WHEN REVISIONS END
I've had this one on my list for a while, mostly because it was originally planned to be done when I went from mostly revision projects, to starting to go back towards maybe drafting again, and while that plan blew up in my face, it feels like something that should be talked about. At the end of the day, a lot of the time things in the author life operate on a kind of: you'll know what it's time.
Which, okay, fair, but what if you don't 'know'? Like is there a checklist somewhere I can go through and just have some idea of when this knowing should happen? Will there be like a booming (or even whispering) voice from nowhere telling me this? Like, I would like to know what the 'know' means? And I kinda doubt I'm the only one, so I thought I would give you some of these things I've picked up having written almost 50 first drafts, and published 24 books. And yes, for those wondering, I do still genuinely need to phone a friend to ask if the know has know'd yet, so it might be something other long term writers do know, I am not always one of them!
#1: REVISION IS BORING
I need to add a caveat here because there's a difference between, I know this story so freaking well at this point that I could probably recite it from memory alone, and ugh, this scene/chapter/plot beat are just so boring, when does the good stuff start? The former is the sign, the latter is a whole different sign and not a good one, but I won't get into that here!
If you have spent so long reading, and tweaking, and changing and shaping, and you are able to read through your work so much that it's now just like re-reading a book and it's not something where you're trying to add this or that, it's a sign that maybe you have done all you can, for the moment, and depending on where you are in that journey, it might be time for betas, or CP, or even like an editor. If you can no longer see things that might need fixing and it's just a boring task because of that, that be the know in this case!
#2: YOU NO LONGER PRIORITISE IT
Now, I know that there are a million different reasons that people move away from a project, either for a time, or for good, and those are all valid. I am talking about those who don't have those reasons, the writers who put another project ahead of their current one because they feel like that distance will allow them to come back refreshed and more able to change and strengthen their work. I mean, again, it's not wrong to have that space, and it is very much needed for a whole heap of reasons, but, and I say this to be taken with a grain of salt, sometimes that action isn't about wanting to come back with fresh eyes. Some of it is you knowing you have done all you can for that project, and that is okay, that is that know silently whispering, and also pushing you onto a project that does need your attention more.
#3: THERE'S NO FIRE FOR YOU THERE
This one I feel like is the biggest one for me. I have worked on multiple projects. Like I said, 24 books published more than that drafted, I've been in this situation, and it's not always being completely done, but for me that's usually what it means. I don't spend my rest hours turning over plot beats for that project, I don't get excited about inputting changes and seeing how they look on the page. I don't have any of that, because I've done all I can, and now it's time for a different stage.
So there we go, like I said, even after all these years, it's sometimes hard for me to truly hold onto what that know is and whether I'm hearing it right. At the end of the day, you gotta do what works for you. I wish you all the luck!
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