I have two novels finished, one in the process. Well, actually, I can already see work that needs to be done on the other two, so I guess technically, they aren’t finished. I need to tighten the writing and plot in book #1. I need to do some fill in research about an obscure area of the world in book #2. Meanwhile, I plug along on book #3.
I’m so into book 3 that when I sat down to work on re-vamping my proposal for book #2, I couldn’t remember the main character’s name! It was quite disheartening. There sit Thing 1 and Thing 2 on my shelf, languishing in the realm of “near completion.” I want them to be finished, to push them out into the world. But the circle winds ever tighter. Until they are finished finished, will they attract any attention from editors or agents? Until they attract attention from editors or agents, is it worth my time to finish them?
I’m not sure whether to take heart or lose it when I hear stories such as those of T. Davis Bunn and others who had many “finished” novels taking up shelf space before one got published. And it wasn’t one of the ones sitting, either. So I keep writing. Book 3 builds, week by week, into a complex story.
I wonder if this one will be a sitter, too. Will these characters ever live for anyone but me? Maybe not. And I guess I’m okay with that. But it would sure be nice if one of these days everyone else could meet the people with whom I spend most of my days.
Keep plugging. And thanks for letting me meet all your characters! It’s been fun. I can’t wait until others meet them too!
I know how you feel. I’ll soon be finished novel # 2 and begin novel # 3. I just hope it won’t be novel # 10 that finally gets me a contract. I’d quit if I could, but I’m too stubborn and love writing too much. Good to know lots of us are experiencing the same journey.