Stupid Brain.

[mmerriam]

I've reached that horrible point in the novel where I'm pretty sure it all sucks.

I have this irrational urge to delete everything I've ever written and get a job asking people if they'd like fries with their order.

I fear that if I finish this train wreck of a novel and hand it off to my readers, they will look at me sadly and say, "It's nice," and what they will really mean to say is: "This is the most horrible piece of twaddle I've ever had the misfortune to encounter, and I lament the hours wasted reading it, and in fact, I'm afraid I'm going to have to re-think our friendship."

I know that this too shall pass, but it makes it hard for me get any work done.

Comments

[congofriend.livejournal.com]

This happens to me whenever I have worked on something for months and read it over and over again. I refer to it as supersaturation rather than suckitude. Maybe it just means that you are so familiar with it by now that you cannot see the art behind each line and remember the care that went into writing it. You may need to step away and read some other works for a bit, and the workshop is great for that. I personally love to read pieces that are way above my skill level (which many of yours were that I had the privilege to read), as they always inspire me. Admittedly, they depress me first, but I come out fighting in the end.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the kind words and good advice. It's good to see you back on LJ and OWW again!

[kythiaranos.livejournal.com]

Courage. This too shall pass. :-)

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

I hope!

[allochthon.livejournal.com]

Luckily, your friends and your wonderful wife know the book doesn't suck, and where it needs just a smidgen of help, you know you can turn to us. Right?

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Right!

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Every writer is different, yadda yadda, but when I hit that point it's a warning to me to put it away until I get curious about it again. Almost always if I do that, I pull it out aftre the cool off period and fall in love with again. (And usually see where i think I went wrong.)

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

That's good advice! I might go polish some short stories I have lying around.

[pjthompson]

Ah, you must be in the infamous middle. As everyone else has said, this too shall pass. Soldier on. ;-)

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

Yup, I'm just past the actual place that I think is the middle of the book!

[elandryn.livejournal.com]

Trust me, I'm in touch with that emotion :P

I know it's already been said, but it will get better. Really. :)

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

I sure hope it gets better! You'd think after all the short story sales I've made, I'd have more belief in my abilities.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, dear heart: if your book sucks, I will say, "Here is how this book sucks," not, "It's nice." So that's one less thing to worry about, right? Because you know if I say, "This is good stuff," or, more likely, "This has some good stuff in it and here's how I think you could make it better," you'll know I mean it.

Maybe this is only encouraging in my own head.

[mmerriam.livejournal.com]

I find that very encouraging. I'd much rather hear, "Here is how this book sucks," or "Here is how I think it could be better." Crits I can take, painful as they are sometimes.