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killing my darlings
9 Mar 2025 15:47(This is a February post that I’m posting in March. That’s my February in a nutshell.)
I decided to abandon one of my most cherished WIPs. At the beginning of the year, I was still hopeful about it in the sense that I gave it its very last chance aka another (6th!) rework. But at this point I don’t think it’s going to work.
The thing is, I love this book’s premise whose bare bones haven’t changed since I came up with it in 2018 (I think?). I think I would have walked away sooner if not for the premise, but even as I changed everything around it that I thought was blocking me – from genre through setting to main characters and their relationship – I just can’t bring myself to write it.
I don't think it's a writer's block – my motivation is mostly fine with other projects. The problem is that I love the idea of this story more than I love the actual story on paper or even putting the story on paper. Again, that’s not the case with other original writing. I’ve recently switched to an urban fantasy novel that has also been living in my head forever, and the writing’s going more smoothly (so far).
The problem is also the pressure I put on this reworked story. If we’re being uncomfortably honest, deep down I’ve believed this would be my breakthrough novel. The rising star debut. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a story and on your writing. Objectively, I know that. And yet here we are. No wonder I’d rather not write it because if it’s out of my head, then it’s not the Perfect Idea but rather the naturally imperfect novel that might not make it in the wider world.
So, I decided that maybe it’s for the best if this particular story stays where it looks best – in my head. Maybe I’ll come back to it one day, when I’m older and wiser and I’ll have already proven to myself that I can finish a novel and be relatively satisfied with it. But for now, it’s served me well as a lesson in killing your darlings. Because boy, do I still love this story and would love to share it with the world one day, but if it’s slowing down my writing to a very sad dribble – in a time when, really, there’s enough external factors working against my energy – then it has to go.
February Highlights
( Read more... )
I decided to abandon one of my most cherished WIPs. At the beginning of the year, I was still hopeful about it in the sense that I gave it its very last chance aka another (6th!) rework. But at this point I don’t think it’s going to work.
The thing is, I love this book’s premise whose bare bones haven’t changed since I came up with it in 2018 (I think?). I think I would have walked away sooner if not for the premise, but even as I changed everything around it that I thought was blocking me – from genre through setting to main characters and their relationship – I just can’t bring myself to write it.
I don't think it's a writer's block – my motivation is mostly fine with other projects. The problem is that I love the idea of this story more than I love the actual story on paper or even putting the story on paper. Again, that’s not the case with other original writing. I’ve recently switched to an urban fantasy novel that has also been living in my head forever, and the writing’s going more smoothly (so far).
The problem is also the pressure I put on this reworked story. If we’re being uncomfortably honest, deep down I’ve believed this would be my breakthrough novel. The rising star debut. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a story and on your writing. Objectively, I know that. And yet here we are. No wonder I’d rather not write it because if it’s out of my head, then it’s not the Perfect Idea but rather the naturally imperfect novel that might not make it in the wider world.
So, I decided that maybe it’s for the best if this particular story stays where it looks best – in my head. Maybe I’ll come back to it one day, when I’m older and wiser and I’ll have already proven to myself that I can finish a novel and be relatively satisfied with it. But for now, it’s served me well as a lesson in killing your darlings. Because boy, do I still love this story and would love to share it with the world one day, but if it’s slowing down my writing to a very sad dribble – in a time when, really, there’s enough external factors working against my energy – then it has to go.
February Highlights
( Read more... )
