I keep considering writing another book, then I remember the amount of work I need to do to edit it...and that’s where it ends.
This idea sounds like a LOT of fun though The Legion of Super-Heroes
I reckon I have you beaten on the blogs I’ve started over the years. I must be in double figures, and a lot of them never got past 5 posts. I’ve always enjoyed writing but struggled to stick with a consistent practice.
It’s only been since I got on substsck and found STSC that I’ve continued.
Mark, this was awesome, quitting is not the thing, that happens, it's not starting again that hits us. That list of ideas was awesome. I'm looking forward to reading "Lost By Barnard's Star", defi. put me on the read list, and all the rest too. Lost in Space but it's the Moon? Def. would read that. Infallible? That is also graphic novel that would be big. I want to finish writing what's on my plate and then devour whatever you write, these are all great ideas.
I have promised myself that if I revise my fantasy novel till I can revise no more, and it does not get an agent, I will self-publish it and the sequels. Scary, but I feel it's a good story and deserves to be told. Though I have lots of other ideas crowding up my brain, I am starting to push them out of the building into the cruel world. Eviction notice has been posted :-)
Do it! Self-publish I mean. I ended up doing that with a collection of short stories that fit together. It was an experiment to see what it’s like to self-publish and go through the whole process. Tip: try with a low stakes item first.
Oct 13, 2022·edited Oct 13, 2022Liked by Mark Dykeman
OK thanks. I like to ask permission as a journalist before publishing. If you'd like a preview, I can send, but it's mostly just a mention of your post. Let me know. This is just common practice to avoid mix ups. Cheers MM
I don't know that I have anything in limbo anymore. It comes from years of limboness, and finally learning not to start something I know I won't finish. That was definitely not always the case. One thing that might help with your novel is not to look at it as writing another 100k words, or a large unfinished work. That's so overwhelming. Start breaking it down into scenes. Jump start yourself by saying you're only writing the next scene. Those are usually a couple pages, maybe 400-800 words. I have found this approach personally to be more manageable. Thanks for sharing your limbos 😁
Or maybe it's a wonderful thing. All that time devoted to creative exploration. I love that I spent the time trying to figure out how to write a novel. I'm also proud of my wisdom to know that other people shouldn't see those efforts!
Are you familiar with Barbara Sher's work and her Scanners concept? A lot of her work is about creative exploration and giving yourself permission to not finish.
I have lots of scraps and rough ideas, but nothing cogent that I can easily wrestle into a draft. With some of it, I used as titles for a photography exhibit. Every so often I dip into it to draw inspiration.
For your novel, I feel like you’re there, with the newsletter momentum. If it’s any help, when I wrote my thesis, I just promised myself 15 minutes a night. If it turned out to be more, awesome! But we can always do 15 minutes, one paragraph...you got this!
I have some old fanfics way back in the day that were never finished and barely got started. Fanfiction archives are littered with never completed fics.
My first complete novel draft was actually in high school, and I haven't shown it to many people since it was already locked away by the time I met most of my writing friends. I showed it to my latin teacher because it was inspired our reading of the Aeneid. Maybe it will get a heavily redone version later, a ton has changed since then.
Oh, and there's another hidden complete draft from college, once again barely shown to anyone. It might be one of my earliest works set in Hybridis, the setting of Battles Beneath the Stars, or at the least only one that isn't completely incompatible with how it is now. Was about a clan of lycanthropes forced to emigrate due to a destructive civil war and adapt to their new home.
I have other things hidden away, but at the very least I think they're somewhere on the writing pipeline, like the novel about Hyperion and friends.
As a fanfic writer I'm going to have to disagree on the notion of playing with an established franchise having limited value. There's less creative freedom sure, but now you have established things to bend and play with. You can explore alternate outcomes and how it changes characterization compared to the original, or expand on what's left off-screen. If you're worried copyright holders wouldn't like your ideas you can do it as fanfic, so long as you aren't expecting money from it.
I have to agree with MarkFyve - better more unfinished ideas than no ideas at all! That said, I have two rather long novels in limbo - one set in my hometown circa 1982 based around a real-life murder from the perspectives of the kids who found the body, the other in the late 19th century linked to an historical race riot/coup from the perspective of a wealthy white child caught up in an unrelated conspiracy with his mad uncle .... There are also lots of short stories, partially completed essays, etc. - seems that once I left grad school where I could produce content at the drop of the hat, life and a pay check took over and while the ideas kept coming, the discipline and energy to get them down on paper waned. Not that I ever stopped writing, of course - but school reports, PowerPoints, sample philosophy papers, etc. just aren't the same!
Saying that ... now that I'm writing regularly again, the energy and focus have reappeared. So maybe, just maybe these shame points will be addressed and become pride points!
My limbo contains a fantasy novel about a witch, a shape-shifting imp and a blacksmith that lead an uprising against the King (think French revolution, but with a little more modern twist on Socialism and magic, of course).
Thanks for sharing this with us Mark. I don't think it should be a point of shame. I have a huge binder where I catalogue all my writing, including anything that is unfinished as well. I once worked with a writing coach and she said that everything counts, including attempts and fragments. You should catalogue and keep all as not everything we work on is meant to be finished. Sometimes they are starter projects that will help us get to a better project. Sometimes they are meant to be an actual project to finish but perhaps not yet at the time you began them. Accepting them as they are helps so much.
That said, I very well know the guilt one feels when they've put a project aside to work on and it continues to remind them of its presence, months or years later. One thing I've learned in the past several years is that outlines have really helped me with committing to and finishing projects. But these are not your average outlines, they are where all the work takes place, all the mapping of plot and third rail motivations driving the characters, the subtext, etc. They provide a scaffolding as well as breathing room for your actual story to unfold as you write your way through to the end of it. Novels are hard work though. They can take years. The one that's continued to haunt you, the Prisoner in Amber, may only need an extensive outline to fix it. It may be that you have to make major revisions to the original draft or that from that original NaNoWriMo draft, only half or a portion of it is retained. But...it's still a story you have there and that's more than half the battle. You are already half way to your final goal. So congratulations to you for that accomplishment and, as they say, “The best time to start was yesterday. The next best time is now.” Good luck!
I had a Wordpress blog and wrote actively from 2015 until 2020, which is now in limbo. I also started one novel sitting in a folder on my computer, mysteriously labeled with the acronym of its title (you know, in case someone wants to steal the idea and finish it.) And I plan to open a small shop to resell all the crafting supplies that remain unopened...(sigh).
I’ve been working on the same book idea with dozens of storylines and they all were tossed away after years of “working on it”. Now, I started it up again.
I keep considering writing another book, then I remember the amount of work I need to do to edit it...and that’s where it ends.
This idea sounds like a LOT of fun though The Legion of Super-Heroes
I reckon I have you beaten on the blogs I’ve started over the years. I must be in double figures, and a lot of them never got past 5 posts. I’ve always enjoyed writing but struggled to stick with a consistent practice.
It’s only been since I got on substsck and found STSC that I’ve continued.
This is the way.
A very relatable post! Better more ideas you didn't finish than no ideas at all, I guess.
I think most writers have that "white whale" they continue to chase. The lucky ones actually catch it. Hang in there and you'll catch it too! :)
Thanks Mark!
Mark, this was awesome, quitting is not the thing, that happens, it's not starting again that hits us. That list of ideas was awesome. I'm looking forward to reading "Lost By Barnard's Star", defi. put me on the read list, and all the rest too. Lost in Space but it's the Moon? Def. would read that. Infallible? That is also graphic novel that would be big. I want to finish writing what's on my plate and then devour whatever you write, these are all great ideas.
Wow Edward, thanks!
I have promised myself that if I revise my fantasy novel till I can revise no more, and it does not get an agent, I will self-publish it and the sequels. Scary, but I feel it's a good story and deserves to be told. Though I have lots of other ideas crowding up my brain, I am starting to push them out of the building into the cruel world. Eviction notice has been posted :-)
Do it! Self-publish I mean. I ended up doing that with a collection of short stories that fit together. It was an experiment to see what it’s like to self-publish and go through the whole process. Tip: try with a low stakes item first.
Linking this to my Friday post, Mark. Let me know if that's something you'd rather I not do. Cheers, MM
Please go ahead, feel free!
OK thanks. I like to ask permission as a journalist before publishing. If you'd like a preview, I can send, but it's mostly just a mention of your post. Let me know. This is just common practice to avoid mix ups. Cheers MM
Please feel free to proceed, I don't need to see a preview. :)
cheers mate.
I don't know that I have anything in limbo anymore. It comes from years of limboness, and finally learning not to start something I know I won't finish. That was definitely not always the case. One thing that might help with your novel is not to look at it as writing another 100k words, or a large unfinished work. That's so overwhelming. Start breaking it down into scenes. Jump start yourself by saying you're only writing the next scene. Those are usually a couple pages, maybe 400-800 words. I have found this approach personally to be more manageable. Thanks for sharing your limbos 😁
Hi Brian... no doubt that breaking into workable pieces is the way to go.
Loved this, Mark! I wonder how many of us have novels in limbo. I certainly do!
Sadly, probably millions of novels in limbo.
Or maybe it's a wonderful thing. All that time devoted to creative exploration. I love that I spent the time trying to figure out how to write a novel. I'm also proud of my wisdom to know that other people shouldn't see those efforts!
Are you familiar with Barbara Sher's work and her Scanners concept? A lot of her work is about creative exploration and giving yourself permission to not finish.
I'm not - but that sounds fantastic! Looking it up now...
The things I have started and promptly abandoned...too many! Very relatable.
The iceberg of writing.
I have lots of scraps and rough ideas, but nothing cogent that I can easily wrestle into a draft. With some of it, I used as titles for a photography exhibit. Every so often I dip into it to draw inspiration.
For your novel, I feel like you’re there, with the newsletter momentum. If it’s any help, when I wrote my thesis, I just promised myself 15 minutes a night. If it turned out to be more, awesome! But we can always do 15 minutes, one paragraph...you got this!
Thank you!
I have some old fanfics way back in the day that were never finished and barely got started. Fanfiction archives are littered with never completed fics.
My first complete novel draft was actually in high school, and I haven't shown it to many people since it was already locked away by the time I met most of my writing friends. I showed it to my latin teacher because it was inspired our reading of the Aeneid. Maybe it will get a heavily redone version later, a ton has changed since then.
Oh, and there's another hidden complete draft from college, once again barely shown to anyone. It might be one of my earliest works set in Hybridis, the setting of Battles Beneath the Stars, or at the least only one that isn't completely incompatible with how it is now. Was about a clan of lycanthropes forced to emigrate due to a destructive civil war and adapt to their new home.
I have other things hidden away, but at the very least I think they're somewhere on the writing pipeline, like the novel about Hyperion and friends.
As a fanfic writer I'm going to have to disagree on the notion of playing with an established franchise having limited value. There's less creative freedom sure, but now you have established things to bend and play with. You can explore alternate outcomes and how it changes characterization compared to the original, or expand on what's left off-screen. If you're worried copyright holders wouldn't like your ideas you can do it as fanfic, so long as you aren't expecting money from it.
Great points about fanfic, thanks for adding this perspective!
I have to agree with MarkFyve - better more unfinished ideas than no ideas at all! That said, I have two rather long novels in limbo - one set in my hometown circa 1982 based around a real-life murder from the perspectives of the kids who found the body, the other in the late 19th century linked to an historical race riot/coup from the perspective of a wealthy white child caught up in an unrelated conspiracy with his mad uncle .... There are also lots of short stories, partially completed essays, etc. - seems that once I left grad school where I could produce content at the drop of the hat, life and a pay check took over and while the ideas kept coming, the discipline and energy to get them down on paper waned. Not that I ever stopped writing, of course - but school reports, PowerPoints, sample philosophy papers, etc. just aren't the same!
Saying that ... now that I'm writing regularly again, the energy and focus have reappeared. So maybe, just maybe these shame points will be addressed and become pride points!
Another great post! Thanks.
Good on ya!
My limbo contains a fantasy novel about a witch, a shape-shifting imp and a blacksmith that lead an uprising against the King (think French revolution, but with a little more modern twist on Socialism and magic, of course).
Sounds promising!
I've been in consistent limbo since approximately 2001, and sporadically for a quarter century before that. #dubiouslyproud
Seriously, though - great post, Mark! Puts a whole lot into perspective. Works in progress always count, yes they do! :D
Well spoken!
Thanks for sharing this with us Mark. I don't think it should be a point of shame. I have a huge binder where I catalogue all my writing, including anything that is unfinished as well. I once worked with a writing coach and she said that everything counts, including attempts and fragments. You should catalogue and keep all as not everything we work on is meant to be finished. Sometimes they are starter projects that will help us get to a better project. Sometimes they are meant to be an actual project to finish but perhaps not yet at the time you began them. Accepting them as they are helps so much.
That said, I very well know the guilt one feels when they've put a project aside to work on and it continues to remind them of its presence, months or years later. One thing I've learned in the past several years is that outlines have really helped me with committing to and finishing projects. But these are not your average outlines, they are where all the work takes place, all the mapping of plot and third rail motivations driving the characters, the subtext, etc. They provide a scaffolding as well as breathing room for your actual story to unfold as you write your way through to the end of it. Novels are hard work though. They can take years. The one that's continued to haunt you, the Prisoner in Amber, may only need an extensive outline to fix it. It may be that you have to make major revisions to the original draft or that from that original NaNoWriMo draft, only half or a portion of it is retained. But...it's still a story you have there and that's more than half the battle. You are already half way to your final goal. So congratulations to you for that accomplishment and, as they say, “The best time to start was yesterday. The next best time is now.” Good luck!
Hi Autumn, I appreciate your kind comments. Great advice.
Maybe there should be a support group for this?
I had a Wordpress blog and wrote actively from 2015 until 2020, which is now in limbo. I also started one novel sitting in a folder on my computer, mysteriously labeled with the acronym of its title (you know, in case someone wants to steal the idea and finish it.) And I plan to open a small shop to resell all the crafting supplies that remain unopened...(sigh).
Maybe it just helps to let some of this stuff see the light of day.
I’ve been working on the same book idea with dozens of storylines and they all were tossed away after years of “working on it”. Now, I started it up again.
Cool, hope it pans out.