Getting Back Together With A Manuscript (I hate you! I love you!)

Regular visitors to this blog may have noticed a change in tone a while back. I'd been having serious relationship problems with my manuscript, and Taylor Swift's latest song perfectly described my attitude.

I'd sing to my Work In Progress, "We are never, ever, ever, getting back together!"

Like, EVER.

I wondered if the colossal amount of time spent on this book was a colossal waste. Even though I knew writing time was never wasted, I thought my time on my book was the exception.

But contrary to the song, me and my manuscript are back together again and happier than ever. What changed? I began by asking myself these three questions:

1. Do I love the story?
2. Is it worth telling?
3. Do I, as a reader, like reading it and think others will enjoy it, too?

I answered Yes to all three questions. So how did my manuscript and I mend our tumultuous relationship? Here's what worked for us:

Recognize problems and be open to solutions

Our gut tells us what isn't working. It's like the relationship therapist who helps us see what needs to change. 

Once I recognized problem areas, I searched through my notes for old, unused ideas. I thought of new ideas. I asked for advice, received it, and didn't brush it aside. I read blog posts by Janice Hardy & Martina Boone with new interest, focusing on how that information would enhance my own work. Literally...I was open to anything.

Give it time

This is always a biggie for writers, and I had to re-test my patience. Like a petulant child, I wanted my solutions now. 

My relationship-therapist-gut was on overdrive. I wanted to dump anything that frustrated me and write something new. But many times the good bones were there, I just needed to tweak this or that to make a scene more compelling. But when a scene needed to go, I had absolutely no problem cutting it. And once I'd written fresh scenes, I gave them time to marinate until I revised them.

Time. Time. Time. 

Appreciate the good

Once I'd cut the blah and enhanced the good, my own work looked lovey-dovey again. There was plenty of quality in my story, I just had to chill out, be patient, and let my mind wander. Once I started actively searching for solutions and applying them to the manuscript, it no longer seemed like a colossal waste of time. Re-reading passages became a joy again, and I got that feeling. You know the one.

Have I been in this position before? Yep. See my post "Is your story worth saving?" Does my manuscript still need work? Yep. But now that we're back together again, I'm thankful I didn't give up on it. Our relationship is totally worth the hard work.

Have you ever wanted to break up with your manuscript? If you stayed together, what saved your relationship? Do you have any other revision advice you can share with us?

And just for fun, here's Taylor Swift's song that I sang to my manuscript in frustration:

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Patience--A Writer's Elusive Virtue

Are you out of the closet as a writer? And if so, are there days when you wish you could jump back in the closet and board the door up from the inside?

Some days I feel like that. Why? Because now that people know I'm a writer, they expect certain things. Like, a published book. Well-meaning people often ask me, "So how's it going with the book? Is it published yet? Where can I buy it? And don't real writers have books out already?" (Ok, I made up that last part)

Times like this can be tough for writers, but it's also an opportunity to don our wrinkled, dusty "patience" hats. Here's three things we can remember to do:

Be patient with others

Most people who ask about our writing progress are showing genuine interest and are being kind. People that aren't a part of the publishing world don't usually understand how s-l-o-w it is. Just like I don't know how engineering or manufacturing works, most people outside the bookish loop don't know how publishing works, or the arduous steps we must take to reach our goals.

Be patient with the publishing industry

Agents, editors, and interns are hard-working folks, just like you and me. Reading through queries and manuscripts takes a long time. Heck, we know how long it takes to revise our own manuscripts, and these people do it all day every day. We don't want them to rush past our manuscript as if it doesn't matter. If they're taking their time with other manuscripts, hopefully they'll take their time with ours.

Be patient with ourselves

If we're constantly focused on all that we're not, we're ignoring what we are and what we've accomplished so far. Learning a craft and working hard to improve it takes a lot of time. Like, months and years, not days. So even though the process is maddeningly slow, and being patient is sometimes difficult, it's a good virtue to strive for.

Do you find yourself becoming impatient with non-writers, the writing industry, and yourself? If so, how do you handle it? And if you're already published, did you have your own moments of impatience?

And on a kind of/sort of similar subject, you might want to check out this post at Write It Sideways: Can You Really Call Yourself a Writer?

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The Gift of Patience

Patience is something you admire in the driver behind you, and scorn in the one ahead. - Mac McCleary

This holiday season, my wish for each of us is to receive the gift of patience.

Patience with the outside world

We'll drive through jammed streets, and battle for parking spaces. Some of us might visit a crowded mall and experience stressed out store clerks.

Patience with the writing world

We've all learned that the publishing industry moves at a glacial pace. Agents and editors are regular people with their own families and traditions to attend to. We might not receive the news we want at the time we want (a great post about this here).

Patience with ourselves

We do the best we can with the time we have. We may write about super heroes or extraordinary powers, but that's fiction. If we picture ourselves in slow motion, enjoying our friends and family, perhaps we'll cherish the season a bit more.

In the words of Benjamin Disraeli, "Patience is a necessary ingredient of genius." Do you struggle with patience at this time of year, or do you take it all in stride?

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