Of course I stopped because I tried to kick start it by re-reading what I’d written and... well... it’s drek (this is not your queue to leap up and say “NO sparky! it is not drek, it ascends to the stars and you should be hailed as the new Shakespeare.” My ego isn‘t that fragile and besides tastes differ considerably. There are people who love books that I consider utter drek and others who despise writing I consider essential life reading - so even if you do sing my praises - well, I still think it‘s drek)
And you're probably right. But then most authors think that their work is drek, and most of them are right. Niel Gaiman mentioned that his editor can tell when he's about 3/4 of the way through the book, because that's when he calls up to tell her how shit it is and how it isn't worth publishing, and he's one of her better clients
Keep in mind that the initial writing phase is probably the shortest and most enjoyable part of writing. Professional writers then have the phase of self editing to improve for pacing, for spelling, etc. *then* they send it off to an editor who red-lines and corrects as much as possible, who then sends it to the author to re-consider and re-write who sends it to the editor... and so on. The first draft is always drek, for every author, and that's why they always have editors they work with. (some might self edit to a near-publishable quality, but it still goes through the editing phase at some point)
So yeah, don't knock yourself because your work sucks. Of course it will, it just needs polishing and refining, and often an outside eye to evaluate what areas need that done to them. When a diamond is taken out the ground it's rough and has bits of rock stuck to it, it's only by cutting and polishing that it becomes worth it's weight in gold.
(and that last line is probably an example of one that would be sent back by an editor :p)
no subject
And you're probably right. But then most authors think that their work is drek, and most of them are right. Niel Gaiman mentioned that his editor can tell when he's about 3/4 of the way through the book, because that's when he calls up to tell her how shit it is and how it isn't worth publishing, and he's one of her better clients
Keep in mind that the initial writing phase is probably the shortest and most enjoyable part of writing. Professional writers then have the phase of self editing to improve for pacing, for spelling, etc. *then* they send it off to an editor who red-lines and corrects as much as possible, who then sends it to the author to re-consider and re-write who sends it to the editor... and so on. The first draft is always drek, for every author, and that's why they always have editors they work with. (some might self edit to a near-publishable quality, but it still goes through the editing phase at some point)
So yeah, don't knock yourself because your work sucks. Of course it will, it just needs polishing and refining, and often an outside eye to evaluate what areas need that done to them. When a diamond is taken out the ground it's rough and has bits of rock stuck to it, it's only by cutting and polishing that it becomes worth it's weight in gold.
(and that last line is probably an example of one that would be sent back by an editor :p)