I’ve struggled to write my manuscript lately.
I started the idea for my YA novel last spring, and had a first draft by May. I took a break for several months, not returning to the project until early this year.
Looking at it, I wasn’t satisfied with what I had written. Admittedly, I may have rushed its creation by trying to complete it in time for a writing contest, and the final product had a woefully anemic word count that made it barely worth being classified as a novella.
I decided to re-write it, this time continuing beyond where the initial story had ended.
Once again, I finished where I left off…and once again I feel like I’ve hit a roadblock.
Perhaps I should finally reveal what it is I’m trying to write: I want to do a YA novel in the spirit of the anime series Sailor Moon, but with some contemporary touches for 21st century Western audiences.
The story has changed considerably since its inception in 2012.
In the early stages, the story comprised a co-ed team of five teens; this has since changed so that the team was exclusively female.
I also played around with the idea of making the team culturally diverse; I wanted at least two characters that were people of color in the core five (I struggled with pinpointing which characters that would be).
I also wanted one of the characters to not be present at the start of the story – they would be absent due to some grave accident and only referenced by the characters or through flashbacks.
So, I went into first draft 2.0 attempting to firm up these ideas, as well as build upon them to continue the story toward the second act.
Only…I want to change the story again, and in a direction that doesn’t align at all with the path I’ve already paved twice.
Example: I initially thought a gang of five approach to the storytelling was appropriate, but now I’ve debated cutting the core team down to only two protagonists, three at the most.
I also considered changing the POV from third person omniscient to the first-person POV of one of the girls.
Obviously, this would alter the dynamic of the entire story and necessitate another major rewrite.
So now I am at the crossroads with Untitled Contemporary Sailor Moon (not catchy, but I’m still working on the name).
Do I soldier on and force myself to write a conclusion to a version of my story that I no longer love?
Or do I start afresh once again with the new vision I have for my novel? Do I risk reaching the same roadblock?
Unfortunately, I don’t have much advice to give on the matter.
I can only vent my frustrations with the writing process and share what I’ve been doing in lieu of writing the manuscript. I feel these activities have helped me to navigate my thoughts on what to do next:
- I’ve been working on my podcast, and have recently updated my first interview on the Sylvie Soul Writing Podcast: an interview with artist Jeremy Fuscaldo;
- I’ve been collaborating with my boyfriend to write a screenplay. We’ve recently compared our outlines on an idea and are starting to work on a first draft together;
- In a move that’s totally out of my wheelhouse, I’m speaking at an upcoming convention in my city.
What do you think? Should I stay the course with my story or pivot and start afresh with a brand-new direction? Have you ever run into the same creative dilemma, and if so, how did you deal?
Please let me know in the comments below!