*Sigh*
When do you really know something is done? I’ve worked for a good while now on the rewrite of my historical fiction. I’m moving forward, making progress, but I keep going back to the opening paragraphs, worrying that they aren’t enough to compel the reader forward into the story.
To make matters worse, I intend to enter it in the Genesis contest, the one I made it to the finals of last year. Talk about pressure! What if I don’t live up to the standard of my own previous achievements? Then again, what if I do???
Needless to say, the situation is wreaking havoc on the editor in my brain. For the first time in a couple of years I’m ready to wad it up and toss it away rather than knowing it can be made better with a fresh perspective, a little time.
But the deadline approaches. At some point, I have to leave it as it is. I just wish there was a little pop-up button, like on a turkey, to let me know when it’s really ready.
D’Ann,
Like poetry, often novels aren’t completed…they’re abandoned. I understand what you’re going through.
Pretend we’re at Mount Hermon again and email me the first page or two. I promise to look at it with fresh eyes, something that even your crit partners can’t do at this stage.
I think that’s how it goes with a lot of things in life. We continue to worry and fret over things because we desire them to be perfect, and it seems we can always find something to change. In some ways, the goal of continuous improvement is good and beneficial. But there definitely is a line that can be crossed into obsession.
I can’t say I’ve ever wished for a pop-up button though. I usually need something like a neon sign or a megaphone.