Polishing a novel and sending it out into the world is a wonderful feeling. It can take a couple of weeks to decompress after all those seemingly endless rounds of drafting, revising, and incorporating feedback. You took something that began as a tiny spark and blossomed into a full-length novel! You deserve a break.
But then that other feeling comes back, tempting, pulling, dragging you to the keyboard. That feeling that you might be ready to experiment with something else. A new spark has come to you and won’t leave you alone. You think, you think some more, and then you give in. You pull up a chair in front of your computer.
And you write.
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YES! This 🙂 Amazing, isn’t it? Work hard, slave over, put your heart and soul into it. Just when you think you don’t have anything left … “Chapter One”
Exactly! It’s good to snatch a little break first, but when you’re ready for it again, it’s awesome. 🙂
I’m always terrified I’ll never have another spark…
I’m sure you and the fog have plenty of sparks in you!
Here’s hoping 😉
So true. The best (and sometimes most daunting) part of writing for me is sitting down to write those first few paragraphs. Good luck with your new project, Kip!
Thanks, Debbie! I do love revising and polishing too, but there’s something especially nice about starting on something new.
This is one of those things I live for… those first few pages of brand new stuff. It’s such a wonderful feeling. Good luck with all the pages that follow!
Yes! Exactly this! Thanks, and the same to you!
LOL. My head monkeys lured me into the first chapter trap last week. I really didn’t want to revise DO. It called for hard decisions. I could see the long tunnel of work ahead. I really wanted the joy of diving into something fresh. But then my wise agent hit me with a stick and made me promise that I wouldn’t play with my new sparkly idea until my revisions were done 🙁
But I’ve gotten over it and am happily back into DO–and enjoying the magic of revision 🙂
Happy Drafting!
Thanks! There’s definitely a time to draft and a time to revise, but now that I’m querying my polished project, I feel lucky that it’s my time to draft. I’m sure I’ll have to circle back and revise something else soon so I’m grabbing it while I can. Best of luck in your revisions!
The best! It’s intoxicating and liberating with a bit of insanity, but mostly total and complete passion. Lovely post.
Thanks! I think you’ve summed up All The Feelings! So true.
Yay! I did my post on beginnings, too. Aren’t they fun and terrible and thrilling all at the same time?
Indeed!
I write all of my manuscripts by hand––so archaic, I know––and I get that same electric jolt whenever I buy a new notebook with the intention of starting a new novel!
🙂
Beautifully put! It is such an exciting yet daunting thing to embark on a new novel. Just love it though.
I love how you describe this! And I agree – it is exhilarating to start with a blank document and end up with a book! Kind of addicting, as you described…