When to Let Go

Friday night I enjoyed a few drinks with Mr. Nate, his co-worker, and some freelancers. Nate told the co-worker about my novel (perhaps even at last year's holiday party) and he wanted to know if it was published yet.

Hahahahaha.

Imagine Stewie from the Family Guy.

Stewie: "How you uh, how you comin' on that novel you're working on? Huh? Gotta a big, uh, big stack of papers there? Gotta, gotta nice litte story you're working on there? Your big novel you've been working on for 3 years? Huh? Gotta, gotta compelling protaganist? Yeah? Gotta obstacle for him to overcome? Huh? Gotta story brewing there? Working on, working on that for quite some time? Huh? (voice getting higher pitched) Yeah, talking about that 3 years ago. Been working on that the whole time? Nice little narrative? Beginning, middle, and end? Some friends become enemies, some enemies become friends? At the end your main character is richer from the experience? Yeah? Yeah? (voice returns to normal) No, no, you deserve some time off."

Anyway, Nate's co-worker thinks maybe I'm actually done. That maybe I'm having a hard time letting the novel go.

Here's the truth: I'm not done. Right now I still have continuity issues. Places where I read something and think: this sounds like bad television. Or places where things just plain don't make sense. I'm fixing all that. I do not expect perfection (I'm an atheist) but I do expect not to read my own book and groan at something I've written. When that magical day comes, I'll have no problem drop-kicking this novel to the curb. Because I'm anxious to move on and work on other projects.

Miss Snark says:

...

"Finish your novel.

Then, as you let it sit and percolate (cause you DO NOT SEND IT OUT before you've let it sit and percolate) you can work on short stories. Then when you've done all ten drafts of the novel that you need to do (no, I'm not kidding), you query."

...

"And I'm not kidding about drafts. The biggest mistake writers make is sending their work out too soon. It's how you miss the stupid typos, it's how you miss the forest cause you have your nose up a tree...yadda yadda yadda."

I'm on draft number 3. Will I have to do 10? Maybe not. I say that because parts of the novel have been revised more than others, so some sections are probably on something more like draft 15. But the book as a whole still needs a few more passes.

Nice little narrative? Beginning, middle, and end?

Stewie haunts my dreams.