Pirates!
That’s what I called the novel I wrote in 2017 and partially revised in 2018 while I was trying to come up with an actual title.
Spoiler alert! I still don’t have an actual title.
I never finished revising it and currently it’s sitting in my document folder, staring at me like my cats do when it’s 20 minutes until dinner time and they’re convinced I’ve forgotten about them.
I have not forgotten.
Though I would never give up on my cats, I am debating giving up on Pirates! It’s not that I don’t like it anymore. I do. I just feel like I was an entirely different person when I wrote it. My life is entirely changed and I don’t know that I can go back to it without completely rewriting it.
It’s heartbreaking. I loved that story, those characters, that setting. And I still do. But sometimes you can’t go home again, you know?
Also, in keeping with the theme of pirates, I have plundered that novel and used some of the elements for other stories. For instance, I apparently have a fixation on over-protective older siblings and rebellious younger siblings finding a way to coexist. That theme has appeared in more than one of my stories since I originally wrote about it in Pirates! Is it repetitive to keep returning to that well? Would that make returning to Pirates! pointless?
I mean…the stories are different, but seriously…find a new theme Robin.
On the other hand, is this just example of not finishing something I start? Am I making excuses to follow the shiny new ideas, which will inevitably lead to me never completing anything at all?
When is it time to tough it out and keep going? When is it time to move on? How am I supposed to know the difference?
I don’t yet have an answer for this, but I think I’m going to start by rereading what I already wrote and see if it sparks any joy for me. Marie Kondo isn’t just for physical possessions, you know? If it doesn’t, then maybe it’s time to say goodbye. If it does…well, I guess I’ll have to figure out my next step from there.
Have you ever chosen to quit a project you loved? Have you stuck with a project to the end, even when you weren’t sure you should? Were you happy you did?
-Robin
Rambling Robin 
As Chuck Wendig would put it, “Finish your shit!”
No matter how abandoned, how terrible I think my work is, or how I regret starting on the project in the first place, I make sure I have a COMPLETE product regardless. At the very least, I’ll have an actual manuscript ready, instead of the ten half-written ones should I keep abandoning everything I start.
Wishing you all the best on your own journey!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, when you put it that way…😄
You’re right. There is a danger of me never finishing anything if I just keep moving on to the next thing. And even if this novel still isn’t good after revision, I suppose it’s a good learning experience. We all need practice in revision just as much as we do drafting, right?
Thank you so much for your comment! Best of luck on your writing journey as well!
LikeLike