Let It Breathe

Distance before revision

I wrote the first draft of my first novel just out of high school, right on the cusp of 19. I was young, inspired, and profoundly enamored with writing. It all started out with just a feeling: the grief that comes with unrequited love. From this one driving emotion flourished several characters whose voices and personalities wove their way into the pages of my story. 

At the time, I felt prepared. I had read my genre voraciously. I had planned the timelines, the characters, and the plot. And I was ready to pour my heart into every nook and cranny of the piece. Slowly but surely, after several months of late night writing sessions, I finished typing the last words of my final paragraph. 

I. Was. Done.

Well… not really. 

If you’re reading this, then you probably already know that wasn’t the end of the story, either figuratively or literally. Every writer learns one way or another just how much of writing is actually editing, and rewriting, and then editing some more. Surprisingly enough, even my first time out, I was aware of how pivotal revisions would be to the process—so much so that even while writing the initial draft, I had kept a bullet-point list outlining where I’d need to circle back. Plot points that needed fleshing out, character development that was lacking, even paragraphs that just didn’t feel quite right. All of it was bundled neatly in this little package. You could say I had the blueprint needed to dive right in.

For a while, that’s exactly what I did. Or what I tried to do. Initially, I’d go to the scenes that I knew needed fleshing out. I’d read them, ramping myself up to write those next words, get to the point where I needed to start writing and, well, I’d end up staring at the document blankly. The same issue arose with the much-needed spot-fixes. With scenes, sentences, or even just words that needed to be cut, I remained utterly unable to hit that backspace.

No matter how much time I spent looking over the story or how many times I stuck my butt in that writing chair with every intention to move forward, it just didn’t happen. I just couldn’t do it. 

Eventually, there came a day when I took a deep breath and realized that I wasn’t enjoying writing anymore. I felt certain that if I didn’t stop rereading those same scenes, failing again and again to rewrite them, I might not write again at all. 

So I just stopped. 

I took a massive step back from that specific story. I didn’t delete it, though I definitely wanted to. I didn’t abandon writing as a whole, though that thought also crossed my mind. Instead of holding myself back by fixating on a piece that just wasn’t working, I put a pin in that particular story, knowing one day I’d come back to it, and just kept writing. 

A few days later, I opened a new file, scribbled down the beginning of a new story idea, and started anew. 

Only now, looking back, am I able to really understand that that was the step I needed to take all along. In my book—no pun intended—the reason I couldn’t progress the way I wanted to was because I was still just too close to the story. The time and energy I had just poured into creating it was fresh in my mind, to the point where I couldn’t have any objectivity. On some level, it felt like disrespecting this massive feat I had undertaken by rewriting everything. I was stuck and stubbornly doubling down for nothing. If I could go back to the day I finished that first draft with some words of wisdom, I’d look myself in the eyes and say: Let it breathe.  

Sometimes taking some space from a story, just letting it be, is the key to making progress later down the line. In my case, letting the story exist as-is gave me the emotional distance I needed to be ready to tackle it fully. Coming back, I have the motivation, dedication, and much-needed critical eye to make it the best story it can be. 

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About the author: Ketevan is an aspiring writer and editor. That dream started in the fifth grade, when she first fell in love with a book. Ever since, she has had a love for the craft and has been reading and writing voraciously with the hopes of publishing her own novel one day soon.