How to Decide if You Should Stick with Your Writing Project or Start Something New

Writing Craft

Nov 9

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Is it shiny object syndrome or should you actually be writing something else: What to do when you feel like you are at a creative crossroads.

It never fails—at least for me and many of the writers I work with—that at some point during the process of planning, drafting, or revising a novel, we get the itch to walk away. And I don't mean take a break for a week. I mean shelve the entire thing, bury it in a drawer for an undetermined amount of time, and focus our creative energy elsewhere.

If it hasn't happened to you…just wait; it will. I'd bet my bank account on it.

I call this a creative crossroads, and knowing which decision is right for you can be tough.

I don't believe it's as simple as the adage "winners never quit" because there are very legitimate reasons to walk away from a writing project: Life fucking implodes and you don't have the creative space or energy, or what you are writing is too painful and digging up pieces of your past that you haven't healed from, are not ready to face (let alone write about) though you initially you thought you were, or the story idea you were developing lost out to an idea that literally high-jacked your entire body, mind, and soul. (All of these things have happened to me, and I'm sure there are plenty more legit reasons I've not considered.)

Sometimes life gives you a hard no and you are supposed to listen.

But there are other times when you're genuinely on the fence and don’t know what to do. Going forward feels about as bad as dropping the project you’ve invested a whole lot of time and energy in.

For example:

You've done all the upfront work the project needs (whatever level that might be for you) and are ready to draft. You know what to do, but you're not doing it, and a new idea begins to romance you in the moments you planned to write the original story.
You are drafting and hit that 40-65% area when you're starting to think, "Shit. I'm stuck. I don't know how to get from here to there?"
You're in revision—you've lost count of how many passes you've made. You're tired and would just really love to sink your teeth into a new "fun" idea and stop circling what feels like the drain with your current dance partner.

I'm talking about times like those.

So…do you jump ship?

The creative call can be like a siren song: luring and deceptive. It can be a form of resistance.

But is it?

How do you know for sure?

Short answer—you can’t know for SURE. Sorry, I know that sucks.

It can be tough to decide between pushing through or starting something fresh.

It reminds me of a piece of wisdom a preceptor once imparted to me years ago: “Don’t just do something. Stand there.”

By that, they meant, don’t make a rushed decision just because you think you need to be doing something. Instead, take your time. Consider all the angles.

So that’s my suggestion here: Take or make some time for deep reflection and investigation to determine if you are avoiding the discomfort pushing through or creative passion is truly leading you down a different path.

Seth Godin, marketing genius that he is, wrote a book called The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (And When to Stick). It came out in 2007 and I recently reread it.

Though it's geared toward career paths and business ventures, and I couldn’t really apply the "best in the world" concept to fiction writing, I found many of the principles aligned with the experience of writing a novel.

The gist of the book is that any endeavor that requires sustained effort to reach a desired return on investment will follow a predictable pattern of behavior: start strong, then it gets hard, then it gets easier.

I agree.

When I apply this to writing a novel, it completely lines up.

When we start a new novel project (be that fleshing out a premise, outlining, noodling on characters and motivations, researching, or just pantsing), we are rewarded for our efforts quite quickly—this is the learning phase. It's exciting and fresh.

But as time passes and we know more about the story (or sometimes less), it gets hard. We get less result for our effort and our motivation wanes.

The uncomfortable middle phase of striving toward the goal of a finished book involves:

Staring at the beautiful outline and character bios, now realizing you need to write the draft, which will be a mess and far from the ideal you hold in your mind.
It's after you've written through the setup, and you're like–crap, what happens next, and oh shit, I need to go back to the drawing board on a few things.
It's when you're revising and trying to figure out how to rearrange this heap of words into something cohesive.

THIS PHASE IS THE SUCK, otherwise known as The Dip.

I like how Godin defines The Dip: "The long slog between starting something and mastery." For our purposes we will equate mastery to finished and pleased with the result.

Every novel project will have a Dip, maybe more than one.

But here's the secret to the Dip, the Slog, the Suck, the Stuck—whatever you want to call it—it's temporary, and, as Godin says, "The dip is where success happens," because it's the make or break period. This is where you decide to stay or not. And if you stay and make it through the rough patch, the reward or return on investment is realized, sometimes far more than what you expected.

HARD NO situations aside, the key to knowing if you should or shouldn't keep going is to see if you are in a "Dip" situation.

So ask yourself some questions:

Have you been here before? Have you walked up to this moment with a novel before and then walked away?
Have you started more drafts than you've finished?
Is this your very first novel? Is it getting hard? Are you thinking to yourself—WTF was I thinking?
Are you considering walking away because you're afraid you can't finish or because you're afraid of what will happen if you do finish?
Are you telling yourself a fancy procrastination tale? I'm not saying no to this story; I'm just saying I'll do it later, and meanwhile, I'll check out this shiny new idea.

If you say yes to some of those questions, then you, my friend, may be right smack in the SUCK; the Dip, and the urge to walk away isn't actually your idea.

It's our well-known frenemy: Resistance. You know, the force that sometimes whispers, sometimes yells, "You really shouldn't finish, or bother, or keep going, because what if XYZ happens?"

And when does Resistance work the hardest, and talk the loudest? Yep, you know it.

Right before a breakthrough.

If you are struggling with creative indecision, feel at a creative crossroads, and are asking your writing friends for input about what you should do, I gently suggest some introspection.

The shitty part is that no one can figure this out for you, and there's a risk on either side. But no one said we wouldn't have to skin a proverbial knee here.

Consider using the following journal prompts to help you with your decision: I encourage you to set a timer for 20 minutes and free write, hard and fast. Then review.

Why am I no longer drawn to this project?
What about the new idea that excites me more than the current one?
How would I feel if I finished my current project?
What is my singular creative aspiration? What is my North Star? Am I serving it by splitting my focus or walking away from this book?
Dig deep here: Am I avoiding discomfort or truly following inspiration?

Someone once told me that finishing a project is a skill set. I agree. Starting is easy. Finishing is hard. It requires self-discipline, keeping one eye on the prize and one foot in the reality of where you are while simultaneously trying to move forward, plus accepting change and setbacks (YUCK).

But the cool thing about this skill set is that it can be learned.

You can learn to finish a little at a time simply by narrowing your focus and doing the next right thing in front of you repeatedly.

Here are a few recommended resources on the subject of quitting v.s. sticking:

The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (And When to Stick) by Seth Godin
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Dear Writer, You Need to Quit by Becca Syme
How to Decide by Annie Duke (I still need to read this one. It's on my TBR, so if you've read it, let me know what you think!)

And if this is your first time writing a novel and you're in any of those "on the fence situations" I mentioned earlier (especially when in the midst of your first draft), I'd venture a guess that you are in The Dip, and pushing through to finish (at least the draft) will serve you well. It might be shit, and you may shove it in a drawer. But it will teach you that you can do it and do it ugly and that neither will kill you.

We can't pressure test everything. Sometimes we have to leap and and decide to stick. Sometimes we have to make that decision over and over until it's done.

Sometimes, we have to eat our veggies so that we can have dessert—that is, do the hard thing first, then go play with inspiration as your reward.

There's no right way to do this. Experimentation is warranted, but if you reflect on your past experiences (writing or not) and see a pattern of walking away when the only thing on the line is the promise you made to yourself, double-check if you are serving your truth or if Resistance is working overtime to protect you from uncertainty.

I hope exploring the possibility that you might be in The DIP and asking yourself some questions will help you more easily determine where to focus your creative energy. Just do your best to ensure your decision aligns with your values and long-term goals