Help! This Book Is On A One Way Track To Nowhere!

So in my spare time--while I have NOT been writing--I've been reading. And I have come across some amazing blogs with very, very useful information.

I feel like I've woken up from a really deep coma or something. I have been on this one mind track for so long, and I've only been thinking about the negatives. For example, no one is going to want to read my book, it's been done too many times, my characters seem too much like others, my story seems to be going nowhere, I'm never going to finish it, etc. Just to name a few. Now I'm realizing that I probably haven't been giving my manuscript a chance to breathe and grow because I've stuck it in this unconstructive box with my brain.

I just wanted to point out a couple of the sites that provided significant contributions to my wake up call:

Aprilynne Pike, author of YA novel Wings, made reference to the new/fresh concept on her blog. You can read it here.

I know this is something that I have been struggling with (along with my many other issues) for quite some time. It's an age old question. "What if my idea isn't fresh/new enough?"

Chances are--your idea probably won't be fresh or all that new. It may have been done many times before. And as Aprilynne pointed out, that's okay. It's really what you do with that idea, and how you resell it that makes it appealing to an audience. Go ahead and write what you want to write, just give it your own unique spin.

The second major issue I've been muddling through is that I've restarted my manuscript four times. I mentioned before that I made it up to 200 pages on my second draft right before I decided that it didn't make any sense at all and I needed to begin again. I've been trying to write it since I started in February 2009! And at this rate, what conclusion did I come to? Exactly - I must be a horrible writer because I can't seem to finish the thing.

To that effect, YA Author Elana Johnson made a very inspiring post here to remind all of us that this too is okay! You may restart your book a gazillion times and feel like everything you write is completely dreadful. It's not true and it does not make you a bad writer. We have to remember that. Perseverance goes by many different names and there is no time limit on what you can achieve.

So... the moral of today's story?

You should never give up on doing what you love just because you feel that it's going nowhere. Everything goes somewhere, and eventually we will all get there.

I'm looking at the writing process in a whole new light, and suddenly I'm very excited again! :)

Check out these blogs - you will not be disappointed.

What is wrong with me?

Alright, not only have I not been posting as much as I should be, I've also run into another roadblock with the book.

I hate my book. Again. Yes. Again.

I'm currently at almost 16,000 words and I'm re-reading it and thinking to myself... what am I thinking?? No one is going to want to read this, I don't even want to.

It's so weird--like the story is there--I know what I want it to be, but it is soooo jumbled in my brain and I don't know how to make heads or tails of it. I've been suffering with this problem for months!

Second problem? I think it's been done before, in some way or another--it's been done. It's tired and not unique. And I just don't know what to do. Coming up with a fresh new idea is not as easy as it seems! Sometimes I wonder if the key to success is just revamping an old idea into something people want to be a part of again.

I've been sitting at my computer for hours, just staring at the screen, and trying to figure out whether or not I should start over. Again. Yes. Again.

And... I think I'm going to. Besides all of the above, one my characters is just too overbearing, and I think people may hate him. But he's a great guy, he really is. He is just having trouble expressing himself. Sigh. Like me.

So much for my resolutions. I'm sorry that this is such a down post. I'm not giving up yet though. This will be my fourth revision of this book, but I hope it will be worth it.

What do you do when you fall into this rut? Do you ever?