I was having a discussion with 2 writer friends on the weekend about the dilemma of knowing when a novel is finished. They had good advice based on the experiences of other writer friends. I was getting a bit anxious that I would just keep messing with my novel (aside from resolving the prologue or not issue) and redrafting and redrafting. The thing that happens for me is that I change one section which then means I have to chance another section and the domino effect takes over. I could be writing this for 10 years which I don't want to be doing. I know it took Donna Taart a decade to write the wondrous 'A Secret History' but I want to get moving along with no 2.
They advised to make it as good as I can - do all the usual checks and then send it off. I know this sounds like very basic advice but sometimes you need to hear the basic stuff to make you really see it. They are right. I know I am very close to making it as good as I can and then it will be time to send it out. I know this is nothing very deep or earth shattering but it was what I needed to hear at the moment. It is keeping me grounded.
The fun thing of the day! Two men on our roof installing a 12ft aerial to give us digital TV - very exciting! Our household's new year resolution was to watch less TV so we could do other more loftier activities - good to see we lasted until March and then went in the opposite direction. By mutual agreement the planned gym visit for tonight has been postponed so we can sit goggle eyed and flick through our 87 new channels! I'd love to say we're doing it so we can get great reception for Classic FM or the history channels - Nope! I'm doing it to get access to crap TV that sounds like fun! Totally shallow!
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It is hard to know when it's finished. I'm a tinkerer so am also impatient, so my approach has tended to be that I finish a draft, get all excited, give it to people to read or even send it to agents or whatever... then the feedback drips in, and I start wanting to change things... and end up doing another draft. I think I would do this until the end of time, but I've been lucky in that my two books so far have been bought, and once they are published you can finally say goodbye and stop tinkering... not that you stop wanting to! I read my published book and wince, and the one that has just been bought I am currently in a panic about whether I'll get time to do another draft before it goes to print.
"I change one section which then means I have to chance another section and the domino effect takes over"
Me too. Nightmare.
Thanks Clare - its so comforting to know I'm not the only one!
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