And so it goes. I keep rewriting, learning from my Hatrack peers, but nothing gets finished. I should add that my work does sound better with each rewrite, which pushes me to ask for more help.

Like I entitled this topic... ENOUGH ALREADY! I'll never get anything submitted if I keep doing this! My story gets better with each rewrite, but at this rate I'll never submit anything. I've decided that once this last rewrite on my horse abuser story is done, I'm submitting it, but how much is too much when asking for help? When is it time to let your baby go and send it out into the world when I want it to be the best it can be?
 

I ask that because sometimes feedback will generate a lot of great new ideas, and the rewrite will be the result. While the main problems in the previous version will be fixed, other problems may become more evident in the rewrite.

I'd suggest that you make a list of the problems people have found in your various versions, and another list of the suggestions they've made of ways to fix the problems.

Then go through the latest version to make sure you've at least dealt with everything (and that some of the old problems haven't snuck back in).

Then I'd recommend one more thing (which may actually turn out to be more than one thing--for which I apologize). Get a copy of Noah Lukeman's THE FIRST FIVE PAGES and read through it. Think about your manuscript in connection with each chapter, and make sure you feel good about how it holds up.

If you can get through that book without doing any more rewriting, your book is probably as ready to submit as you can make it at this time.

I hope this helps and doesn't frustrate you even more.
 

I think we, at this point in our writing careers, need to just move on to the next story. No matter how much you polish something, it will never be as good as the next thing you write. At least, that's how it's been for me lately.
 

I recently posted the first thirteen of a story I wrote a number of years back that has a few rejections on it. It was between submissions so I thought I'd put it out there. I've gotten some good suggestions for improvement which I have implemented throughout the manuscript.

But now, after one more read through with my best, closest editor/smart reader, I will be sending it out and not looking back. And I will send it out again every time it gets rejected because I believe the story is where it should be. Even if it's not 'perfect', it is good.

The truth is, you can rewrite until the cows come home and it was the rewrite you did three tries ago that would have pleased one editor and the last one you did that would have pleased the first editor you sent it to.

Let yourself be happy with the project and put it out there. Move on to the next project. Revisit something briefly if you must, but don't dwell on it.

Trust yourself to know when it's right.

Good luck!
 

I've thousands of stories that I've abandoned but not entirely condemned. Each was more or less a sketch exploring a new concept or new technique that I'd learned. None of them are fully realized. I know it and now know why. That's been my writing goal, applying what I've learned, being able to diagnose what's not working and why and what to do about it. Most of my story sketches aren't redeemable because of some insurmountable fatal flaw. But there's fodder for new stories there.

Meanwhile, I'm making progress. My latest story has a dynamic opening, something I've had trouble with until recently. It's got meaningful characters, a purpose, a message, a theme, dramatic contexts, and a dramatic problem to be overcome, and a significant discovery and reversal for the focal character, something else I've had trouble with until recently. I feel the story unfolding in a meaningful way as I'm writing it. Staying on task is easier now, knowing the meaning and theme of the story and the outcome that seals the deal.

[This message has been edited by extrinsic (edited August 13, 2009).]
 

I started writing blind, no idea what it took to make a good story. No background in creative writing (just a good liberal arts college degree so I could put together coherent sentences. But no coursework or background in anything specifically related to fiction.)

I got some crits here and they helped me find things like contagious adverbitis, and point of view issues. That made me curious about this whole writing thing, so I started reading books on writing. I haven't finished reading all the good books on writing, but I think I've read about 8 of the best dozen, give or take. I took notes. But mostly I tried to just let those lessons steep.

Meanwhile, I ramped up the amount of reading I did. I read heavily in my target genre (mid grade and YA sci-fi/fantasy.) I write reviews of what I read, describe what I like and don't like, try to focus on what it is that the bestsellers do (e.g., Sarah Prineas who wrote Magic Thief has an excellent hold on main character voice. Stephenie Meyer of Twilight is amazing at pacing. Scott Westerfeld of Uglies does a phenomenal job of future-world post apocalypse, with great made-up teenage slang that's completely believable. Rowling has story and plot nailed, twists and turns that flow naturally but are not what you expect.)

Somewhere in here, I have been writing. I write with the lessons I've learned in mind. And now I'm know I write better.

So now it's much easier to take a crit round or two and make the necessary adjustments and then move on. Some stories are on the shelf because I can't quite figure out how to fix them, knowing they're not ready for prime time but not sure how to rescue them (they may live out their years there on the shelf.) I keep a notebook with me to write down story ideas, so I don't have to feel like I'm going to ever run out (something I really worried about early on in my writing. Seems silly now, but it was a problem for me then.)

Lately, I've also started to realize there are certain people who are better at giving me what I need from critiques than others. I have one friend from a writer's group IRL who is an excellent editor, but I find that the feedback I get is too style-specific. It doesn't work for me, even though it's really high quality feedback. I've learned that I have to take some of that feedback and skim for the pieces that I can use, leaving the rest. Just because someone gives me feedback doesn't mean I have to take it (though I'll admit to getting a little crazed when I read a second draft of a friend's piece and find that they haven't changed some detail I felt was out of place, LOL. But I can bite my tongue too!)

I hope some of this helps. Best wishes to you in figuring out what the things that *you* as a writer need to focus on, and then focusing on those things and only those things, so you can move on. Good luck!
 

F&F is a tool, not an approval process.

It helps if you post with specific questions. That way those who comment will know what you are asking them to do. You won't get a broad array of comments but rather, ones that address your real concerns.

[This message has been edited by Andrew_McGown (edited August 14, 2009).]
 

At first it was just a little rewording, but too many people were saying my MC/POV gave the reader no reason to sympathize with him. So I let his brother be his companion, and it worked out great.

I was also focusing too much on "horse" stuff and not enough on the "fantasy" side of my story. This resulted in cutting out several scenes that I thought were important for the reader to get a feel for my MC in his relationship with horses. Again, my readers were right.

Next I was told I was just writing a series of events and there was no "feel" to my story. So I'm now going back over it to get more into my POV's head and put more drive behind what's happening in the story.

As you can see; I've learned a lot since I started working on this story, and all for the better. I can't believe how much better the whole thing reads and how much it's come to life... though I still have a long way to go in learning the craft of writing.

<Then I'd recommend one more thing (which may actually turn out to be more than one thing--for which I apologize). Get a copy of Noah Lukeman's THE FIRST FIVE PAGES and read through it. Think about your manuscript in connection with each chapter, and make sure you feel good about how it holds up.>

LOL I would, but my story is a novella (short story?) and not a novel... though I think it could make one, and I have an outline already written to do just that. I'll keep my eye out for that book, too. I'm always reading books to help my writing.

<I hope this helps and doesn't frustrate you even more.>

Heck no! I'll take all the help I can get. Thanks, Kathleen .
 

Thanks to everyone. There's no place better for advice and boosting one's confidence than Hatrack .