Leave No Story Unfinished

You got it! It's a take off on the famous quote, "leave no stone unturned," by Euripides :-) Writers, have you started a book only to abandon it after a few chapters? Why did you do this? Lose interest? Told all you had to tell? Didn’t know what happened next? Three years ago I had a book I’d left unfinished too. I’d started it a few years earlier. I felt the weight of it hanging over my head. I felt like a quitter anytime I thought of the story. Once I turned back to writing full time--and more seriously than ever, I decided the first thing I had to do was finish that book. I had a lot of it completed, maybe two-thirds. It was a single title time-travel book. That meant it needed to be around a hundred-thousand words or 400 manuscript pages. I had already completed a longer book, so I knew I could do it. I think the plot got bogged down and that’s why I’d put it on hold. Once I got back into the book, however, I enjoyed finishing it. By that time, I wasn’t just doing it to "complete a book" but because I really wanted to. I was in love with my characters again. I found my joy in the writing of it. And that further motivated me to start a new book once I had that project done. Besides that, no book is a waste of time. You learn new things with each one. Your craft improves; your voice becomes more distinct. Even if the book never sells, it’s practice. And practice is all some people need to become skilled enough to sell. Am I saying you should finish every book you start? No, but think about it long and hard before abandoning it completely.

PS this photo is the view out my front windows.