It'a long, long road writing a novel. Especially if you're a bad writer, which I am. I marvel at the pros who can whip out novels fast. Me, I'm a slow poke. But though I'm bad, I am resolved to be better! Hey, tenacity has to count for something right!
Level up. That's my CONSTANT focus in editing the novel(s) I'm working on. Someday I wanna be compared to the all-time greats. I will accept nothing else. But I know that I'm not there now. I'm always looking to level up.
So what is level up?
Well-p, I'd describe it as a writer's attempt at pushing his material up to a higher level with each re-write pass that he or she makes.
If you're a pro, with BOOKS under your belt no need to "level up". BUT if you're an unpublished amateur you may feel the need to level up. It's a push for every writer. Hey, if you think your writing is good enough, no need to push your material. I'm not that guy. I never think my stuff is good enough. Never. That's why I'm so fucking slow, I never think I'll be good enough.
Totally different vibe in the screenwriting arena. I'm VERY HAPPY with my screenwriting. The 20 specs. I've written say what I want them to say. Sure I could always go back and tweek them, but I really don't want to UNLESS one of them gets purchased. THEN the rules of my game changes. Until then, however, it's onward. The BIG goal right now being somehow getting "Thars" to Peter Jackson. He's my brass ring. My goal.
So how does a writer "level up". Well, for starters it takes realizing that your material CAN be improved. Don't ever tell me, "I'm stuck up and unwilling to change", because I'm more than willing to rewrite and attempt to improve the material.
Second, be willing to put in the time. Get behind the keyboard and rewrite. My biggest goal is to get a reader or audience to see what I see. So dig deep and try to paint the most vivid picture I can. Always working at making my scenes more evocative and vivid. I wan't to bring life to my work. I want it to be special.
Third read your work back to yourself. You gotta bring your work up to a certain level of perfection BEFORE you show it to other people.
A good thing to remember is that you only get one chance to make a first impression. So don't show your stuff to anyone else until it reaches some level of maturation. May not be perfect, set in stone yet, BUT if you show your material pre-maturely your reader will form a bias concerning you, that you may never be able to overcome.
4th. Don't accept mediocrity. Do your work justice. If its not up to snuff--get it up to snuff! Seek to be a pro. Someone WORTHY of being compared to the all-time greats. That's what you want. To be compared favorably to the established writers.
5th. Never stop. You can always improve your material. Don't let a bad review put the kabosh on your vision. Writer are visionaries. That's actually something I do quite well: lay out a master vision. Last December I got a VERY BAD review that I paid big money for. I'm still pissed at that person and institution to this day. BUT I can now say, "Fuck 'em!" You try to sue my art to promote your PERVERSE agenda, you can cordially FUCK OFF!
Okay, so lets end this post on a more lighter note. I just got my U.S. copyright certificate for the 1st screenplay adaptation in the "Thars" series: "The Chosen Redeemer of Thars: A Legend in Thars; Part I", Pau 3-868-278. Progress! I originally filed for his back in July of 2017, fyi.