novel" for more information on this. However, BoD has undergone huge overhauls (2 respectively) which have taken said time.
I do not have an issue with the "Curse," because I feel that after taking all of said time, I can write more fluidly and not make the same errors as I did to have the polish my first manuscript is currently undergoing.
My issue comes with setting it aside, doing nothing with it for months and then returning to it. Yes, I will come back with a fresh eye (yet again), but I don't want a fresh eye. I want to be one of those novelists that say "I wish I could change things here." I have confidence in not only myself, but in my my readers who have line edited and assisted me to death.
Do other writers feel they could do this to themselves? Could you wait around for months, continually writing during this time, and go back? Think of it from my situation and compare this to your own. Share with me.
Bye for now!
JWP
What I do is I keep writing new stuff no matter what. Then, I let my inner editor out to play so he can go to town on the revising. This way, I kind of tow the line so that I'm never really doing nothing.
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of like living in your hometown for the bulk of your life, but every now and then you go on vacation for a week or two. When you return, your hometown is still the same, but you have that fresher perspective on everything.