John Green

There's always a point, usually 20,000 to 30,000 words into a new story, where I realize it's bad. Like, really bad. And often when I get to that point, I have to abandon the story--which is a bummer, because I've spent three or six or twenty months on it, and then I feel like, this was all for nothing! I have wasted all this time!

But then sometimes I will get to that point of realizing the story is terrible, and I'll think, "You know, I think I can plow through to an end here. I think I've at least got some idea about the characters." And then I make it to the end of the draft a few months later. I'll still have to delete most of that draft in revision, and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite before I have a book, but if I make it past that point where I realize it's all bad, I can finish.

And then eventually I will understand that none of the time spent was actually wasted, because I had to puzzle through those stories that couldn't work to get to the one that could.

So for me the hardest part is accepting when something isn't working, and letting it go, and starting again.

John Green here. I would not say my FIFA career was ever SERIOUS, as the two main characters were both named John Green and were Time Lords who adopted a child together, but it was certainly SOMETHING. (I am really bad at FIFA, which I suppose was part of the charm of the series.)

Hi, Reddit. Long-time lurker who just created an account. I've written four novels (the most recent two both spent three weeks on the NYT bestseller list) and I thought I'd post in case anyone is looking for frank answers to questions about writing, publishing, the book business, or the like.

EDIT: Anonymity blown. My name is John Green. I'm the author of the novels "Looking for Alaska," "An Abundance of Katherines," "Paper Towns," and the co-author of "Will Grayson, Will Grayson." (I also share a popular youtube channel with my brother; another AMA for another day, perhaps.)

EDIT 2: If I were going to pretend to be someone, I would pretend to be someone far cooler than I am (like that freaking cosmonaut with >2,000 parachute jumps). Proof. Thanks for all your great questions and hilarious asides, reconfirming for me the awesomeness of Reddit. I'll continue to answer questions, and I apologize if I don't answer yours.