I began working on a manuscript in 2013. It is a young adult fantasy novel that I got the idea for a few months before I started the manuscript. I was able to fly through the first ten-thousand words in a day or so, then I was able to go further. Work got in the way, life got in the way, I had back surgery, and I was writing for a site that took a ton of my time. I left he manuscript on the shelf for a year or more.
When I picked it back up, I was pleased with the progress that I made. Life once again got in the way. This cycle continued up until the present. I have not finished the manuscript, but I am up to about fifty-thousand words. As a lot of writers do, I had other stories that I was mulling around in my head, and I started two more manuscripts. One is the story of a sheriff in Nevada, inspired by watching several police shows on television. I wanted to make a different kind of story. The other story is about a high school baseball coach in a made up town in Texas who has to take a defunct team and try to turn them around.
The frustrating part for me is that I barely have time to work on one manuscript, and now I have saddled myself with three different stories. I forgot to mention: two of the stories are going to be series. The fantasy story I have three books planned, more if I improve the story and become a better writer. The Nevada sheriff would an ongoing series that hopefully go on forever. (I know, wishful thinking).
Is this a problem that I alone face? Do you find yourself going back and rewriting parts of your book to try and improve the story? I know I need to finish the manuscripts and let an editor help me with making the book flow better, but when I find inconsistencies I feel the need to fix them right away.
I have set a goal for myself to have the fantasy manuscript done in the next month or so, which means a lot of new writing and not going back and editing. Do any of you that write find it hard to finish a project without deadlines? I am going to try and set deadlines for myself and see if I can get it done. I will feel very accomplished if I can finally get a manuscript done. I will update you all if I actually get it done by February. Feel free to leave your thoughts or ideas in the comment section down below and thanks for reading.