When to Walk Away From a Story

In the time between writing my first and second published books, I wrote a dark tragedy, titled Shamar's War. While the style and story were probably the most intense and objectively well-written of any of my works, I ultimately shelved the project without fishing the final edit. I didn't give up because I didn't think I could have gotten it published; I didn't even try. In fact, I often feel that if I had finished the editing, it might have been my shot at the big leagues.  A chance to get with a big publisher and make serious money writing.  The reason Shamar's War never came to be is I made the willful decision to walk away. The reason I quit was because I saw what the story was doing to me, as well as drifting away from the kind of books I always wanted to write, stories of hope, forgiveness, and courage. Shamar's War had its share of all three, but you needed to go through a lot of pain, sadness, hate, and a bucketload of blood and gore to get to redemption in the end. 

Sometimes this can happen when reading a book as well. The story might be well-written, or exciting, but leaves us feeling hollow, sad, or angry. In a world that grows darker every day, my story felt like a pit of misery. Although sometimes a sad or tragic story can help a person going through a tough time, that is usually the exception and not the norm. If something is disturbing you, even if you really want to keep reading or writing it, stop. Even if you really like the book or film, or everyone else says how great it is, if it is not helping to make you a better person you need to put it down, maybe not forever, but for a while. Early on I felt uncomfortable about Shamar's War, but I loved the characters and was enamored by the plot more than anything I had created up to that point. Although I was super engrossed in Shamar's War while I was writing it, it was not until it was finished and I read it that I realized that I had created a violent, dark, and depressing tale, lacking the charm and innocence of my first book Leon's Son. If I could go back, I would never have continued the book, I would have moved on to something else and saved hundreds of hours of writing for a book that would have advanced virtue and forgiveness, the true themes of Unafraid. Ultimately, it's up to each person to decide whether or not they need to walk away from a story they are reading or writing. Just try to make sure you are not unnecessarily putting yourself through a long and tiresome process. It is much better to pick up a new and improved book than to suffer through a process that tires you out or goes against your standards or style.