Comments | jeannineatkins: Falling in Love with an Unwritten Book

jeannineatkins

Falling in Love with an Unwritten Book

Jan 16, 2013 12:59

Falling in love means swooning, but also falls and hesitations. I’d forgotten the shakiness and second thoughts, being giddy one moment, then the next wishing that someone was around who could tell me if the new book I’m working on is as good as it seems one moment, or when my confidence shifts, as awful. What is going on?

Intimacy seems not so far ( Read more... )

writing process

Comments 4

stephanieburgis January 16 2013, 18:49:43 UTC

I love this entry (especially since I'm just at that tentative starting-point on a new book, too). Thank you for sharing it.

jeannineatkins January 16 2013, 21:51:49 UTC

Thanks, Stephanie. I think you know better than most of us how it feels to have one book arriving, while another is leaving, while another who you thought had left is crying for some attention. Good luck with all!

Doubts ext_1603673 January 19 2013, 11:37:04 UTC

There are no certainties in this life. Which is a more politically correct way of saying everyone has doubts. I watched a programme yesterday on Ian Rankin. It followed him writing his last novel and what was fascinating considering the fact he’s written some thirty novels was how much doubt featured as a part of his process, the first appearing-as seems to be regularly the case with him-once he reached page sixty-five but even right into his third and (for him) final draft the doubts lingered. Although he never said as much I think his general philosophy was to simply accept that doubt never goes away; there is no such a thing as the perfect novel and, of course, the more distance there is between you and the writing the more you’ll find to find fault with. I look at my first two novels and have just resigned myself to the fact that a different man to me wrote them and that was the best he could do. Doubt can cripple you but being crippled isn’t the worst thing in the world; just look at the cripples who took part in the Olympics ( ... )

Re: Doubts jeannineatkins January 19 2013, 13:35:42 UTC

Thanks for commenting. You make some excellent points, and I agree that comparisons are dangerous. Good luck with novel number six. May it be the one that's entirely worthy.