The Value of Finishing Your Story

Writing a book can be a long, arduous undertaking. But finishing a book? Whew. That’s another beast on the horizon. Many writers will abandon their writing project because they get stuck in their plot, feel overwhelmed by all the elements they must juggle, or feel like they’re not good enough to be writers at all.

Some stories are tough to write because the writer hasn’t learned how to stay committed through the challenges. Some stories are tough to write because the concept itself is weak and needs a total reconstruction. Still, other stories are tough to write because the concept is strong, deep, and requires a writer who is all in.

Which scenario are you dealing with?

This blog post talks about the dangers of giving up before finishing your book and helps writers decide what to do with a story that simply doesn’t work.

Let’s hop to it!

Finishing.

That can be an intimidating word if you’re writing a book.

But it’s something all writers must do if they want to see their books published.

I’d say it’s something all writers must do if they want to move forward on their writing journeys.

Sure, you could set aside a manuscript that’s only partially written and begin another story. In a sense, you’re moving forward. However, if this is a habit—abandoning writing projects midway along and starting new writing projects (only to abandon those to start other new projects), then your growth is sufficiently stunted.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m familiar with Shiny Idea Syndrome. I myself have a Muse who frequently hands me story ideas even though I’m neck-deep in a novel and have no need for another flipping story idea.

I could easily just “take a peek” at those new ideas, just to see what they’re all about. But I know how dangerous that road is.

If you regularly tempt yourself with other ideas before you reach your personal finish line on your current project, you’re simply asking for trouble.

Why?

New Ideas are beautiful and alluring. They don’t have the wear and tear of ideas already being used. They don’t have the scars or dents or rattles that Used Ideas always (without fail) get. They sit in the parking lot of your imagination, just waiting for a test drive.

So, you do it. You park your Used Idea and get into the New Idea and take it for a spin.

Oh, it rides nice, doesn’t it?

Handles well. Smooth. You test out some of the features—the fresh cast of characters and the cool plotline and the jazzy setting and You. Are. Hooked.

You start thinking—this New Idea was MADE FOR ME. Everything about it just works. And I’m excited about this New Idea. More excited than what I was driving before, that Boring Old Used Idea.

So you ditch your Used Idea (which you’ve now decided is boring and old and no-good and a waste of your time), and take on the New Idea, making it your Current Idea.

And you’re ready to ride into the sunset, you and your Current Idea.

Everything’s going great—until you hear a squeak. Then a rattle. Then you smell suspicious fumes. The ride is no longer comfortable, and suddenly the road you’re on is a steep incline, cluttered with all sorts of obstacles.

The Current Idea is strangely feeling a lot like the Used Idea. Boring. Too difficult.

You see a shortcut in the weeds, so you take it, and lo and behold, what is that up ahead?

No flipping way.

A New Idea! Let’s goooooo!

Haha, okay. The point I hopefully am getting across is that ALL ideas lose their shininess and excitement after a while. But rather than abandoning your idea when it starts getting difficult, I urge you to keep writing and finish your draft.

Here's why -->

Finishing something you started invokes a natural sense of pride and accomplishment. Despite the "ugh" feeling you might have when you sit down for your writing sessions, you still have a commitment on your hands. You stop showing up for the commitment, then what messages are you sending yourself?

-I quit when things don't go my way

-I give up when the going gets tough

-I’m not a good writer

-I don't have what it takes to be a writer

-My story sucks and it's not worth the trouble

However, when you push through the challenges and the difficulties, show up to honor your commitment, then those messages are quite different.

-I'm strong enough to handle hard things

-I don't back down from a challenge

-I made myself a promise and I kept that promise

-I learned that I can persevere

-I'm a writer who works hard and is determined to succeed

Mindset is a big factor, but it’s only part of the equation. Finishing your story is valuable in terms of deepening your understanding and knowledge of the story and your writing skills.

You don't know what you don't know.

If you don't finish your story, then you don't know what you could have discovered about your story or your ability to write it. This isn't to say that the choices you make with the characters, plot, conflict, etc are the right choices. This isn't even to say that you won’t make deep cuts in the next round of revisions.

This is to say that writing more story gives you more story to work with.

In early drafts, it matters very little the quality of the story. The artful words, the beauty of detail, the depth of characters, and the intrigue of conflict all evolve in later drafts.

But those later drafts can't exist without finished previous drafts.

With each draft you finish, your job as a writer changes. Quality of story scoots up the Ladder of Priorities. Yes, this means your job as a writer becomes more difficult, but it also becomes more important.

You’re creating a story that matters. Something like that should require more work, focus, attention, and determination.

How you approach each draft will depend mainly on how you work (your choice of process). And the goal of finishing your draft is going to come with a few extra complications.

-How did my protagonist fare in the Big Battle?

-Did the stakes escalate appropriately through the story?

-Are there any loose ends I forgot to tie up?

-Did any characters get forgotten or were underused?

-Does the Midpoint twist the story in a new direction?

-Did I carry the Theme through in subtle ways?

 -Do I fulfill genre expectations?

-Was there a deus ex machina?

-Is the plot episodic at any point?

The above is a mere sampling of questions you'll have to ask yourself when you finish a draft. Finishing a draft, especially as your story grows and deepens, isn't just a box you check off on a list. It's an opportunity to develop and improve your story.

Having said all that, there is a possibility that your story simply doesn’t work. This has less to do with Shiny Idea Syndrome and more about a faulty story concept.

These kinds of stories can be honed till the cows come home, and they still don’t work. We might desperately want to save this troublesome story, but at some point, we gotta let go and move on.

How do we tell the difference? How can we figure out that this isn’t because we’re getting bored but because the story is flawed at its foundation?

First clue is your emotions. Aside from being tempted by a New Idea, if you’re working diligently on a story and you’re just not feeling the love for it, that’s an indication that things aren’t clicking somewhere.

This would be a good time to ask for help from a knowledgeable source. A writing coach, partner, or group can read what you have and point out what they feel might be problematic. I highly suggest turning to a writer for this job—not a non-writer. Your mom may be super-supportive of your work, but if she’s not a writer, she won’t know what to look for.

Most stories can be fixed, even if the foundation is cracked. You have to be willing to revamp totally, however, and that might be painful depending on how long you’ve already been working on it.

Sometimes, taking a break from that project can help you gain insight. If you find yourself thinking about the story even though you’re away from it, then your heart’s still in it. That’s a sign you can handle a hefty overhaul. More so if you catch yourself rethinking certain storytelling elements and feeling excited for the challenge of a big rewrite.

If you’re away from it and you’re thinking about other things, even possible alternate stories, then you may not have the energy to work on it—yet. Lots of times, stories need time to marinate, and you need to work on something that makes you feel good. Setting the story aside for these reasons is better for you in the long run. You can always come back to it at a later date, after you work on another project and get more experience under your belt.

If and when you decide to return to it, you'll have fresh eyes and a fresh imagination. The effort will be different, count on it. It may or may not be better this next time around, but you'll soon know. If on the second attempt, it still doesn't sprout legs, then it might be a good time to contact a writing coach or editor to help you figure out what to do with that story.

Finishing a draft is absolutely one of the hardest things to do, but it's also one of the most valuable. Letting go of a draft is one of the most heartbreaking things to do, but it's also one of the most growth-inducing.

Tough decisions like these help you learn more about yourself and your writing. Time is never wasted in these scenarios, and you can only become more empowered.

I'd love to hear from you! Do you struggle with finishing? What about letting go? How are you dealing with it?

Have a writerly day!

Kate