Scrap it All (Part1)

Why did I ditch my Work In Progress? I was writing and writing and writing. The words were there but they held little meaning and even less action. My normal writing speed was over 3 months off. I had deadlines looming and dread festering in my stomach. I was stuck. Even though I told myself it would all pan out if I just kept putting down the words. The truth was life had stunned me and stunted my story.

The first 50,000 words of my 3rd novel came to me in less than 30 days. Another successful Nano experiment. Fast forward from November to March and I’d only added 11,000 more. My storyline was blurring. I couldn’t remember what I’d already said and what I hadn’t. Each writing sprint produced words but no passion and no story.

Late March 1st/early March 2nd, I ditched it all. I gave up. Printed out the work I had and set it aside. I hated doing so. I was terrified I’d never return to my lingering masterpiece. Frankly, I hated to waste the paper and the ink printing a work I might never finish. But step one to be free from the albatross of a WIP was to scrap it! So I did!

Once I stopped wailing and caught my breath, here’s what I realized:

First: I needed Whitespace

Life had tossed some boulder sized curve balls at my Happy Planner. Major and minor family crisis had peppered my November, December, and January. Healing had only started to happen Mid February and with each new scab came the call and itch of past hurts.

These pains didn’t just affect me but they attacked my entire household. As a result, my brain couldn’t keep up with my emotions and my emotions left me tired and numb. Not the prettiest cookie jar to steal creative crumbs out of. I was so busy rearranging life and managing the mania. There was very little left to offer the page. I needed quiet and cuddles. I craved great books and literary escapes, not more training and more late night writing sessions.

Second: My Story was Killing Me

My publishing plan did not make space for three months of inactivity. Book 2 to my series was already two months behind it’s original release date and I was determined to have the first draft of #3 completed before publishing #2.

The pressure needled my neck and my mind every time I sat down to write. I had planned to release books 2-5 in 2019. And my perfectionist brain reminded me with every writing speed bump. I couldn’t release book 2 and focus on book 3. I was stretched too thin. A choice had to be made. Either fight my way through the first draft of 3 and keep my fans waiting on 2 or completely liberate myself of book 2. The stress was plaguing me and tormenting my sleep. Meanwhile, other story ideas kept calling me and begging me to hurry up. I was sabotaging myself with every writing session.

Finally: Taking a Break is Okay

I’m still quite the author newbie. All my mentors and Authortubers recommended busting out the first 3 books in a series ASAP. The first 5 books would be even better. They all said that with these readers would lose interest in my stories and venture off, forgetting me. I didn’t want that to happen. If I hoped to make this writing thing a career I needed to produce sell-able books.

Again, it just wasn’t happening. Between family life and homeschool life, writer life was taking a hit. It couldn’t be helped. Though it is a priority it isn’t nor will it ever be THE PRIORITY. My relationships come first. God was reminding me to work within His timing… not my own. That meant taking a break wouldn’t kill me or my writing career. But pushing myself by own strength would damage everything.

So, I took a break. Tucked away an incomplete story. Focused on publishing book #2 and enjoying life, again. I planned my break to last only the month of March, Lord willing, and set aside the WIP to work on myself and my relationships.

And do you know what happened? I haven’t a clue… we’ll have to wait and see.

Look for the post called Start from Scratch (WIP woes part 2)