Tips for getting back in it

[Constantine K]

I haven't written a word (beyond daily idea notes) since finishing the first draft of my novel on March 7th, and it's really starting to scare me.

In another week or so, I plan on reading my novel for the first time and then starting the process over and hammering through the second draft.

I'm really excited about the ideas I've come up with during that time, but one fear has been slipping through the cracks in my mind like wet concrete:

The magic is gone.

Yes, the magic of discovery--of not knowing what happens next, or who will go where and say what. I know it all, and I'm afraid that my lack of passion for my old (I say old, because my mind is always working on that next idea) story will make the writing dull.

To my point: Does anyone know how to combat this? I'm fighting really hard against starting my next super fun and mysterious (mysterious because I don't know it all) story, but it's hard.

Then there's that feeling that I've forgotten how to write in the last few weeks, but that's another story.

How can I recapture that passion again?

[bluntforcetrauma]

I thought by the thread title it was a how to manual for clueless husbands.

[Constantine K]

We could turn it into that, if you like.

[jannawrites]

I thought by the thread title it was a how to manual for clueless husbands.

I got nuttin'. :Shrug:

But good luck to you, Constantine! :D

[bluntforcetrauma]

Don't tempt me.

[dreamsofnever]

Welcome to AW, Constantine!

And as for getting back into it? The best way to do that is to just sit down and write. If your current plot idea still isn't generating excitement after the first twenty or thirty pages, maybe it's time to go back to the drawing board and come up with something else.

A few months ago, I tried to move onto my next project and couldn't get myself excited about it. I struggled through about 15-20k words before I realized that it just wasn't the idea that had my attention at the moment. Then I went back to my old work and started editing and started writing the sequel I'd intended to write for it all along.

Now writing a sequel isn't always the best choice because technically you should work on making your first book publishable and writing a second book that can be shopped around as well. But I found that writing the sequel has helped with my editing and has just been a learning experience. Right now, I'm going to for fun/learning experience over just trying to be published (though that is an end goal)

Not sure if this helps, but it really is just about finding that idea that ignites your passion. And usually the best way to get ideas flowing is to just start writing. That almost always gets my creative juices flowing.

[Axelle]

Well, I haven't been in the same situation as you (yet) but I was thinking, perhaps if, while you read it over, you kept wondering "is there something different I could do here ?" that might motivate you. A little like going on a treasure-hunt throughout the book, except the treasure you're hunting is a subplot you didn't think of the first time and could add in without too much effort and/or rewriting.
Sorry, that's all I can think of.

[ClaudiaGray]

I finished my first draft on March 9 and only picked it up again today. And honestly, I think that was just fine. You need a bit of perspective. When you do dive back in, you will feel much more reenergized and be able to look at your manuscript in a whole new light. It's a lot of fun, really.

[Mumut]

Possibly something in the first book is still on your mind. When you get back to that, with the impassionate eye of an outsider, you might find that the enjoyment of crafting a masterpiece will make starting the second book easier. I found it hard to really enjoy the second before the first was well and truely under control.

[HeronW]

Do a list of 10 outrageous 'what if's for your MC/s--doesn't have to be appropriate to the gender/occupation/education/time period etc, just fun stuff, then stuff that would add drama, put the old knickers in a twist, a boot in the buttocks wake up call. You may not use any on the list but it'll give you ideas.

Also, TRUST YOU AND YOUR MUSE! Things may be slow getting back in the groove but it's always there.

[The Lady]

Reread a book you really admire.
Tell yourself, I can and I will write something that good.
Get out that first draft and rework it into sodding gold. :)

[Figgy]

Honestly... Maybe you just need to take a break for a bit...

I completed my sci-fi in November of last year. I have reworked the Prologue, and have not touched any more of it since... I know I need to go over it, but at the moment i am enjoying my Fantasy series... The series has been going for longer, though, and during NaNo, I found myself wanting to go back and write my series. Not because I didn't love my Sci-fi, I did, but it was more for the fact that I knew I *couldn't* work on it for the month... It made me miss it... Maybe you should work on one of those other ideas, and set yourself a word count, or time limit (like 2 weeks) in which you will work on something other than your newly completed MS... You may find yourself wanting to go back to it, and wanting to develop it more.

I found myself suffering from withdrawals when I left Kaj and Erik at the end of the story, but I was happy with how it had gone, and I thank them for all the memories. I will go back through it all with them, and tidy it up. But for now, I am getting distance, so that I can go back in a little bit LESS biased...

Something else that helps is talking to people about it... describe parts of it, and see if they have any questions, and talk about your characters; get them to ask you questions about them... About your universe... Just talk and talk, as though you are telling them some gossip you just heard about the new kid, or you mutual friend... It really does help, *me* anyway, to start thinking about the plot and the whole novel, and it seems all fresh and shiny, and new... Like when you realize that this wonderful or terrible thing is going to happen, that the whole story pivots on, and you just want to write...

[/rant]

Good Luck.

Pop in to the chat if you want to talk about it! Beeze and I are often there, and usually there are others around if we are not...

The link is up there ^ up at the top of the page! :P

[timewaster]

I think I need that break without writing. I think writing is more like riding a bicyce than playing a violin and the chances of forgetting how to do it are slim.
I know lot of pro writers and in general the gaps between books/editing passes are an important time for recharging, for giving your brain a rest, for allowing your backbrain to solve some of the problems you're about to discover you've generated in the text.

Things usually look different when you return to old work and that is generally helpful. I very much doubt that you've really forgotten the ideas that you've had in the interim. Trust your backbrain, the unconscious is pretty good at working things out if you let it.

It might help to read your draft as if it were a novel by someone else. Have a pen and a notebook and make note of the things that jump out at you, but read primarily for macro stuff - do you believe the plot? do you care about the characters? where are the dull bits? Is it pacey or do you keep wanting to break off for a cup of coffee?
Take note of your reader responses - at this stage they are more important than your writer responses.

Revising is a slightly different skill set from writing anyway and it has to be learnt. You may need to deconstruct and rewrite or just do some tidying up either way it is part of the writing process and not just an add on. Good revision can transform a mediocre book into something reasonable.

It sound like you may just need to relax and get on with it. See what you really think when you read it through. If you have an open mind you will see if it works or not and you may also see how to fix it.

I don't like revising as much as writing new stuff, but it is essential and if you see it as a remodelling of old material into something better you realise it is a creative process in its own right.

[Susan Breen]

When I'm writing a first draft, I'm always excited because I don't bother editing myself at all and I'm just trying to gush all the words on the page. The second draft is a whole other thing--but the great thing is that you do have pages. Now you can try and make them even better. But it is scary because I have to push myself harder. Sometimes I wind up getting rid of half of the first draft, but it's okay because the energy never goes to waste.

[Antony B]

Reread a book you really admire.
Tell yourself, I can and I will write something that good.
Get out that first draft and rework it into sodding gold. :)

I second that method. A good book can be inspirational.

[Charlie Horse]

Yeah, it's hard switching gears from editing to creating from scratch. I'm in the process of that right now. But everyone's different. Find what works for you.

For me, I need the ritual of writing every morning. Even if I produce nothing but drivel I need the discipline. Others may find it easier and more beneficial to take a break every now and then.

[RJK]

Constantine, I'm right there in the same boat with you. I tried to jump into a new story but my mind kept drifting back to my first one. I polished the draft to the point where I was willing to let my beta readers look it over. Now, as their comments are drifting in, My mind is still working on the first story. Fix this scene, build that character, add a new plot twist here, show more detail there.
I have purposely stayed away from the story so that when I do return to it, it will be with fresh eyes, but if I am constantly thinking about it, I don't know how successful I will be at that.
I've assigned several tasks to the right side of my brain. First, work up a story line for the next book. Second, let the first book cook for a few weeks and see what comes out. I've arbitrarily set April fool's day as the day to start editing the first book, but I may hold off, as I'm still waiting for one of my betas to finish the book, She has lots of notes so far.

[Phaeal]

Make room in the boat for one more! I finished my latest novel on Jan. 16 and then put it away to mellow for six weeks, wrapped in a brandy-soaked cheesecloth. During the six weeks, I edited six short stories and started marketing them, so I actually got my brain into editing mode without messing with the novel. During the rest period before the third draft of this novel, I'm planning on writing three short stories . Gotta have a plan, or I might just drift away. :P

On March 1, I started reading the novel, simultaneously jotting down a chapter by chapter outline which looks like this:

Chapter One
July 5, 11 am
Driving to Arkham
POV: Sean
pgs. 1-12

Sean, Eddy and Jeremy on the drive to Arkham, where Jeremy will evaluate Dr. Arkwright's stained glass windows. Sean grouses about LSM.

Get more of the habitual conflict between Jeremy and Sean into this chapter.

The outline will be a big help for overall plot tightening and fixes, POV balancing, continuity checking. During the readthrough, I also came up with three things I wanted to think through in depth, on paper: how do the three main characters change due to the central revelation all share; what, exactly, is the system of magic used in the novel, its philosophy, the cosmology behind it; how, exactly, should psychic links work in the story and the magical system?

Writing very informal, sometimes stream-of-consciousness like essays on the aspects of the novel I want to deepen and perfect has gotten me excited about rewriting -- lots of new ideas. One more essay to write, then I hit the first chapter again!

I guess the main thing is, you have to reread and analyze and scratch down notes until you see that you really CAN improve the first draft, a lot. At least that's what works for me.

[Wolvel]

What worked for me was taking a break for about two weeks, I started editing the finished work while I started book two in the series. I have also come up with two other ideas, one is a wip the other in the new idea stage.

This way if I get bored with one I have several other ways to keep my mind into it.

And for the record, I know you want to follow up the complete work with a different marketable book. But this whole novel writing started as me wanting to get my story completly onto paper whether I sell it or not, it's a personal thing.

[Constantine K]

Wow, great stuff guys. I feel better about it already!

I guess I was making a bigger deal out of it that I should have, but it's nice to know other people have the same problems sometimes.

[Hollan]

Maybe once you read over your WIP you'll feel differently. I know when I finally get to pick up a draft I haven't read in a while I get really excited b/c I forgot some of the stuff I wrote, even though I know what's going to happen. Also, you can edit and start on your new idea at the same time. That's usually what I do. And it makes it more interesting.

Good luck ^_^

[Judg]

I love revising. I love taking out the clunky bits (or deleting them altogether) and turning that amateurish passage into something that shines. I like finding the inconsistencies and time/place mistakes and finding the best way to fix it. It's like chipping away at a diamond to bring out its beauty. (Well, that's how I feel about the process anyway. The quality of the results is open to discussion.) I'm having a hard time believing in revision hell.

[chevbrock]

For what it's worth, I think it's far too early to go through and second-draft it yet. You're having lots of great ideas, and if you're scared they won't stay for long, by all means, write them down. But leave this one and either start your new WIP or read, read, read.

At the very least, leave it for three months. Then come back, and fall in love with your story again. You will, I guarantee it!

[Constantine K]

I'll consider it. At first, I wanted to have one book locked away and finished (completely) before typing a word of my second one. Maybe I'll finish the first draft of #2 before going back to #1.

[timewaster]

That works for some people not for others. It helps to have distance to see what's wrong with it but it can be harder to remember what was in your head and it takes time to pick up the threads again.
I don't think there is a right way to go about it but revision probably needs to happen sometime and what is learned in revision can be helpful for the next first draft.