Is It Time to Step Away?

I'm swamped with the crippling self doubt - again.

I know where this book is going. I don't want to spoil the ending but I know what happens at the end. I know what happens at the start. It's getting from the start to the end and making it a wild adventure on the way.

I have sought out the advice of amazing published authors and as a result, I'm going to take a step back from my manuscript and read Outlining Your Novel by K.M. Weiland.

I'm so happy with this book, the characters and the story. I just want to tell it at it's absolute best. I want the impact of the story to be as strong as it can be.

I need the story to capture and entertain the readers as much as I can.

I want this book to be pure science fiction indulgence. I want this to be a book I'd like my own children to read, especially my daughter. I want my main characters to play with alien technology, to fly spaceships. to defeat the baddies by using their smarts. They're going to figure out what's going on and uncover mysteries.

Maybe when I step back and read the outlining book, I'll be able to look at my novel with fresh eyes.

The trouble is, I'm not sure whether this novel should tell the full story of how Tim and Lexi find out about aliens or if it should be a few chapters of a book where Tim and Lexi leave the Earth entirely. I want it to be magical. I want the reader to say 'Wow!' I want the reader to be amazed, awed and astonished by what they see in this book.

I definitely think I need to step away and replot. I think when I did my first rewrite, I kept in the mistakes I'd made in the first draft. I think maybe I should consider a dream state. What would be the most amazing thing to happen to my two protagonists?

I need to think about what children enjoy in their reading. What captured imagination for the children when they read Harry Potter or Twilight or Hunger Games? Why was Enders Game so popular? I don't want to write like those other authors, I don't want to create a carbon copy. I think the experience of other authors is something to think about and not copy, not emulate but learn from and adapt my writing accordingly.

I do have a lot to think about. I think the last draft I wrote will need to change. I really like this story and I am not going to give up on it. I just need to make it as

perfect as I can.

I need to remember that I only started writing it in July and even to finish the book by now is an achievement. A little rewrite of the events in the book is a minor part really as I have the characters and a direction for the plot.

Wish me luck as I very reluctantly step away from my manuscript.