All You Need is Love

On the Playlist: You Give Me Something - James Morrison

I have started three different novels out of frustration with Building Forts (my WIP).

Two were ideas I’ve played around with before, and one was new. They’re all easy to write. I don’t get frustrated with them like I do with Building Forts. They don’t drain me like Building Forts does.

I don’t love them like I love Building Forts.

Is it safe to say that we all get tired of our WIPs? I think it’s natural. I was watching a Project Runway rerun today, and Tim Gunn told a designer that it was good that he was sick of his collection; if he wasn’t, it would be because he hadn’t spent enough time with it.

And, excuse the following generalizations, but we spend a lot of times with our WIPs. We think about them. We try to get inside of our characters’ heads. We plot. We revise. And, between all of that and some more, we actually write our novels.

But, there’s a reason we makes ourselves sick of our WIPs: we love them. So, I want you to tell me why you love your WIP. Forget that you still don’t know what Character X’s motivations are, that the writing in a scene is sloppy, or that you really don’t know where your novel is going (that’s me!). Just tell me why you love it. Don’t hesitate to be self-indulgent, or even to be a little cocky. I want to know why you spend as much time with your WIP as you do.

Here’s mine:

I love my main character, Callie. I love her snark. I love her dirty mind. I love that, though she hides it well, she’s very insecure. I love her selfishness.

I love that in writing this novel, I get to help her discover who she really is.

Your turn!