-
When is it ever finished?
I’ve just gone back to rewrite a manuscript I’ve already re-written twice, well, to be honest, heavily edited twice. After receiving a critique, from someone who’s opinion I respect, they have suggested that some of the later parts (the parts of the story that are probably the best bits) should happen earlier in the narrative.
Having considered this I can’t argue with the logic and have started on the rewrite. Which leads me back to my question – when is a story ever finished, or is it never really finished?
I remember reading an article by Dean Koontz who said that many years ago when his publisher went out of business he had the chance to take back the ownership rights on some of his earlier novels and he went about systematically re-writing them before they were re-released because in his words, ‘I’m a much better writer now than I was back then.’
Which may be true, but that thinking could lead to madness…the whole Ray Bradbury Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl scenario….
Any thoughts?
-
4 Replies
-
The only answer I can give is that it is finished when you decide it is. Mine was finished and I spent money on a Jericho editorial review. Excellent feedback. So another 6 months and it was finished again. Then I let a handful of people read a preview copy. Some of their feedback was consistent. But some was at odds with what others thought. So, still not quite finished. But nearly.
The killer question I asked my preview readers was this – despite the flaws you may have pointed out, would you pay to read another book by the same author?
That will give you your answer. -
In some respects, the answer to this ties in with the other recent question if you can’t be brilliant…
As Iain says, it comes down to when it is done for you. Whatever done means.
Are you happy with it? Has it achieved what you want it to achieve? (Which may or may not be what you initially intended it to achieve – see the last question/comment below.) Are there changes you could make, based on feedback from others? Is it the best you can write, given your current skills and knowledge? Are you even interested in it any more, or should you be starting a new story, a new tale, from the ground up, that will harness what you’ve learnt since you started writing it? (Because, let’s face it, some stories start with such a poor premise that the best thing to do is quietly file them under B…)
-
I agree with the others in that it is done when and only when you you feel it is. Your manuscript will always divide opinions so will never be perfect in everyone’s eyes. I can compare it to martial arts, which I’ve studied for many years. Whenever I’ve trained really hard on a certain aspect and feel that I’ve nailed it, helped by praise of peers and encouragement from sensei, my sensei will then pick everything to pieces during a private lesson. This will go on no matter how good one gets. Hence, I will say there is no perfect kata, there is no perfect manuscript. There is only the very best that you can possibly do at that time, until later when you can possibly do better.
-
You will never know when a work is truly done. Only other people can tell you that. And sometimes, they will be wrong. Accept it.
