God, I'm depressed.

[panik]

One, just one, of the many things I have to do today is re-write the first two chapters of my book and send it out to new agents.

The agency I approached first don't want it; one of their criticisms is that it's set in the recent past, so I'm taking out anything that points to it being a few years ago (nothing in Cuba has really changed since I made this trip so it's not really a biggie), leaving the time-frame ambiguous and trying again with three new agencies.

In total, I had to ditch three paragraphs. A simple enough task.

But now, everytime I read it through, to make sure it all still flows together, I come across something else that is just B.A.D. I've written and re-written and re-re-written and now I'm utterly convinced that the whole thing is a big, steaming pile of stinking poo. Or is it? I don;t know. I have no perspective on it at all anymore.

Man...

It's now 13.05. This is all I've done today and I'm no closer to completion  than I was at 8.00 this morning.

Shit.

I'm having a bad, bad day.

Comments

[janedavitt.livejournal.com]

I do that all the time. Some moods I can pick up any story I have ever written and be convinced of its utter triteness.

It's probably you, not the story, if that helps. Leave it, walk away, go back to it in a day or two maybe?

::hugs you::

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

Oh sweetie - you write far too well for it to be a steaming pile of anything smelly; it's just having to live with it too long... can you put it aside and forget about it for a day or two? I generally find the more I fight with something, the worse it gets. :~(

Hope the day gets better for you soon ::hugs gently::

[t-verano.livejournal.com]

::hugs you hard::

I have an *extremely* hard time believing your book is a big, steaming pile of stinking poo. Or a little pile. Or any poo at all.

Just a natural part of the process, yes? Natural for a person to go through spells where you just can't *tell* and where you don't much care for what you've written -- and that's just temporary reaction, not reality; needing a breathing space.

So breathe, and believe. (And I sound like an advertising agency, sheesh.) You write wonderfully -- you need and *deserve* to believe in yourself and your writing.

And man, get all that poo out of your head! It's not true poo. I totally betcha.

[earth2skye.livejournal.com]

Is it traitorous to advice you to just pretend this day didn't happen, get yourself a hot, big cup of hot cocoa and hide out in front of the TV with a few of your favourite DVDs?

Seriously, I think you just need to take a time-out from your book... but I guess you know that.

::hugs:: Hang in there.

[betagoddess.livejournal.com]

Haven't got much time. Just wanted to give you ::hugs::

I'm sure it's good. All your writing I'VE read has been. =>}

Good luck!

[maybeatdawn.livejournal.com]

One of the most difficult thing a painter has to learn is to stop working on a canvas because the more he looks at it , the more he see things he may or feels like to change.
So may I suggest you to go and try to focus on a landscape , a plant, an animal you like and to give it all your attention and gratefulness for some time. Then come back to your book and do the first thing that comes to your mind. You may be surprised. Ask Blair, this can be effective.
And don't forget to rest, the nature does it too.
Take care gifted lady.

[arnie1967.livejournal.com]

All I can do is echo what others have said: stop, put it down, walk away. Go back to it when you feel better, or (even better) when you suddenly *know* exactly what you're doing with that scene. Then you'll be fine.

::hugs::

And no chocolate on the Tesco order? What were you thinking?!

Maybe it was more than the three paragraphs

[roslynsmuse.livejournal.com]

that troubled that group. After all, they could have edited them out as well. Maybe by finding the new things that bother you, you are opening the door to fixing things that will get the manuscript easier acceptance by this or another publisher.

A lot of writers tell me they only whip their stuff into shape after the first rejection.

But no matter what, the process SUX!

::Drinking a cuppa tea in your honor and sympathizing::

Roslyn