Getting over the hump.

[warbossgrat]

My friend and I started working on a manga a few years ago after watching Fumoffu and it grew in our eyes into a beautiful creation.  Unfortunately we had a great story and a evolving plot but we needed a second storyline that had the same amount of depth as well for when we started pitching our creation.  After several second tier worthy plots we developed one that had potential.  Well this second story morphed from just being a manga into actually having a solid enough background where a book version could be created.  Well we are on year two now due to having two jobs each and other circumstances and I am looking for pointers to help get us back on track.  Time is ticking and I feel that our window of oppurtunity is closing.  I am open to suggestions on getting this train out of the station since I know others have experienced this and just want to know what it took to get over the hump.  We are I say maybe a 10th of the way into the book.  We have several stories that we had put on the board but are weaving and recreating as we go.  We know how the manga will end but we have not yet planned where the book will end.

[meg_evonne]

I'll throw in my own (sorta similar) frustration.  I have a quasi-military sci fi piece that I did several years ago.  I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the female protagonist---but....   I've grown as a writer so much since then that when i try to go back to expand its horizons from a 26,000 word novella to a 100,000 word novel, I get frustrated.  All I do is edit, edit, edit and curse myself for my stupidity only a few years ago...

I don't know what the answer is... 

• scrap and start from scratch with the same premise and same characters?
• or keep editing until it's right and then re-start the over haul?

Yes, the right answer would probably be, close your eyes and start writing the new parts, and edit only a bit at a time.  I can't seem to do that!!!  I really am not OCD most of the time!!!

Either of those ideas sound like a plan for your story?  If so, let me know and maybe I'll have an answer to my delimna.

[Starbeam]

I'll throw in my own (sorta similar) frustration.  I have a quasi-military sci fi piece that I did several years ago.  I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the female protagonist---but....   I've grown as a writer so much since then that when i try to go back to expand its horizons from a 26,000 word novella to a 100,000 word novel, I get frustrated.  All I do is edit, edit, edit and curse myself for my stupidity only a few years ago...

I don't know what the answer is... 

• scrap and start from scratch with the same premise and same characters?
• or keep editing until it's right and then re-start the over haul?

Yes, the right answer would probably be, close your eyes and start writing the new parts, and edit only a bit at a time.  I can't seem to do that!!!  I really am not OCD most of the time!!!

Either of those ideas sound like a plan for your story?  If so, let me know and maybe I'll have an answer to my delimna.

Another option is instead of editing, start a rewrite from the beginning, get to where you stopped, and keep going.  That's what I've done with my monstrosity of a fantasy story.  I had to do it a couple times because of change in POV, and additions of new characters and subplots.  Not that I'm really the best person to take advice from, the original rewrite going from 1st to 3rd POV hasn't even gotten to the same point in the storyline to even write anything new.

[warbossgrat]

 Thank you both for your help here.  We will look at it from the beginning and work on developing it more.  My partner does 75% of the drawing until my ability to mimic his drawing style increases while I am doing the majority of the writing to pick up for the slack.  But I will work more on the trip from L.A. with stops in Vegas, maybe somehere in Texas, and then finally ending up in New Orleans.  It is just a different development style.  The manga starts off with a little suspense and then bam we are into the action and it doesn't stop until the end.  I dont want to have the book version copy that since it would be difficult for me.  I am not developed enough as a writer yet to make the breaks have some form of urgency without duplicating the nature of that down time.  But I will grow in my ability we just need to lay a more structured book plan and look at it over again from the beginning.