Caroline Starr Rose

picture book and middle-grade author

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When to Walk Away

13 Comments

I’ve been researching a topic off and on for a year and a half (or according to my son, “Like forever. Probably three years”). It was meant to be for my next verse novel. Last week I decided to set it aside.

I pride myself in never having dropped a class in college, at sticking with things I think are important. So this felt a bit like giving up.

Except it also didn’t. Somehow setting all that research aside was perfectly okay. If there’s something I’ve learned about writing in the last decade plus, it’s that no effort is wasted. I hope to someday revisit this topic, when my writing is more mature, when I am more established, when I am more courageous with my words. And if I don’t? That’s okay. I have learned, been challenged. It’s been enough.

And there’s this new idea I’ve shared with agent Michelle. I’ve got a stack of library books and have spent the last week reading, reading, wondering.

Have you ever abandoned an project after working on it for some time? 

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Filed Under: family, the writing life

Comments

  1. Natalie Aguirre says

    May 2, 2011 at 11:53 am

    I haven’t given up yet. But I realize I have to get done revising my manuscript soon–I’ve been working on it for 8 years. And realizing that it may not be the book. So my next project will be something totally different. Good luck with your new project.

    Reply
  2. TerryLynnJohnson says

    May 2, 2011 at 12:11 pm

    I’ve been trying to figure out what’s taking me so long to get into my latest wip. I may end up coming to this conclusion.

    Reply
  3. Julie says

    May 2, 2011 at 12:35 pm

    I wrote several first drafts last year, and I’ve recently realized that I’m going to have to walk away (at least for now) from three of them. That’s a lot of words to leave behind, but I believe what you do, no word was wasted. I’ve learned so much from writing these stories, but the realities of the market, the other ideas that are brewing, and the general sense that it isn’t quite time for those stories leads me to move forward with only a wistful glance behind me. Such is the writing journey. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Anne Gallagher says

    May 2, 2011 at 12:43 pm

    I don’t give up, but I do walk away. Sometimes because the timing isn’t right. I need to focus on something else. But then I always go back and tweak it a little bit more. And then I walk away again. Someday, all those will be finished, because I have to finish what I start.

    Reply
  5. Heidi Willis says

    May 2, 2011 at 1:31 pm

    Absolutely. For me, writing is like trying on clothes… I have to wear them a bit to figure out how well they fit.

    I have two big ideas that have nagged at me for a while. One I’ve done extensive research on. It kills me the hours I’ve spent just learning about the topic… and then decided I just wasn’t ready to write it. Not that it isn’t a great idea, or that I won’t someday write it, but right now, I know I could never do it justice. And why spend more time trying to make something work that just isn’t going to be great yet?

    Sometimes, walking away is the brave thing to do.

    Reply
  6. LLB says

    May 2, 2011 at 3:31 pm

    I think there is something very powerful in being able to give it up on your own, without being told to give it up. Often in librarianship, I’ve had to give up projects because someone or some group told me to: it wasn’t going to work, my grant was rejected, there was no funding anywhere, the public did not repsond well, etc. I’ve never been able to give up something on my own. Still, I had material, learning, and experience to return to if and when that project was needed or maybe even revisited and seen through.

    But, do we ever really give up just because? I don’t think so. I think there is always a reason people put aside so much put-forth effort. That realization comes with “maturity.”

    The importance is that you recognized that no effort is rendered worthless, no matter when or how it is set aside.

    Reply
  7. bfav says

    May 2, 2011 at 4:16 pm

    Yes, I’ve given up on an idea. It is sad every time. I’m a problem solver too, so it can get really frustrating. Hang in there. I’m sure your new idea will be fabulous.

    Reply
  8. SarahAnn says

    May 2, 2011 at 6:10 pm

    I had to walk away from my first historical fiction piece. I loved my idea, held so tightly to it, but I just wasn’t in the right place to really make it happen. There was too much to consider, too much to research…Maybe someday.

    Reply
  9. Liesl says

    May 2, 2011 at 8:35 pm

    I worked on my first book for two years, TWO YEARS, before I finally set it aside. It did feel a little like giving up. I also pride myself no being persistent, but I think it takes real guts to set something aside and know that you don’t have the chops to pull that idea off. Not yet anyway.

    I started my next book and it was such a different experience. I must have learned a lot struggling through that first book. And last week I got an offer of representation, so I feel like it was a good move!

    Reply
  10. Julie Musil says

    May 3, 2011 at 12:53 am

    I love your book cover! Oh, this will be so exciting when it’s out.

    You have an amazing attitude toward this subject. I’ve set aside book #1, which was a middle grade novel. I’d love to revisit it some day and perhaps rewrite it for YA. If that never happens, that’s ok too. Like you said, nothing is wasted. I learned a lot with that book.

    Good luck on your next project 😀

    Reply
  11. Joanne Fritz says

    May 3, 2011 at 2:08 am

    Yes, I’ve done this — abandoned several novels that I started and haven’t yet finished. I’ve only finished one (but hey, at least I finally did that).

    Walking away isn’t giving up, because you’ll probably go back to it. Sometimes the idea just needs to marinate for a while, until you’re ready. Sid Fleischman said, “In writing, nothing is wasted except the paper.” But I think we need a new version of that. “Nothing is wasted except the hard drive space??”

    Reply
  12. A.L. Sonnichsen says

    May 4, 2011 at 6:09 pm

    Yes, I have. Good thing writing is never wasted. It’s always practice and practice is good.

    Amy

    Reply
  13. Kiki Hamilton says

    May 6, 2011 at 4:54 pm

    I guess I never consider any of research / writing time wasted. It all builds to inform a revised version of the initial project or a future project. But I do have this need to ‘finish’ things, (yet another personality quirk) so I haven’t actually abandoned a project – it just waits patiently to be revised (again) and made “right”.

    Reply

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