creative process

How Do You Know When A Project Is Finished?

One could argue that creative projects are never really done. Like any skill, our creative processes and practices improve over time. You are a better writer today than you were yesterday, and you’re definitely a better writer now than you were three years ago. Because our skills are constantly improving, it can be difficult to recognise when a creative project is finished.

You may finish revising chapter twenty-six and decided on a whim to look back at chapter three. Then your heart sinks. The chapter is crap. Well, maybe not crap, but you know that you can do better. You know that you can lift chapter three to the level of chapter twenty-six. One of the trickiest things about writing a novel is learning how to maintain a consistent voice across three-hundred-plus pages while your technical abilities as a writer constantly improve.

The desire to constantly tweak, lift and better your work never goes away.

If you love words, if you believe in the power of storytelling, and if you respect the craft of writing, then chances are you will have very high expectations when drafting your own novel.

Dani Shapiro once said that it would be an insightful experiment to have an author re-write the same book every ten years because it wouldn’t be the same book. An additional decade of life experience and craft development would ultimately result in a book that may have a similar premise to the earlier edition, but the quality and content of the updated copy would be entirely different.

So, how do you know when a novel or project is finished? Below are a few signposts that may indicate when a creative work has resolved itself.

You’re Kind of Over It

Resentment and boredom are good indicators that the cake is baked. If your eyes glaze over while revising chapter three—again—or if you feel irritated, frustrated or angry every time you sit down for another writing session … perhaps it’s time to hit the pause button and do some evaluating.

Ask yourself:

Am I having a bad week or am I truly done with this project?
What would it feel like to ‘hit publish’?
(This could mean publishing a blog, sending a manuscript to an agent or publishing house or submitting a pitch or article to a magazine)
Am I done or am I quitting?
(Remember: quitting feels great in the short terms, but lousy in the long term)
Can someone (other than Mum) read my work and provide some feedback?
Have I given this project all that I have?
Am I still in love with this project?
Does working on this project make me feel excited or drained?
If I were still working on this project in a month’s time, would I be okay with that?

The answer to these questions may help you decide whether this project requires more time or if it’s actually “complete.”

Pushing vs Perfectionism

Pushing yourself and perfectionism are similar, yet there is a subtle difference.

When we challenge ourselves, we are extending ourselves beyond our comfort zone. We are awake and alert. We feel focussed and excited. The obstacle course we find ourselves on may be tough, but we know that we are capable of finishing it. Even if we’ve never done anything like this before, we know that it’s possible to leap over hurdles, weave between obstructions and cross the finish line!

Here’s the difference: pushing has an endpoint; perfectionism doesn’t.

An obstacle course of this vain doesn’t have a finish line. Instead, the course is a loop that you climb, jump and run through, over and over again until your feet give out and you vomit from dizziness.

Are you challenging yourself to make your novel (or any work of art) the best that it can be or are you reaching for an ideal? Because, dear friend, there is no there, there.

There is no such thing as a perfect novel.

Don’t believe me, let’s consult some experts.

“Near enough is good enough.” Elizabeth Gilbert.

“The novel is a prose narrative of some length that has something wrong with it.” Randall Jarrell.

Deviation from Original Concept

Another indicated that it may be time to wrap things up is if the project is starting to deviate from the original concept. If you continue to work on, develop and revise your novel for too long, there is a very good chance that it will move away from your initial intentions. It’s good to push yourself and to allow projects to develop and change over time, but you also need to recognise when your constant need to tinker with the work has morphed into unproductive meddling.

There is a difference between tweaking a story in order to strengthen/improve it and changing a story so much that it is unrecognisable. Embedding new ideas, cutting out and adding characters, deleting scenes and writing new ones are part of the creative process but are you doing these things in order to excavate the story buried deep inside your soul, or are you simply fucking around?

Do not ignore the voice of your subconscious in favour of what you think the story should be about.

Finish the story you set out to write and reserve any sparkly new ideas for future projects.

Books are never really done. A writer could spend their entire life trying to making a manuscript match the ideal version they envisage in their mind. At the end of the day, you have two options. You can spend years/decades/a lifetime tweaking and ‘perfecting’ a single manuscript or you can do the work, make it presentable, hit publish and move on to the next project.

The choice is yours, so choose wisely.

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Keeping a Creative Journal

Last year, I decided to publish three YA novels under a pseudonym. Prior to publishing, I asked a skilled friend of mine to proofread each manuscript. After I had read through their comments and mark-ups, I complimented them on their editing skills. This is when my critique partner suggested that I start keeping a creative writing journal.

I love reflecting on the creative process (hence this blog!) and I’m already an active journal writer (it frightens me how quickly we forget things!), so I was instantly intrigued and wanted to know more. ‘Why do you say that?’ I asked.

My critique partner then informed me that the volume of suggested corrections varied widely throughout the manuscript. Apparently, they would read through several pages without noting a single error only to then find three error on one page. I confessed that I too noted this pattern during my revisions and had chalked the errors up to ‘bad writing days.’

A creative writing journal is a good place to record your daily word count and hours spent writing, but more importantly, it is a place where you can reflect on your creative process. Journal entries are a way to document how you feel about the day’s writing session. Did the words come easily? Did the story go in a direction you hadn’t expected? How do you feel about what you have written?

I’m a daily writer. I find it easy to slowly chip away at a project day-after-day rather than binge write for 8-10 hours every now and then. I enjoy the sense of daily progress and the satisfaction of crossing things off my to-do list. So, I write every day – whether I feel like it or not. (*Insert obvious disclaimer. Life happens. Some days I don’t write because events outside of my control prevent me from doing so).

Here’s the thing though, I can’t help but believe that the pages clustered with typos and errors were written, revised or edited on days when I didn’t want to write. Days when I was tired, unmotivated, distracted or pressed for time. Days where I chose to white knuckle through my writing session rather than take the day off.

Of course, those typos and errors could have just as easily been made on days when I was struck with inspiration. Days when the words came quicker than my fingers could type them. Days when I hurried to get the story down before it had a chance to escape me.

The problem is, I have no idea whether those typos ridden pages were written on ‘bad’ days or ‘good’ days. Keeping a creative journal would allow me to identify the correlations between the quality of the writing and my mood, mental clarity and energy. If a pattern was pinpointed, then I would know which sections of the manuscript would require further – or more careful – editing/revisions prior to sharing them with others.

Using beta readers, critique partners and professional editors will certainly assist in the correcting of errors, but personally, I would like my manuscript to be as clean as possible before I share it with others. Typos are distracting. If I’ve asked my beta readers or critique partners to read my manuscript and to provide thoughtful feedback, I’d hate for them to spend that time marking up typos rather than reflecting on the quality of the manuscript.

Even if a particular pattern is not identified, a creative journal could provide further insight into my own creative process. This, in itself, is reason enough for me. Obviously, this is a new practice for me, and if this tool proves useful, I’ll certainly write a follow-up blog. But for now, I’d love to hear from you! Do you keep a creative writing journal? If so, what do you record? How has maintaining a creative journal assisted your process?