Sometimes, you have to do the thing, even if you aren’t ready to do it. Even if you don’t have the skill. Even if others have warned you against it. Sometimes, you have to aim big, fail on your own terms, and learn the lessons you need.
For writers, that often means trying to write an epic book that requires more experience than we have. You might be juggling too many characters or a sweeping timeline. You might have a great idea for a complicated murder mystery or a scathing social satire, but without the right skills.
In a post on Writers Unboxed, Kelsey Allagood says writers should definitely have a project like this in the works and that it’s ok to set it aside when the challenge becomes too daunting. In Allagood’s case, she spent several years working on an epic fantasy trilogy before deciding she needed to take a break. While she’d been warned against staring a project of this scope too soon, she’s still glad she did it.
While well-intentioned, this advice ignores the fact that writers don’t know their limits until they hit them, and that the only way to discover those limits is to ram into them. “Sure, setting unrealistic expectations can lead to burnout,” she says. “But I didn’t quit writing just because I burned out on one project.”
And the process was good for her. While many writers cite being published as their index for success, your time spent writing is worth the effort, even if the resulting book is not publishable. “I don’t regret the effort that I put into my attempted trilogy, because by aiming high, I forced myself to learn far, far more about the art of storytelling and the publishing industry than I would have if I had stuck to the type of stories I was comfortable writing,” Allagood concludes. “So I would urge all writers, amateur or experienced, who have an ambitious project on the backburner to consider giving it a try, even if you don’t feel ready. If it’s the right time, you can always put it aside again. The worst you could do is become a better writer. Doesn’t sound so bad to me.”
