I decided to go back to Book #1 for yet another rewrite. I am plagued with the idea that maybe I'm wasting my time.
I finished a book I love a couple months ago. I wrote it with such ease and I love the finished product. It needs some work, of course, but overall, I feel like it was a huge victory for me. It was the first NEW book I wrote in years, and it felt liberating and amazing.
Why, then, would I go back to the book I've been writing for upwards of 8 years, on and off? The book that has caused me so much stress and anger and frustration and pain? The book that has seen at least 10 different rewrites and is STILL not all it could be?
It's a waste of time, right?
But the thing is...I can't give up on it. With my newest book, I learned things about myself. I learned to be a better writer, a more confident writer. I believe I can finally give the characters in that first book the story they deserve. And, in the words of the incomparable Journey, "Don't Stop Believing."
So, back to the drawing board, I go.
Will this be the time that I finally get it right?
What about you? Have you ever worked on the same project for years and years? How did it turn out? Do you ever feel like you should just give it up?
