Does the artist love the creating, or the finished product?

[Captshady]

Is there any part of the process that you loathe? I've never liked developing character profiles as an independent project. I've always been able to look at people and have an immediate opinion of them and their depth. Of course that initial assessment has been wrong many times, but I've never not had a feeling about them. That's why I've always loved to people watch (especially at the mall), making up whole backgrounds of people as they walked by.

So, the questions I have are:

- Do you like the creation more, or meeting the goal of having a finished project?

- Is the any aspect of writing a novel that you just hate?

- If yes, how have you handled it?

[Stunted]

-Jeez, I don't know. Good question.

-Not really.

-N/A.

[KTC]

- Do you like the creation more, or meeting the goal of having a finished project?

I love the creating. I don't particularly care after the project is finished. I often delete after getting it polished. I just can't seem to give a shit after getting to that point.


- Is there any aspect of writing a novel that you just hate?

Finishing.


- If yes, how have you handled it?

Stop before I finish.



.

[Ken]

...nothing is as enjoyable as creating when things are going well.
But when they are not, there is no greater torment on Earth.
To get through these times I often ease back and approach the difficulty at a later time and work on something else.

[Feidb]

I love everything about it except the generic rejections.

I also don't like the "asshole" critiquers. They are the ones that use the "tough love" excuse for being a total asshole when they critique you. You can critique people withouth being harsh and totally negative.

Otherwise, I like all of it, the creation, the editing, the slim thread of hope...

[Red.Ink.Rain]

Writing. The writing is the best part, because during the writing you are swept into the glory of creation and you are blind to all your grammatical flaws and cliche characters. Then, the second you are done, BAM. The stupid novel sucks and you're scrambling through revisions and edits trying to reclaim the beautiful creature you started with. But it's no use. It still sucks.

Until you start a new project and the sucky creature falls by the wayside, and you start the process all over again.

[nighttimer]

The enjoyment is in the creating, not the creation. The end result rarely matches the flawlessness of the invisioning.

[firedrake]

For me, it's getting caught up the creation, especially when the story gains momentum and the characters take on a life of their own.

I don't even mind the polishing, especially if I've had a sound, no holds-barred critique. I'm not good enough to think that I can do this on my own. I don't like writing into a vacuum and the feedback just helps me to finish the job.

[Enzo]

Writing is fun, creating characters, creating situations.
The headache is keeping it all straight, and the rewriting and rewriting afterward. Once that looks completed, I just move on to the next project, because I don't want to be rewriting the same story for 10 years.

[Matera the Mad]

I like both. But I like the creating partly because it is the way to the finished product.

I hate hunting inconsistencies in timeline :rant:

But I do it, and Excel is my friend.

[archerjoe]

I agree with Enzo. Re-re-re-re-re-editing is no fun. I enjoy the initial creation and the reactions once it's done.

[Fade]

I love writing the project itself, but what I really think is fun is editing it until it's exactly as you imagined. :) There's no greater joy than polishing your novel until it shines.

[Marie]

I love thinking about what I'm going to write and I love writing once I am in 'The Zone' (when I've been typing for a few pages and everything seems to flow) I just hate getting started.

[JamieFord]

I love the writing part. And the research beforehand. Once the book is actually printed, some time has passed, so I'm a bit disconnected from that story...

[Prawn]

My guess is I will like getting paid for it, but I have no idea what that feels like.

[backslashbaby]

I really do like it when it is finished, and it looks so much easier than it was to write! I love seeing people enjoy the reading of it.

I do love the writing, but I come from a performance background. There's nothing better than The Show, where all the hard work looks clean and easy and shining :) And the d$(&#d editing is over with, too!! :)

[Judg]

Planning is fun. Writing is fun, although very demanding. Revising can sometimes be tedious, but re-reading a part that now shines is a real rush.

[tehuti88]

- Do you like the creation more, or meeting the goal of having a finished project?

- Is the any aspect of writing a novel that you just hate?

- If yes, how have you handled it?

1. Both. Creating is more fun and interesting, but there's a real sense of accomplishment when something is finished, and when I can move on to something new.

2. I'm sure there must be something but I'm not sure what. Well, sometimes I wish I could put the words on the page a lot faster than I do. I'm currently struggling with my writing. I love writing to death but it's very hard for me lately. I realize it's not meant to be easy, but sometimes I wish it could be easier.

3. I haven't quite handled it yet. Still dealing with it.

Ah, I do hate the loneliness of writing. I don't really have anybody to bounce my ideas off of and chatter to incessantly about my plots and characters etc. without boring them to death or having them stare at me with no idea what I'm talking about. I miss the days when I had somebody who cared about what I write. *sigh*

[CaseyMcG]

I recently thought the best part was in the creation until today I started reading my WiP (after draft number like 7!) and finally got to see the finished product and fell in love with my characters and plot all over again and found myself flipping through like "holy crap did I really write this?!" I've began plotting out the sequel and now can't wait to get back into the grind. So I guess the whole process I like!

[Clair Dickson]

I like writing. I like my finished stories. I like when I come up with a particularly good or clever part. (Some times I think I enjoy my own cleverness a little too much.) I like editing because I make it better. I don't care so much for polishing and tedious things of reading REALLY careful to make sure I haven't gone and confused your's or made some other typo that's also a word (form/ from, etc.)

I don't care much when I know my story too well. If I've been working on it too much/ too long, it feels... too familiar. Like I know everything in there. I don't even appreciate my favorite lines when this happens. Gotta put it away and work on something else so I forget some of what I've written and it doesn't feel all blahblahblah, 'read this before' to me.

[ClaudiaGray]

I love both writing and having written. It's a win-win for me.

The only part I hate is the suspense -- the long wait to discover if the publisher says yes or no, how the sales are going, what readers will think. But I am learning to live with it.

[mscelina]

- Do you like the creation more, or meeting the goal of having a finished project?

For me, they're part and parcel of the same process. I don't start a project without the goal of finishing it, and the creation process is continuous for me.

- Is the any aspect of writing a novel that you just hate?

Writing the damn query letter. That's about it. I can write an 86k novel without turmoil, but a one page query letter rips my guts out and hangs 'em on a clothesline.

- If yes, how have you handled it?

I have offered money in the past, but I'm not rich enough to get someone else to try to encapsulate my stories in one paragraph. So, I write and rewrite and edit and revise and throw it out and start all over and eventually figure out something that will work. Then I originally submit to people who want to see samples of writing with the query letter and pray for the best. ;)

[blacbird]

I love the creating. I love the editiing, rewriting, massaging, trying to get the thing into pleasing form.

I hate the fact that the end product always sucks.

caw