Should I Give up on a Writing Project?

You’re in the middle of a project, or maybe right at the beginning of one, and you feel like you want to give up. The big hopes you had for it are evaporating with every tap of the keyboard. I want to help you to get through this bump in the road and see the project through to the end. Let’s look at some of the typical reasons you might abandon a writing project and some of the ways you can overcome them.

Issue: I hate the character/setting/plot etc...

Sometimes writing can feel laborious and you feel tired of immersing yourself in what you see as your own ‘bad’ writing. It’s important to remember that you are in control and can change anything at any time. Identify exactly what you are unhappy with. Let’s say it’s your protagonist. Can you change anything? Their gender? Their age? Give them a softer or darker side? Basically, play around before you give up.

Issue: I don’t know what should happen next…I have no idea how it will end…

Although it can be frustrating and even scary not knowing what exactly will happen, I do think this is part of the writing process. That uncertainty can be exciting too. A good exercise to do in these situations is to free write for a set amount of time about everything that could happen – a solution may emerge. Alternatively, write a list of fifty ways your story might end. Play around with those different scenarios.

Issue: I don’t have time to write…

Finding a routine is difficult when your starting to write or you’ve recently had a change in lifestyle. Start small and find five or ten minutes when you can write. Be workman-like, and just write without stopping. Don’t expect to write huge swathes in these windows of opportunity. A consistent, daily output, however small, will help you build up over time.

Issue: I’m not good enough to write this…

Imposter syndrome can occur at any time, even when we’re nurturing our own ideas. You may feel the subject matter is too intimidating for you or you may think ‘who am I to write a novel?’ It’s so important to relinquish these thoughts. Forget self-doubt and lose yourself in the story, keep researching and keep writing. The idea chose you, meaning you are exactly the right person to do it.

Issue: There’s another idea I want to pursue…

This is definitively something I can relate to. Sometimes. half way through something, a seductive idea will tap at your shoulder and demand your attention. I think whether you decide to abandon something in favour of a new project depends on how far you’ve got with the original work. It’s important to follow a project through to the end and honour the idea. If, though, you’ve just started why not jump ship and seek out that exciting escapade?

So, should I give up on a writing project?

You are the only person that can judge this – it’s a writer’s instinct. If you really feel it’s not working have some time away from it and move on to something else. If it’s meant to be, the idea will stay with you until your impelled to go back to it. It may be the case of the right project at the wrong time. In other words, don’t write anything off even if you do decide to leave it for a while.

How do you keep going with your writing projects and resist giving up?