My take on this article title is that it covers two scenarios. The first covers instances where a writer is considering quitting writing for good. However, it could also be taken to cover the question of at what point a writer should quit on a particular piece of writing. I'll cover off both dilemmas in this article.
Knowing when to call time on your writing career:
Whether you're a professional writer or an amateur writer, every piece of creative writing that you do adds to the sum total of your writing career. There may be times when you lose inspiration in one genre and find yourself shifting your focus to another writing genre. However, for most of us, the thought of actually stopping writing altogether probably sounds implausible. This is because people who have the writing bug generally expect that it's something that they will do until they draw their dying breath. Having said this, there may be some circumstances that may conspire to make you give serious thought to what had previously seemed unthinkable.
1. Ill health:
I imagine that Terry Pratchett never envisaged having to call time on his writing. However, the sudden and cruel revelation that he is suffering from an incurable form of Alzheimer's disease means that he will now have to confront the reality of his situation. Hopefully most of us will not have to face such a debilitating condition but common ailments such as failing eyesight or arthritic hands may make it more difficult and painful to continue doing what we love.
2. Falling standards:
There's no reason why a writer's output should become any less good as they get older. In fact, quite often the reverse is true as we continue to hone our writing skills. However, some writers may get to the stage where they believe that the quality of their writing is not up to their previous high standards. This is a bit like the syndrome of a footballer who used to play in the Premier League and is now having to face up to the prospect of playing in a lower league. Some retain their love of the game and accept that fate, whilst others decide they want to get out whilst still at the top.
3. Falling out of love with writing:
Writing is a deep-seated passion for most writers and it is this passion that keeps us putting words onto page and shaping them into something that we feel proud of. If this driving force, of love of writing, begins to falter then it may become increasingly difficult to keep writing. In most cases, this malaise will only be temporary and something will happen to reignite your love for the art of writing. However, it is possible that this condition may persist for such a period that we mentally make the decision to put away the pen and focus our attentions on other passions.
4. When you've had one too many rejection letters:
Most of us write because of the love of writing, rather than just as a way to make money. However, it's possible that there are some people for whom the core goal of their writing is to generate an income. In such circumstances, therefore, it's possible that a weight of rejection letters may cause you to give up on the dream of earning a living from your writing. I reiterate, though, that most writers are driven by more than the lure of monetary reward and would continue to write even if it was only for their own enjoyment. Of course, there are also lots of instances of writers who have gone on to great success after a significant number of rejections, so you might always wonder what would have happened if you had stuck in there.
Knowing when to call time on a particular writing project:
I mentioned that this article's title could be looked at in a broader context than just calling time on your whole writing career. Writers are faced all the time with decisions on whether to devote more time to an existing project or to either put it on hold or bin it in favour of another project.
The decision on when, or if, to call time on a writing project will depend on a number of factors. The fact that you are even considering quitting your half-finished novel, short story, etc, has probably come about because you have hit a wall in terms of inspiration. Or maybe you are struggling to work out where the plot is going? I think there is a danger in quitting a piece of work too soon. It might be tempting to think that you are only taking a break and will go back to the work at a later point, but all too frequently a pause leads to an indefinite hiatus.
However, there will come a point where you may conclude that you simply can't progress the writing in the way that you would have liked. Or maybe the opportunity cost of sitting there trying to get over your block is too high a price to pay, when all of those hours could have been spent more fruitfully on starting a new project.
Ultimately, there is no standard formula to determine when to quit on a writing project. It will depend on a huge number of personal factors and is a value call that you will need to make. Speaking personally, however, I am very reticent to press the delete button on any projects that I have abandoned. You never know, the breakthrough that you had once hoped for may come to you at some point in the future so it's good to be able to go back to your earlier draft rather than having to start from scratch.
Finally, let's return to the thought that a writer might consider permanently quitting. I've already intimated that, for most writers, the act of writing is so ingrained that the only thing that would cause us to cease writing would be if ill health (or death) prevented us from writing. Here are some neat quotes about writing that I found that I think sum up this viewpoint quite well.
"If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster." (Isaac Asimov)
"The coroner will find ink in my veins and blood on my typewriter keys." (C. Astrid Weber)
Sources:
http://www.quotegarden.com/writing.htm l