Reasons Why You Should Always Finish Your Draft #Writer
You’ve been working on the latest draft of your novel for weeks and it feels like such a hard slog. My goodness you never expected things to get this tough!
This is when the idea of not finishing it becomes so attractive.
Maybe you should walk away?
Maybe your inability to finish the draft is a sign from the universe you should work on that new shiny idea for a story which has been flirting with you for ages?
Maybe you should leave it for a couple of weeks? Months? Or even an undefined period of time?
Maybe it’s so hard because you are trying to create something which isn’t there?
You decide to give up on your draft and tell yourself writing a book shouldn’t be that much of a challenge.
Your writer demons cheer you on from the sidelines as you decide to leave the latest draft of your novel unfinished and start something else. Writer demons can be a supportive bunch when you decide to walk away from stuff.
Stop!
Here’s a list of reasons why you should ALWAYS finish your draft:
By not finishing the draft of your novel you are creating your own form of personal hell. Trust me on this – unfinished drafts can leave you feeling frustrated and bitter. This negativity will seep into other areas of your life.
The future you will not thank you for handing them something unfinished or incomplete. View the future you as the next person in a relay race. Your draft novel is the baton and this needs to be handed over to the future you to take forward. Would you want to be handed your unfinished draft in its current state?
Even if you feel the story no longer works – still try and finish the draft. Why? Because this thing will haunt you for the rest of your life. You will always wonder – ‘what would have happened if I had got to the end and felt different? Would I have discovered something new about that story along the way?’ I can’t stress this enough – the further you get into a draft the more things you discover. It’s like there are pieces of buried treasure in each draft and it is up to you, the story explorer, to find them.
The feeling of accomplishment is amazing and you shouldn’t deprive yourself from experiencing this wonderful surge of tingles. This is what is keeping me going.
Always remember your story only wants to come out of you so let it happen.
So wave at your writer demons and carry on.
Have a fab day!
