RSSShifting the Writer’s Gears: An Unpublished Book in Memoriam
Apr 12
A Writer's Blog Comments Off
Twice in the last six months, I have dramatically switched gears on a fiction story. The first time was a draft of a full length novel. The vision was clearer in my head than it was on paper, and fortunately for me, my editor said it wasn’t good.
I listened. Although I knew it somewhere deep inside my writer’s brain, it was difficult to acknowledge out loud. I had written almost 20,000 words and it just wasn’t a cohesive story. The plot was choppy and my editor described it as “a bunch of mini stories -- none of them good.”
I also had a person-off-the-street read my book (a friend of mine) who pointed out one redeeming component to me. She said a few of the characters were dead on. I had created a few intriguing, enjoyable characters and she pointed to one specifically that she thought was well-developed and worth saving.
At the time, the book was shelved (literally, I have two printed drafts on my book shelf).
Flash forward to this year and I revisited the entire project. I extracted a few pages describing my reader’s favorite character and begin to build a story around him. My ambitions were smaller. 15,000 words, a tight story already plotted in my mind. And I started to draft my tale about this one guy and his best friend and the girl he loved (who was engaged to someone else).
A week ago, the entire project was scrapped again. It didn’t work. Was it flawed to start with material that had already been sent to the scrap pile? (I would have argued no before, but now I’m not so sure). In fact, had I finished the book, about 2% would have been recycled material. The part I saved was only a description of the character I wanted to revive.
It just never worked. Was I writing in the wrong genre? Possibly. It’s true that both Accidents Happen and Whisper in the Walls (May 2010 release) were so-called “superhero” stories, and both were written easily, the words flowing off my fingers on to the page like a waterfall. I grew up on comic books, particularly the Uncanny X-Men and the Avengers, so hero stories were familiar ground for me. But I have also written three full length nonfiction books to date (including the summer 2010 release Thank You is Implied) so I definitely have written in other genres.
In some respects, it doesn’t matter why it didn’t work, only that I was able to recognize that (twice!) and shutter the project. It’s difficult to put so much effort into a project only to get near the finish line and realize it’s just not working. As a writer, it’s a critical function to be able to self-edit (or at the very least, check your ego at the door when meeting with your editor). I have an obligation to myself and to my fans not to publish subpar material. It costs me in time and production and advertising costs. It might also cost me a few readers if they think I cheated on the quality of a book.
I’m a little sad that the book project is shelved for good. Somewhere in there was the story I was trying to tell; it just never materialized. I am also smart enough not to try and revive the work again. It’s time to move on.
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Andrew Marx is a long time writer on SmartReMarxcom and recently finished a new work of fiction titled Whisper in the Walls, available as a free digital download in May. You can contact him on twitter or leave a comment below
