How Do You Know When to Set a Project Aside? (For Now)

I mentioned yesterday in my Quarterly Goals - Q2 post, a few things have come up since I finished the first draft of my YA Fantasy WIP, Hunter Moon. (It was a cliffhanger, I know!)

Again, nothing earth-shattering, but they're big enough questions that I needed to take some time to decide how I wanted to handle this.

Without going into a ton of detail, here are the main issues my critique partner and I discovered:

- A major plot element woven throughout the book didn't resolve well and it's not an easy fix. By that I mean, it's not a matter of changing a few scenes or a series of words. We're talking an overhaul of the general outline.

- One of the key side characters needs to be completely rewritten. Their story arc and interactions with the MC (main character) don't work with the overall theme of the book like I'd hoped they would.

These changes would require a major re-write, easily 4-6 more months of work to figure it out. (I also work a full-time day job, so I'm including that in my time estimate.)

I still love the idea for Hunter Moon, it's got some of my favorite scenes I've ever written. This is also the book that got me out of my pandemic writing-lapse. Honestly though...I'm a little burnt out on it.

My next book idea was waiting on the back burner and I've really been thinking about working on it next instead. I outlined the general idea of this book around the same time I started Hunter Moon.  

And it's a fairytale retelling! My returning friends will know, I LOVE fairytale retellings and have wanted to try my hand at one for a while now. 

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The questions came down to: Should I push through and put the work into rewriting Hunter Moon? Or, should I focus on this next project and let Hunter Moon sit until I'm ready for it?

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This is another one of those decisions that's really up to the individual writer. For me, I'm looking at:

• The time I've already put into my current manuscript (Hunter Moon)
• The estimated time it will take me to rewrite the book (Hunter Moon)
• How much work already done on the outline and notes for this next idea (Fairytale)
• The estimated time it will take me to write the first draft (Fairytale)
• Which story am I more emotionally and creatively invested in right now
  

Without question, if Hunter Moon was due to an editor/publisher then yes, I'd go ahead with the rewrite. But, this time it's up to me. 

I think taking a break from the manuscript and looking at it in a few months with fresh eyes is the way to go. I have the notes from my wonderful critique partner, which will also give me a springboard to start from. 

So, it looks like I'm going to work on my fairytale retelling! I spent some time brainstorming the other night, and I think I can have the outline fully developed by this weekend. I can't tell you how excited I am about this idea!

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I think these (For Now) posts might become a regular thing. If anyone is interested in that, let me know!