Writing Blog Number 2 (continued)

20260227 Giving Up On A Project

Giving Up On A Project

Question from a WdC member from last year, and who has subsequently blocked me:
When do you know it’s time to give up on a project?

This is a simple question… but also a tough one.

If you get an idea, a paragraph, even a page, a rhyming couplet, something, write it down. This is not working on a story. This is putting ideas down so you don’t forget them. They might not work or ever be used, but you’ve written them down.
         No, this question is focused on when you have the full idea and are writing it down.
         And it comes down to what sort of writer you are: plotter or pantser.
                             "20240120 Plotting and Pantsing" 

Plotter
A plotter has two points where they should give up on a project.
         First is after they’ve done the plan and realise this is not what they want to write, or it does not work for them. That is one of the advantages of plotting – this is before you have spent time on the meat of a project that is not gelling with you. Of course, you can revamp the plan, but as far as projects being let go, this is a great time.
         Second is after they have finished the first draft. DO NOT give up on a story half way through if you have plotted it out! You have a blueprint; follow it. Get to the end and you can see that maybe the second act needs work, but you will not know until you’ve pushed through to the end. Second drafts can help, but if you finish the story (which is a good habit to get into anyway) and are not happy, leave it. Elements can be used in other works if nothing else.

Pantser
This is tougher, but again there are only two places where a pantser has the option of giving up on a work.
         Like the plotter, when they have finished is the obvious one. Force the way through to the end before deciding if it should be abandoned. While not plotted out, there should be elements a writer can work with the push to an ending.
         The first, though, is tougher, and that is before the end of what will be act one. If the pantser is struggling to get into act two, then it is time to stop because clearly any mental ideas are not coalescing. It might feel time has been wasted, but some of these elements could be used later on in other works.

Note that in both cases, the main thing recommended here is to see the story through to completion. With a short story or poem or something like that, that is not an imposition, but with a novel (or even novella) it could be a lot of time wasted.
         No writing is a waste!
         Like I said, elements can be re-used. Characters can be re-used. And, more to the point, finishing a work is something many writers struggle with, so if you finish something that you are not sure about, it can really help get the habit of finishing ingrained.
         And – and this is important – just because you think it’s crap does not mean it is! I’ve sold short stories I’ve written that I don’t like, but which have received positive critical praise. We are not the greatest judges of our own work.

So… when do we give up? As little as possible.