Rough draft blues …

• Posted in About Books, On Writing

So, I had this idea for a contemporary romance on Saturday night. And I started writing a rough draft on Sunday (yes, I’m a panster, not a plotter).

I’m about 20,000 words into it right now — and it sucks. I mean really, really sucks. There’s no romance. It’s all about a woman trying to make up for past mistakes. It’s just not fun. And, if you’ve read Karma Girl, you know I like fun. 😉

Of course, I think all my books suck when I’m first writing them. Which is why I usually pound out a 50,000-word draft just to see if there’s a glimmer of hope in my story.

It’s a tough decision, but I think I’m going to put this contemporary romance aside and work on something else. There are so many books I want to write. I want to write a contemporary romance. A heist book. A romantic suspense. An assassin book. Oh yeah, I need to write some more Bigtime books too. :grin: 

Up next? Probably finishing up the spy book I’ve had in the works for a while now. And I have a really cool idea for a book about the Greek gods …

What about you? At what point do you abandon an idea or save it until later? Inquiring minds want to know …

5 Responses to “Rough draft blues …”

  1. Tia Nevitt says:

    When I have to force myself to write. If the words don’t come easily, then there’s something wrong and I shelve the project for a while.

  2. Edie says:

    I usually know within the first few chapters if it’s not a good fit for me. I used to force it, and all it got me was a few bad books. 🙁

    I’m jealous that you can write 20K words so quickly!

  3. Jennifer Estep says:

    Tia, I always have to force myself to write. I always have a million things to do, not to mention things I’d like to do, like read and watch movies and generally goof off.

    But you’re right. Sometimes, the words come easier than other times. 😕

    Edie, I didn’t say they were *good* words. If I’m stuck in a scene, I will write something like “And then stuff happens,” and push on to the next scene. I just try to get the words out (about 40,000 of them) in a rough draft and then think about revisions and editing.

    I just like to see if something’s there and if it’s going to work. That’s why I crank out so many words so quickly. 😎

  4. Brian says:

    I love guilt. My favorite part of Karma Girl was her guilt, and I was disappointed when you let her off the hook.

    Many of the best characters are trying to make up for their pasts. Angel, a character I know you dislike, is a perfect example of someone that is driven by their past. His whole purpose is trying to find forgiveness when no forgiveness is to be found.

  5. Jennifer Estep says:

    I wouldn’t say that I let Carmen off the hook. She wasn’t *technically* responsible for Tornado’s death (i.e., she didn’t kill him herself), but she still feels the guilt — that’s why she becomes a superhero in the end. Her actions resulted in the death of a hero, and she’s stepping in to try and fill that void. And, as the old saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility … 😉

    Plus, it just seemed for me like that would be the logical thing for someone like Malefica to do. That’s what I would do if I was an ubervillain whose enemy had just been exposed — put on a diguise and go off him during business hours. No mess, no fuss, just down to business. And if I could blame it on someone else, all the better to protect *my* cover.

    I don’t *hate* Angel. I just always liked Spike a lot better for this reason — he actually *tried* to be good when he didn’t have a soul. Angel did not. He just gave into his soulless nature. To me, Spike was always stronger for that reason alone.

    Plus, I just think there comes a point in the story where people are beating themselves up just to beat themselves up. Sure, you’re a blooduscking vampire. Sure, you rained destruction down on the world for hundreds of years. Sure, you killed lots of people.

    But you’re trying to make up for it now. You’re doing good things now. So, find what joy you can in life, and lighten up a little bit. And seriously, isn’t it exhausting to be so dark and brooding all the time? I loved Batman Begins, but there were points where I wanted to scream to Christian Bale — Have a drink! Crack a smile every once in a while! Kiss the girl!

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