Case in point
This afternoon, while working on Summerhill, I was going over my old draft (because there was a scene I was pretty sure could be partially salvaged).
In this old scene, I actually have my main character stop to contemplate the fact that he doesn't know what he's doing or why he's doing it.
This wasn't me being ironic, either. This was my protagonist honestly having no idea what he was trying accomplish in the course of the story.
This sort of thing is an indication that, yes, you should probably go back to the drawing board and rethink things.
(For what it's worth, in my new draft, my protagonist definitely has a clear motivtion [along with a want and a need and a ghost]. And yes, part of the scene did in fact turn out to be salvageable after being made far less melodramatic.)
In this old scene, I actually have my main character stop to contemplate the fact that he doesn't know what he's doing or why he's doing it.
This wasn't me being ironic, either. This was my protagonist honestly having no idea what he was trying accomplish in the course of the story.
This sort of thing is an indication that, yes, you should probably go back to the drawing board and rethink things.
(For what it's worth, in my new draft, my protagonist definitely has a clear motivtion [along with a want and a need and a ghost]. And yes, part of the scene did in fact turn out to be salvageable after being made far less melodramatic.)