# Should I scrap my initial novel and start fresh?



## ViKtoricus (Oct 15, 2013)

Hi guys. I have about eight and a half chapters into my novel, The Unarmed Fighter, which has over 11,000 words in it. However, I feel that I gave off a bad start. Recently, I started a new novel, a fantasy-medieval one. Although I haven't even finished my first chapter with the recent novel, I already feel that it has had a better start than The Unarmed Fighter.

If you'd be so kind, please check out my work at the Prose Writing Workshop section of this forum. I ask you to read the first chapter only, though you may read chapters two and three too. And I'd like you to keep in mind this, which is my newer novel:



_Chapter one_






_Bang... bang... bang... You hear the sound of metal banging on metal. Bruce is working on a sword. He is always busy, busy with making weaponry. He hardly has any time for his wife, Sherry. Standing at six feet tall, two-hundred and twenty pounds, Bruce is a wall of muscle, thanks to his years of weightlifting. His shiny bald head is a testament to his rebelliously ambitious personality. Almost every day he spends it banging on metal, or lifting metal. Sometimes Sherry gets irritated._


_“Honey, when are you going to bed with me?” asks Sherry as she peeks through the curtain of their room. “Just give me a minute. I'm almost done.” replies Bruce. A minute later, he's still working. Five minutes later, he's still working. Nine minutes later, the banging stops, and he pays a visit to his wife in the bedroom. Sherry is reading a book with her candle flaming while wearing an expensive gown. The gown was a gift given to her by a former lover during her 'adventurous' years. Now she is wearing it for her husband's delight. “Are you ready?” she says to him. “I'm always ready. Ready for you.” Bruce replies. Bruce slowly walks to the bed and then sits, his wife staring at him expectantly. Bruce then starts caressing his wife's thigh. “I'm lucky to have you.” he says._


_Sherry's fair skin is smooth to the touch. Her figure has always been an eye catcher among men. She's blonde with a very beautiful face. Bruce leans forward and kisses his wife, slipping his tongue inside, sucking on her upper lip. Both of their eyes closed. It is a passionate kiss. The two made love..._


_It's morning time. Bruce wakes up first. He yawns, and then gets out of bed. Sherry's eyes open. 
“Good morning honey.” she says. “Today is the big day isn't it?” In the country of Garmol, a civil war is brewing. King Harry Joran demanded the city-state of Kohl to open up a trade of diamonds with their kingdom. But Cory, the king of Kohl, refused to give in. Now Harry's kingdom is secretly preparing its army to lay siege to the kingdom of Kohl. Bruce was given the assignment of preparing a grand sword to present to his king. After finishing the sword, he made a replica of it for himself to keep. Bruce heads straight to their bathroom, not inviting Sherry with him. He bathes. Sherry gets up and heats up breakfast. Fish with fish stock and bread. After bathing, Bruce and Sherry sit at the table for a meal._
_“...You know, there has been rumors of how the king wants to recruit most able-bodied men for the war. That can include you...” Sherry says, as she sips the soup from her spoon. Bruce gets quiet for a moment. “Whatever happens, happens.” he finally says. “If I die in war, you can survive on your own. I've accumulated enough wealth for you to last you this lifetime.”_
_“Don't say that!”Sherry exclaims. “You will not die...” There was silence. Bruce did not talk any further. Sherry loved Bruce too much. Losing him would crush her. But there are no guarantees to the future. Even Sherry knows this. However, it doesn't stop her from refusing to believe it._


_Meanwhile, in the kingdom of Kohl..._


_“Damian... what do you have planned?” asked King Cory Leving. Damian Jezel is a decorated general in the army of Kohl. They are in the throne, plotting to neutralize Harry's upcoming attack. A spy has leaked information to King Cory. Upon learning this, Cory made it a goal to invade Garmol, to fight fire with fire.



_What do you advice? Should I scrap my first novel and just work on this second one? Or does my initial novel actually show potential?


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## Pluralized (Oct 15, 2013)

There's a stigma surrounding this idea that your time writing fiction is only valuable if you're writing a novel. Give yourself a chance to learn the mechanics of storytelling first by writing some short stories. Figure out what your characters have to say. Close the loop and feel the satisfaction of writing an ending. 

The writing isn't all that bad, and you'll continue to improve. Just don't arbitrarily stick to the "I need to write a novel straight out of the gate" mindset. Work on the mechanics and grammar.

Personally, your fighter story interests me more than Bruce and Sherry. However, that may be due to an adverse reaction to the kingdom names and such. Beware the "analysis paralysis" trap of having too many WIPs in your quiver.

If you're dead set on writing a novel, have you considered doing NaNoWriMo? Just force it out and that way you'll know if you've got it in you. Good luck either way, and good luck with whichever project you choose to focus your energy on.


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## ViKtoricus (Oct 15, 2013)

Thanks Plur.


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## The Tourist (Oct 15, 2013)

First off, you have to do some research, or at least get some rudimentary history books.  Let me show you an example.

I study Japanese sword making--but I do not know jack about the Medieval period.  Nothing.  But one thing I know about Japanese swords is that there is no one, singular cutler.  As for the smelting portion, there was usually a spindly little peasant stoking a forge and folding a blade blank.  It was craftsmen up the food chain who did the refinements.

So, based on that one idea, I flipped on Bing, and asked the question, "Did one cutler make Medieval swords?"  Here's what popped up.

http://www.albion-swords.com/articles/images/how-a-medieval-sword-was-made.pdf

I don't think it's possible for one man to know so many facets of the craft.  How that translates to you telling a story is that your target market would know more of the history than I did.  In the first paragraph you lose credibility.  It would be like meeting Anakin Skywalker's college roommate, James Tiberius Kirk.


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## ViKtoricus (Oct 15, 2013)

The Tourist said:


> First off, you have to do some research, or at least get some rudimentary history books.  Let me show you an example.
> 
> I study Japanese sword making--but I do not know jack about the Medieval period.  Nothing.  But one thing I know about Japanese swords is that there is no one, singular cutler.  As for the smelting portion, there was usually a spindly little peasant stoking a forge and folding a blade blank.  It was craftsmen up the food chain who did the refinements.
> 
> ...



Should I stick to my martial arts novel or my newer blacksmith novel?


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## The Tourist (Oct 15, 2013)

I think your earlier inclination to find a mentor or teacher might be better.

You seem to have a lot of drive and ambition, but I think you need some good old fashion work habits.  Research.  Patience.  Several history books.

Swords?  I just repair and polish the edges, that was ten years before I was any good.  I haven't the foggiest idea on how to construct the sword.

Writing has been even harder, and I studied lit in college.

Find a mentor, or a local creative writing club.


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## Pluralized (Oct 15, 2013)

Tourist - that's an excellent point, and Vik, I think it's important to note: Everyone has something they're knowledgeable about. Tourist obviously knows a lot about blades and polishing and such things, and could probably use that to his benefit in his writing. 

Exploit what you know, and study up on what you don't, and find characters that make it interesting. They'll do the heavy lifting. I've written about snake charming and meditating and pyramids and flightless bird butchery, and Indian clerics, and all kinds of other stuff that I know nothing about. Sometimes successfully, sometimes not so much. 

You just have to decide what you want to write about and get after it. Muster some discipline and go forth. If you've got 11,000 words, you have what many would consider a really good start. There are lots of writers who'll never write that many words, despite racking up tons of forum posts. Exploit that head o' steam.


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## ViKtoricus (Oct 15, 2013)

The Tourist said:


> I think your earlier inclination to find a mentor or teacher might be better.
> 
> You seem to have a lot of drive and ambition, but I think you need some good old fashion work habits.  Research.  Patience.  Several history books.
> 
> ...





Dude, quit avoiding my question. I already have someone who agreed to mentor me.

My question is, should I stick with my first novel? Or should I scrap it and just do this new one? Do what Pluralized did. He actually did answer my question by saying that he likes my fighter story.


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## The Tourist (Oct 15, 2013)

Hmmm. I was trying to be positive.  

I don't think either novel have has any punch.  To my eye, they come off as superficial.  Kind of like you garnered the trappings of power without the bona fides.

I will admit a prejudice.  I find stories where all the characters are Navy SEALs and the women are all babes to read like comic books.  And when so much of the groundwork for the story begins this way it's over for me very quickly.

I still think you need to read (other novels and research materials) before you write.  Spend time with this teacher.


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## ViKtoricus (Oct 15, 2013)

The Tourist said:


> I don't think either novel have has any punch.  To my eye, they come off as superficial.  Kind of like you garnered the trappings of power without the bona fides.





I spit on positivity. What I want is honesty. This was the answer I was looking for. Thanks.


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## FleshEater (Oct 15, 2013)

Your opening sentence is in second person point of view, and then later the story trails off to a distant third. 

Scrap both novels, learn the fundamentals, and then write a short story and get it published. 

My answer is straight forward because you asked for an answer like that. Truth is, in this situation only the writer knows when to give up on an idea. If it isn't working, or you're not happy, move on. Problem solved.


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## ViKtoricus (Oct 15, 2013)

Thank you.


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## Sam (Oct 16, 2013)

Short stories will _not _prepare you for writing a novel. Not now, not three years from now, _never. _It's like training in 100-metre sprints for a marathon. You'll run out of juice before you hit the first mile. Neither will scrapping the novel do anything for you. You'll just start another one in six months and scrap it as well. 

Contrary to popular belief, you _can _learn the fundamentals by writing. I wrote and finished my first novel when I was 16. I hadn't a clue what I was doing, but I kept going and learned more by finishing that admittedly rubbish novel than I ever would have by scrapping it. I'm not saying you shouldn't read and study your craft. What I'm saying is that you _can _start by writing novels. In fact, if your goal is to one day write and finish one, it goes with saying that your mindset should be geared towards writing novels.


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## Gavrushka (Oct 16, 2013)

I agree that short stories cannot prepare you for writing a novel, but I would argue there is much to be gained from them. Yes, they are very different beasts, but even a marathon can come down to a sprint finish... And no, I did not say that to continue the analogy! 

I've written (and rewritten) novels for around three years, and I know that puts me low down the learning curve, but I've gained much from the subsequent two months of short story writing. - I learned to better focus and micromanage my writing from the short stories I've put together, and I feel these have added to the skills I am still developing for writing novels. 

The one thing I would say, is I'd never imagined enhancing my novel writing skills within the boundaries of a short story without having first concluded and edited a novel or two first!- How do you know what your weaknesses are, otherwise.

If your weakness is struggling to finish a story, I'd suggest that abandoning that story in favour of shorter prose is the worst thing you could do.


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## Pluralized (Oct 16, 2013)

I don't know, I suppose it seems getting something written, even a short story, is worthwhile versus getting locked up and quitting two 'novels' in progress. At least the OP would benefit from the production of something complete, be learning about how to write prose, and probably gaining more useful feedback overall.


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## Sam (Oct 16, 2013)

Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying there's no _benefit _to writing short stories. That's simply untrue. Short stories require many skills that will aid in the novel-writing process, such as concision and pacing, but they cannot prepare you for the discipline and effort it takes to write and finish a novel. It's like writing 2,000-word essays in preparation for a 100,000-word doctoral thesis. You're going to hit the wall. 

The only way to become better at writing novels is to write novels.


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## FleshEater (Oct 16, 2013)

I think writing a 14,000-20,000 word short story successfully would give better preparation than attempting 100,000 words or more out of the starting gate. 

Why?

Because ultimately a short story that long isn't much different than a short novel (300 pages). There is still character and plot development to learn to wield, and quite a bit of story to be told. I know when I read stories like Mad Dog Summer (Joe R. Lansdale) or The Mist (Stephen King) they feel like novels. Not because they're slightly longer, but because of the way the stories develop and unfold.

I don't want to say that the idea of starting with short stories is a concrete answer, it's just more manageable. Any writing that you do, as long as your striving for your best, will further your abilities regardless of whether writing a novel or short story. 

Sam is right, too. You can start by writing novels. However, this all comes back to the writer making an executive decision.  Do whatever YOU feel comfortable with. No one can tell anyone else what they need to do to get the job done, they can only offer advice.


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## Sintalion (Oct 16, 2013)

One of my favorite things to do (and what I am paid for IRL) is to edit. In all the talk about scrapping and starting over, don't forget to revise your former work. You can change things around and it can still be bad and you toss it away, but learning from your own mistakes and learning how to develop a critical eye, can get you on the road to better writing a little quicker. You can scrap everything, but later on down the road you'll be more likely to make the same mistakes and might end up wondering how is it that your writing still sounds the same. Why do you think professional athletes watch film of themselves? 

Giving off a bad start is an an easy fix. So are most issues, although you'd have to be able to do some heavy-lifting in the edits and not everyone is cut out for that. 

But many (not all) first drafts are icky and blah and the words didn't come out in the right way and there plot holes and bad dialogue and poorly structured paragraphs... Believe me, I've seen quite a few. Depending on your reasons for starting over, you're just going to run into the things listed above again and again. Examine your reasons for why you'd want to scrape it before you do. 

If you've got the story planned out, I'd advise you to just keep going until you get to the end. You'll be proud of finishing something (even if it stinks) and the experience you get of completing something can be invaluable. Think of it as working out the kinks for a piece you really want to invest a lot of time and energy in. It's important to train your brain to perform processes and to engage yourself in writing as much as you can. Read tips and practice them. Research and edit. 

So me, my answer to your post would be: before you scrape, edit. Figure out where you're going wrong,  read up on how to fix it, and have a chat with your mentor.


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## Fred (Oct 16, 2013)

It's only my opinion, but it's one thing to scrap a story because you've lost interest in your idea, and it's quite another to abandon it because you're not happy with your execution of the early portion of the narrative. If the idea still stimulates you, carry on. Finish the story, no matter how unhappy you are with some portions. Better to finish it and fix it later. These things evolve as you write, and you can rewrite the early chapters after you've more fully developed your characters and story.

If the idea doesn't spark any more, maybe you should put it aside. I would suggest, though, that you work hard to avoid the habit of bouncing from one idea to another if you can. You'll always have new ideas for scenes and characters, and they'll almost always seem more exciting and refreshing and attractive than those in progress, because writing is _hard_.


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## Jeko (Oct 16, 2013)

IMO, your next words will usually be better than your previous words. This can make you think that you should keep starting new projects, and you may become like me and never have one finished.

If you can finish the first story, finish the first story. If you can't, but you think you can do the second one better justice, do the second one. Base your decision on which you think you can finish.

I agree with The Tourist that neither novel has much 'punch' at the moment. Neither does mine. You need to let one of these grow to be able to judge whether the story, in all its fullness, has 'punch'. Assessment of ideas and their initial implementation can't do that. You may end up deceiving yourself and the project will never reach its true potential.

Both stories have incredible potential.


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## The Tourist (Oct 16, 2013)

Cadence, I think there's another problem here.  I think our young friend just "wants it all right now."

He wants to be a writer.  Fair enough, I want to be a writer.  But I also know that there are numerous intermediary steps along the way to crafting something interesting to read.

I see our OP writing something, wanting us to fix it and then wanting us to make his future choices on the thing fixed.  That's not the job of a mentor or a beta.

The hardest thing we have to do here is guide him into the light without crushing the spirit that drives him to create.  I'm beginning to see his entries and feel the same pang I get when I see a old girl friend.  It's always the same thing, the scenery never changes and I cannot infuse a magical incantation into an empty vessel.

But look at the stuff we do, and have done.  I have been writing since 1958.  I took my first creative writing course in 1961.  Even my wife buys me books on Japanese history and one book on Samurai icons, and she cannot even sharpen a pencil.  I probably know more about the togishi district in Edo than I do about the theater section in my hometown!

Call it what you will, but I think the secret is paying your dues.  If the OP is going to get there, then the best chance is simply learning the craft--the hard way.


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## Gavrushka (Oct 16, 2013)

The Tourist said:


> Call it what you will, but I think the secret is paying your dues.  If the OP is going to get there, then the best chance is simply learning the craft--the hard way.



LOL... Get your ice skates out and lets head for the Underworld.

I agree with The Tourist on this! 

We learn more from our own mistakes than from the wisdom of others that have already trod the path we now walk. - Jump to the end of the route, and the destination we reach is both unfamiliar and undervalued.


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## The Tourist (Oct 16, 2013)

Gavrushka said:


> LOL... Get your ice skates out and lets head for the Underworld.  I agree with The Tourist on this!



LOL, hey, I can have a good idea once a decade!  I was right about "disco," wasn't I?

But let's not single out the OP.  We all have big dreams.  He's just the example here.  You could insert any of our names into this mix.


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## Tettsuo (Oct 16, 2013)

FYI, it's not uncommon for a writer's first novel to be tossed in the trash bin (so to speak).  My first attempt at writing a novel was terrible.  I had no idea what I wanted to say, how I wanted to write it or where the story was going.

My first completed novel is where I learned a lot.  I did a ton of sharpening during that attempt and learned what* I *needed to do in order to construct and complete a story.  Now that I'm writing my third (if I count the trashed novel), I feel more confident, more capable than I ever did before.

So should you scrap it?  Depends on how you feel it's going.  It may be a good idea to get some space from it by writing another novel or some short stories.  It may also be a good idea to stick with it and hammer the bad boy out.

There is no easy answer.  It all depends on you.


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## The Tourist (Oct 16, 2013)

Tettsuo, I agree with your assessment on the singular story, but I think there's more of an issue here.  Will his next story be better?  Of course it will!  The problem most of us discern is that there needs to be more research, a bit more care, and lots of patience as the skill develops.


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## philistine (Oct 16, 2013)

Only you know the answer.

My first novel was abandoned at c. 15,000 words. I was slogging through it, but in my heart, I knew that this wasn't it 'it'. I scrapped it. I then began a second version, which, although better, still didn't quite get off the ground. My third, and what would be final version, however, is the one that made it to the finishing line. I knew I was doing it right with that version, and with that surety, I powered on through to the end.


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## Tettsuo (Oct 16, 2013)

The Tourist said:


> Tettsuo, I agree with your assessment on the singular story, but I think there's more of an issue here.  Will his next story be better?  Of course it will!  The problem most of us discern is that there needs to be more research, a bit more care, and lots of patience as the skill develops.


I was replying directly to the thread title.

I agree he needs to do some research... may even live a little to see how people really talk and behave.  I don't agree with the patience angle though.  Patience gets you a lot less than hardwork.  I'm a practice sort of guy.  Getting your hands dirty is the best way to learn how to do something imo.


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## D. E. Forester (Oct 16, 2013)

I've abandoned more novels than I can properly count.

That being said, I don't forget my old projects, and many elements from my favorite never-was-stories have resurfaced in my current project, the Duskverse; the main character, Colin, is an import from a different vampire story (that actually got quite far before I wrote myself into too many corners to correct and so I shut it down), Dmitrii and Anya are Russian-ized versions of Jason and Janet from that same story, Jeanne and Katyusha are different facets of a single character, Ariel, now emphasized in two characters. The world, its inhabitants, and many of the events in it are built from scraps of an old role play I did with friends, and Claudia Chanoix, ironically, is pulled from an ero-fic I was writing at one point. Duskverse is a story built from the best bones of weaker stories that didn't make it.

My short novel project, Livane, is similarly built, only from more fantastical elements that I couldn't weasel into the Duskverse.

All of these elements couldn't carry the day in their original stories, but they were good elements, and it was only after they tumbled in free-fall through my head without being connected to a story anymore that they matured and ripened enough to form a complete story by linking together in a fresh and intelligent way.

My advice is _write_. Just write. Keep doing it, and remember the bits you like as well as the things you dislike. You may trash many stories before you get the one you want (and it may even do to write some stories you don't even intend on finishing, just to help the creativity flow, and fill out your "_Hemingway Briefcase"_). It comes with being an artist. Keep those good ideas close to you. It may be that the story they appeared in isn't quite the story for them and they just needed a place to form in your head. They may come in handy later, and some of the toughest stories emerge from a sort of literary Darwinsim, where only the strongest ideas survived to reemerge later as a finished novel.


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## Gamer_2k4 (Oct 16, 2013)

If we're judging solely on the quality of your work, absolutely nothing about the excerpt you posted makes me think, "Stop whatever else you're doing and work on this!" It's just not very good.  You have no focus, and you spend far too much time telling the reader about details that just don't matter.

I'll tell you right now that your new story isn't going to be "the one."  Based on where you're at, your next one won't be either, nor the few after that.  Stop, put this one on hold, and keep working on your original story.  The only thing you'll learn from restarting every 10,000 words is how to never finish anything.  If you actually complete one of these novels, regardless of its overall quality, you'll learn about story structure, plotting, characterization, atmosphere, and everything else that's needed to make a book great.  If you continue to "start fresh," you'll never be a writer.


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## Jeko (Oct 16, 2013)

> I think our young friend just "wants it all right now."



Most amateur writers do (I certainly did). Which brings me back to my point - if you want your work to be successful, you have to give it time. You can't judge it in its early stages. That's like having an abortion because you think your son could grow up to be a serial killer.

One of the most important things you must learn as a writer is patience.


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## Robdemanc (Oct 16, 2013)

Enjoy writing for the sake of it, not because you want to produce a blockbuster.  The more you write, the more you learn, the better you get.  Don't expect everything to fall into place in a first draft.  Most novels will take several drafts to be of publishable quality.


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## FleshEater (Oct 16, 2013)

Write it and you'll learn is B.S. if you ask me. Yes, writing the novel or any story is part of learning, however, there are countless hours of studying that goes into learning how to write. The OP can keep writing this, sure, but if he never actively learns how to write, or seek out helpful feedback and critique, he'll never learn anything, other than that what he writes he dislikes.

Write. 

However, read twice as much as you write. And when you read, study what's happening. Pay attention to how prose are used, how words are used in general, how plot develops, how characters develop, how the pace is set, how climaxes are reached, and finally, how it's ended. As a writer, reading is less for enjoyment and more for study. At first anyways. 

And then comes learning to edit.


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## movieman (Oct 16, 2013)

I think the important thing is to finish a novel to the point where you think other people would want to read it; even if everyone then thinks it sucks, at least you've pushed it to where you think it's the best you can do at that time. That may require rewriting, editing, or just tossing out the whole thing and writing a different novel.

Starting a novel is easy. Finishing it is hard. Writing something other people want to read is harder still. Starting lots of novels and never finishing, or finishing a rough draft of lots of novels but never tidying them up to show to anyone else is far less useful than just getting one done and handing it to a reader to see what they think.


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## Sam (Oct 16, 2013)

FleshEater said:


> Write it and you'll learn is B.S. if you ask me. Yes, writing the novel or any story is part of learning, however, there are countless hours of studying that goes into learning how to write. The OP can keep writing this, sure, but if he never actively learns how to write, or seek out helpful feedback and critique, he'll never learn anything, other than that what he writes he dislikes.
> 
> Write.
> 
> ...



I must have missed the part where someone said to neglect reading. 

The salient point that you're overlooking here is that you can only _write _a novel. You can't _read _and magically conjure words onto a page. At some stage, you have to sit down and start writing, and all the reading in the world isn't going help you get through that. You need to write; to finish; to edit; and to repeat _ad nauseam _until it becomes second nature.


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## bookmasta (Oct 16, 2013)

Sam is right. Before I started writing novels, I was a short story enthusiast and thought the transition would be easier to writing a novel because of it. Oh how wrong I was. The only way to do it, is to just write it.


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## ViKtoricus (Oct 16, 2013)

I sent a link of this thread to my mentor. He should give me advice about this soon.

But I'm agreeing with boss Sam on this one. I believe in specificity. Anyway people, it's getting off topic. What I really want to know from you is which novel I should work on if I only have to work on one? lol. My first one (The Unarmed Fighter) or my second one?


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## D. E. Forester (Oct 16, 2013)

I say go with the one you feel in your gut is worth it to stick with.

I have two projects, like I said. I enjoy them both, but I give all my attention to one. Which story do you WANT to tell?

Decide that, and your issue is over. Editing over the course of several drafts will weed out most, if not all, issues.


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## Tettsuo (Oct 16, 2013)

ViKtoricus said:


> I sent a link of this thread to my mentor. He should give me advice about this soon.
> 
> But I'm agreeing with boss Sam on this one. I believe in specificity. Anyway people, it's getting off topic. What I really want to know from you is which novel I should work on if I only have to work on one? lol. My first one (The Unarmed Fighter) or my second one?


We can't look at a few paragraphs and know what's best for you to write.  That's something you'll have to decide on your own.


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## The Tourist (Oct 16, 2013)

Tettsuo said:


> I don't agree with the patience angle though.  Patience gets you a lot less than hard work.



Yes, we disagree.  I cannot rush my job.  I cannot glue metal back onto something valuable.

By patience I mean write, polish, and re-write.  Lots of the stuff here looks like a rough first draft.  And personally, I don't think either story has legs.  It's not a question of one or the other, it's more a matter of learn from your mistakes and begin a third.

You can have stuff either cheap, fast or good, but never all at the same time.


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## Tettsuo (Oct 16, 2013)

The Tourist said:


> *By patience I mean write, polish, and re-write.*  Lots of the stuff here looks like a rough first draft.  And personally, I don't think either story has legs.  It's not a question of one or the other, it's more a matter of learn from your mistakes and begin a third.


Amen!  That's how you improve your writing.


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## bookmasta (Oct 16, 2013)

ViKtoricus said:


> I sent a link of this thread to my mentor. He should give me advice about this soon.
> 
> But I'm agreeing with boss Sam on this one. I believe in specificity. Anyway people, it's getting off topic. What I really want to know from you is which novel I should work on if I only have to work on one? lol. My first one (The Unarmed Fighter) or my second one?


I would go with whatever one you enjoy writing the most.


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## The Tourist (Oct 16, 2013)

bookmasta said:


> I would go with whatever one you enjoy writing the most.



Often you hear the old canard, "Write what you know."  Maybe that's the key to this issue.

I don't know in what the OP specializes, but perhaps it might solve a multitude of problems.  He might not make period swords, but he could be an up and coming philatelist.  He might make his lead a renown world expert and provide lots of insider nuances pivotal to the plot.

One of the things that stands out in the stories and poems I read here is passion.  If your knowledge of a topic is akin to a book report there's no pizzazz.  If the writer lets us see the fire in his dedication it would seem that half the battle is won.


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## Jeko (Oct 16, 2013)

> What I really want to know from you is which novel I should work on if I only have to work on one? lol. My first one (The Unarmed Fighter) or my second one?



You should be able to, and should, decide for yourself. If you want to get paid for this, you're going to have to be assertive.

I repeat what I said before: write whichever you think you can finish. If you think you can finish both, write whichever one you think you can finish better.


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## The Tourist (Oct 16, 2013)

Cadence, normally I'd be with you on this.  But I think refining one of the existing examples with an eye to marketing it is the cart before the horse.

My guess is that he is years away from doing that, at best.  Over the next year he should be pummeling us with lots of new ideas, themes and poems.  Each one flawed, but each one better.

I try to refurbish items for clients.  And I hate to give up.  But sometimes a project just consumes more time and money hence promoting frustration.

I have snippets of my rough attempts.  I catalog them.  I have gone back when fresh ideas became clear.  You know, "everything but the squeal."  Perhaps the OP could get a clearer picture if he saved these two stories, and started a short story, or wrote a poem about a passionate pursuit.  Little victories.


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