It could be worse I could be forced to crawl over broken glass and then crawl back over it eating it
The editing/proofing continues. I'm frustrated. I can't seem to vary the pacing as much as I would like. Hopefully when I send the thing to readers they will tell me which scenes I can compress or hack out all together, because I can't see any other place to put many of them and they have to occur when and where they do. Oh, well. It's only the 3.5th draft.
I'm starting to see mentions about your NaNo projects again today now that the election excitement is starting to die down. I'm pulling for you all to keep working. I've been thinking about first drafts and I am hesitant to say much about them because I worry that I'll end up discouraging you guys.
So I'll cut it. You can skip it if you're at all worried. I'm sure you can guess what I'm going to say after the last nine months of word meter posts and rewrites.
Are just that. First drafts. They are beyond rough. I think an apt comparison here is a toddler dancing compared to the precision and grace of a prima ballerina in her prime. Both may be arresting and charming, but I would only pay to watch one of them.
I can tell you about my experiences with first drafts--not what everyone's experiences are. I know writers like John Irving plot out their entire novels meticulously before they write a word. It can take a whole year to do that kind of work. And I think the prose comes out a bit lifeless or stilted. I'm not a fan of Irving's writing at all.
I made notes and did research for several months after I pitched this novel idea to my agent friend last November. Whatever I thought this novel was about last fall? Is not what I've produced. The story I have found after three drafts is much better. The characters are funnier and more prickly. I love them more than I thought I could.
I had to write the first draft just to find the story. I had an idea of what would happen, but not much in the way of how those things happened. The second draft was about pushing everything to its limits and finding out how far I could stretch the plot and push the characters.
The third draft has been about finding the emotional landscape and reigning in the plot and prose and nailing the whole thing into scene. Also making sure the POV is steady and that it is clear my very defensive main character trying to hide her vulnerability and is not just a judgmental bitch.
I have no idea what the fourth draft will be about, but I know it will be something else. Probably pacing if I had to guess? Maybe continuity?
Of course I've been told my rewrite process is insane by other writers and I have only found a few other writers who do it the way I do. But I know this process works for me. I don't think I could do Irving's insane pre-plotting--and I don't expect other writers to rewrite each draft from scratch the way I do. Though if I ever teach a short fiction class I will probably have my students try it.
I'm blathering. In short. First drafts can often help you FIND the story you want to tell. So just keep writing. Don't edit because you could end up pitching a lot of what you've written when you move into the second draft. I know it sounds scary or like you're wasting time. But you're not. Write. All the way to the end. Then you can really tell your story. Or feel like you got to an end be satisfied. It depends on why you're writing.
Writing is in an incredible exercise in patience with yourself.
I'm starting to see mentions about your NaNo projects again today now that the election excitement is starting to die down. I'm pulling for you all to keep working. I've been thinking about first drafts and I am hesitant to say much about them because I worry that I'll end up discouraging you guys.
So I'll cut it. You can skip it if you're at all worried. I'm sure you can guess what I'm going to say after the last nine months of word meter posts and rewrites.
Are just that. First drafts. They are beyond rough. I think an apt comparison here is a toddler dancing compared to the precision and grace of a prima ballerina in her prime. Both may be arresting and charming, but I would only pay to watch one of them.
I can tell you about my experiences with first drafts--not what everyone's experiences are. I know writers like John Irving plot out their entire novels meticulously before they write a word. It can take a whole year to do that kind of work. And I think the prose comes out a bit lifeless or stilted. I'm not a fan of Irving's writing at all.
I made notes and did research for several months after I pitched this novel idea to my agent friend last November. Whatever I thought this novel was about last fall? Is not what I've produced. The story I have found after three drafts is much better. The characters are funnier and more prickly. I love them more than I thought I could.
I had to write the first draft just to find the story. I had an idea of what would happen, but not much in the way of how those things happened. The second draft was about pushing everything to its limits and finding out how far I could stretch the plot and push the characters.
The third draft has been about finding the emotional landscape and reigning in the plot and prose and nailing the whole thing into scene. Also making sure the POV is steady and that it is clear my very defensive main character trying to hide her vulnerability and is not just a judgmental bitch.
I have no idea what the fourth draft will be about, but I know it will be something else. Probably pacing if I had to guess? Maybe continuity?
Of course I've been told my rewrite process is insane by other writers and I have only found a few other writers who do it the way I do. But I know this process works for me. I don't think I could do Irving's insane pre-plotting--and I don't expect other writers to rewrite each draft from scratch the way I do. Though if I ever teach a short fiction class I will probably have my students try it.
I'm blathering. In short. First drafts can often help you FIND the story you want to tell. So just keep writing. Don't edit because you could end up pitching a lot of what you've written when you move into the second draft. I know it sounds scary or like you're wasting time. But you're not. Write. All the way to the end. Then you can really tell your story. Or feel like you got to an end be satisfied. It depends on why you're writing.
Writing is in an incredible exercise in patience with yourself.