Tuesday, June 9, 2015

First novel, love it or leave it!

When to Stop Editing 

Eight years ago, I completed my first novel, "The Dance of Time". This is a
The Dance of Time is not about 
elephants. I just like this book marker.
70,000 word, literary fictive story that draws on themes of grief, forgiveness and personal renewal. Here I am nearly a decade later. It remains unpublished, and I am still revising it. I usually allow some time to pass before reading my revisions but even then I find my self making more changes. To complicate it, my friends who read the novel offer suggestions and I usually take their suggestions which means more revisions. So, here I am eight years later, no publisher or literary agent in sight and I'm still revising. So, here's my question to you, especially the writers and other creatives whose work requires making changes. When is it time to stop revising and move onto focus on writing another novel? In effect, should I love "The Dance of Time" as it is and leave it alone until the day when a publisher or literary agent approaches me and asks to read it, and then and only then make requested changes?

11 comments:

  1. Found your blog.
    What was the purpose of this novel? If that purpose were achieved, then your work is finished. Move onto the next project.
    Congrats on the blog.

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  2. The Dance of Time has done the work I asked of it. That is to convey compassion, forgiveness and personal renewal. I have moved on from that manuscript. In fact, I have three more novels to shop around and eventually market. Thank you for the feedback. Please blog with me more often. I value what you have to say. In fact, I'm curious about the themes you'd like to read, and I welcome others to share their reading wish list as well.

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  3. Often, we might contemplate our work and desire to immerse into its depths, as we are deeply involved with its various levels of being. Sometimes, it is hard to bid farewell when it is time to close one door - to open another, and we feel the urge to revisit. To let go can open new possibilities, and the past will always play its role in what is going to be. So, by being finding the courage to let go, we might find good old friends revisiting when embarking on new journeys.

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    Replies
    1. Lsconty, I am familiar with the enormity of your art work, from puppets and photos to paint and wool felt as well as the art therapy lessons you give so I feel confident in following your advice about letting go, closing doors and allowing new possibilities to flow in.

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  4. My comment is simple: What you do is amazing. What you've done in the past ten years is humbling. Keep doing it. Keep being you and only you.

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  5. Thank you for your supportive response, Carol Beam. I wonder if you would weigh in with an idea for marketing a novel that can't seem to find a home. What would you do. Presently, all your interests find homes--a place for your music, your study of language, photography, to name only a few. If you were to market one of these which would it be? What's might your first step be?

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  6. Liz, as you know, I struggle with the same relative to my photography. When to edit, when to edit more, how to edit, when to leave it alone, when to just stop! I seem to have terminal "one more tweak" syndrome - or perhaps it's really more not feeling confident that the image is just quite "good enough". My insecurities I guess. However, I am getting better compared to several years ago when I first started this creative jaunt. I "know" almost immediately (while still in the field) whether a shot is good, neutral or "other." And sometimes during editing - what I thought was "good" is just "meh". And at other times, I find a "gem" that I barely remember shooting. It's a journey. Including not being so hard on myself and letting go of perfection.

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  7. Hi Liz; sorry to be so late responding, but I was in GB. I like the question you ask, and I am reminded of a comment by the author Philip Pullman, who said knowing when you've completed a book is similar to a carpenter knowing when he or she has built a table - just the right amount of sanding, and you're done! Like you, I have also finished a novel some time ago, and I think editing is terrifically important. You just need to know, as I tell my students in the same Writing Program as you are in, to be selective about the feedback you receive. And think of Donna Tart; she spends about ten years on each novel she writes!

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  8. Tisha, I recall that you have a few books already published, and now your fiction novel is searching for a publisher. Given your extensive writing, publishing and teaching experience, your advice is sound. Thanks, too, for sharing Philip Pullman's idea about carpentry and sanding. I may lean on my "Dance of Time" table one more time, open it for one more round of suggestions. If the manuscript does not wobble, I'm moving on. Well, actually, I have moved on with two other novels now completed. So, I shall go lean on them. Stay well, write often, and please come back to this blog anytime to share your writing experience, your wisdom or simply to reach out with questions about your novel.

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  9. Keep your positive spirit and things will come your way.

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  10. Never give up. Research each future literary agent and see what they specialize in--and then put that spin on your manuscript in your e-mail. For example, if a literary agent specializes in novels that deal with a "Spiritual dilemma," you can mention in your e-mail that one of your characters has a "spiritual awakening." You can also look for small, independent publishers (that often don't require a literary agent) --and see what they like to see in a novel.

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