I've always distanced myself, as politely as possible, from writers who talk a lot about writing, who discuss their current WIP, but who never sit down and actually work on them.
I think I've become one. I think about Inner Voice a lot. I work on characterisation and plot and scenes, in my head, over and over again. I make break throughs, sometimes small, sometimes not so small, and I continue to scheme and dream.
But I don't write.
So far I've changed two characters into a family of three and promoted one of them into one of the co-stars of the whole shooting match. I've rewritten the final chapter in my head at least twice and tweaked countless other scenes and settings. Lots more needs to be done.
But I've not changed a word of the manuscript.
God help me, I've definitely become one of 'those'...
Or is it simply that I really don't like the idea of rewriting something I spewed out in linear form. All those changes and trying to fit things so they marry with other areas I deem acceptable to keep. Perhaps I'm just not that good at killing my little darlings and reforming them in someone else's image, even if that someone else is just a later version of me.
If you need to kill a character and replace them with another, or rewrite in an entirely different POV, how do you go about it? Do you rewrite from word one, or do you rewrite bits and try to mesh them in with the other bits?
Am I over thinking this and scaring the crap out of myself for no good reason?
All suggestions short of running naked through the streets will be considered (it's bloody cold around here at the moment).
Oh, and if you've read Dark Pages - let me know what you thought of it. Currently the publisher is slumming it in Europe so I have no idea how sales are going and haven't heard a lot of feedback. Any comments would be appreciated.
Cheers
BT
Friday, July 2, 2010
I've Turned Into One of Those...
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I do all the mental frolicking to my heart's content, or at least close, and then write. It cuts down on edits BIG time. Needless to say, I end up doing a lot of constructive daydreaming.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Natalie. I think that the "mental frolicking" really helps with the editing quite a bit. Sometimes I let that get a bit out of control, but I'm usually able to reign it in before my idea goes running off without me. heh
ReplyDeleteRewriting and revision is a lot of work. If you do go in and change, all I can say is don't delete the old version.
ReplyDeletePlot in your head when you can, find time to write when it fits in.
I tend to start from scratch with my rewrites and waste a lot of time finding a 'voice' that I like.
ReplyDeleteYeah what Nat said. I don't think there can be anything wrong with writing and re-writing in your head-- but then, just because it works for me doesn't mean it works for everyone. I do the same thing though, re-vamping scenes and rewriting things from different PoVs a bunch of times.
ReplyDeleteWhen it's right, it'll click. Be excellent to yourself.
Dark Pages was delivered with my last crop of booksplurge indulgence. I'll definitely leave a review on goodreads when I'm done-- and wherever else would be helpful.
A lot of writing happens in the writer's head before a single word gets written down. Eventually you'll get to the point where you're ready to write.
ReplyDeleteI've decided to change out one character for another in one of my WIPs. I've ground to a halt in writing it since I'm not sure whether I should go back and make changes first or just keep going with the new character after a page break and make the other changes in edits.
Yep, you're overthinking this and scaring the crap out of yourself for no good reason.
ReplyDeleteI often spend far more time on the initial characters, conflict, and writing the first chapter than I do on writing the rest of the first draft.
Alternately, I spend enough time with the initial characters, conflict, and writing the first chapter to abandon the project before it starts, which saves us all a lot of aggravation and boredom. That's not a bad thing either. Seriously.
Thanks, guys and girls.
ReplyDeleteMental frolicking - or mental fro-licking...mmm. Either way, I like it.
Katey - I look forward to reading the review. You made me smile and play air guitar ;c)
I start two weeks holiday tomorrow in which I have a lot of time set aside to spend with my youngest daughter. However, she is also an aspiring writer and she'll be setting aside some time to work on her current WIP so I think I may do the same. I think I'll storyboard Inner Voice and figure out all the changes first and then rewrite.
Fingers crossed!
Cool website!
ReplyDeleteLook on my website!
www.jelleenlars.blogspot.com
I learned to like editing and sometimes it's just word by word, slowly slogging through it until I get it right. I've learned to persevere. Sometimes when I get really frustrated with what I'm working on I just concentrate on small sections at a time.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have Dark Pages in my "to be read next pile", so will let you know soon.