Let Your Baby Go

By audenjohnson

There comes a time in every story’s life when it’s been polished so often it’s luminescent. When that time comes, we authors need to stop. There is such a thing as too much editing. I have a feeling no matter how many times we tweak our story, we will always find something wrong with it.

It’s even worse if you’ve reread your novel a million times and have gotten so tired of it that it’s getting boring. I’m having this problem with my first novel. Been working on it for years. I know every aspect of it backwards and forwards. There are no more surprises.

This reminds me of music. I love a song so much I listen to it over and over. After a while, I get so sick of it I never want to hear it again.

I feel kinda bad talking about my novel like this.

No one wants their story to be boring. I’m doubting myself, thinking I need to change this, tweak that, add this. This is why we need another person over our shoulders. Someone who’s not as intimate with our story as we are. Hopefully, their comments will be that little voice in the back of your head reminding you your story is really good.

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4 thoughts on “Let Your Baby Go”

  1. Hi Auden,

    Great post! I've experienced that myself; rereading a project so many times that I've lost all objectivity. Sometimes stepping away from it helps, but other readers are crucial. Good luck with your project!

  2. Yes, don't overdo it to the point where you fall out of love with it. Luckily, with Touch of Death, I loved it more with each read through. The edits made it better and when it was ready, I could just sit back and read it for enjoyment.

  3. I'm gathering together the feedback from my beta readers and edits, and about to embark on the final draft. Then it'll be ready. Almost time to put it out there.

    There is a point where we really do have to let it go on out into the world…

  4. This is my biggest problem. Even being on two writing critique groups, I edit, edit, edit. Sometimes I feel like I need to just write and forget about what's spilling out onto my page. But then again, that could be scary. lol

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