I'm one of those 'once it's written, it should damn well stay' writers too, so I get your pain. Normally, I need to delete end paragraphs or add them, but since my endings are always dodgy, I don't mind that.
But I currently have a long fic in beta and I keep having these weird moments of almost-panic, wondering if it's going to come back from the beta with great big slashes in metaphorical-red-pen saying that this scene and that scene and this other one need to be deleted because they achieve nothing.
So, yes. You've just deleted a chunk. You deserve many cookies.
And going back to the beginning and reading, I can see the pattern early on in it going this way, and it's--does that sound some kind of really weird psychotic break?
I'm currently doing a Creative Writing class at uni/college, and there's this whole idea about *themes* of writing which goes over my head. I'm writing because the characters talk to me, they tell me about one little thing and... it's like finding a twisted ball of yarn, y'know? I'm writing to untangle the ideas, to hear the ends of the conversations, to straighten the string.
But, apparently, we're supposed to keep the *themes* of our piece in mind as we write. We're supposed to have this level of self-awareness that I clearly lack -- that I always have, because just because I see the themes in a story when it's finished, doesn't mean I had a clue they were there as I wrote -- but I find that stoppig to think about the themes just makes the words dry up. It stops me from writing.
Of course, I think more editing after the initial writing would probably be better.
(Mind you, the other frightening thing mentioned in this course? The idea that a lot of good writers write down a novel, delete nine tenths of it, and then start again and re-write the entire thing. I think that would be too painful to bear.)
The theme will often announce itself to the writer three-quarters of the way through the work, and then you can say, "Oh, how nice that this all fits together!" Personally, I almost never begin with a theme in mind. People do their creative work differently, and anything that tries to make one size fit all is doomed to failure, I think.
But, apparently, we're supposed to keep the *themes* of our piece in mind as we write. We're supposed to have this level of self-awareness that I clearly lack -- that I always have, because just because I see the themes in a story when it's finished, doesn't mean I had a clue they were there as I wrote -- but I find that stoppig to think about the themes just makes the words dry up. It stops me from writing.
That's the reason I hated and still hate lit and English classes *so much*. But then, I hated the entire cutting of a story into it's seven component parts,too--what was it, theme, mood, setting, characterization, tone, dialogue, and something else. It just--noo. I'd sit and think, it's a *story*. Not a mathematical equation.
(Mind you, the other frightening thing mentioned in this course? The idea that a lot of good writers write down a novel, delete nine tenths of it, and then start again and re-write the entire thing. I think that would be too painful to bear.)
*thoughtful* I wonder how *literal* they're being when that's said, though. I really do. I mean, it just--I don't see it. What's the point of writing it if you're never going to actually use any of it?
What's the point of writing it if you're never going to actually use any of it?
Apparently, it's to clarify the characters and backstory in your mind. It's...
Well, when you're writing original fiction, I think it's taking the place of canon. Like, when you write a good fic, there's all this backstory of canon that you know about the characters (but you don't go through and summarise it all in the story -- because that would make it clunky and boring -- but you write as if it's a known thing). So, for original writing, the theory is that you don't need to spell everything out but as the author, you should *know* those bits of character history.
It's sort of... I don't know. If I think about it rationally, it probably leads to good writing, but it *feels* all pointless.
I'm one of those 'once it's written, it should damn well stay' writers too, so I get your pain. Normally, I need to delete end paragraphs or add them, but since my endings are always dodgy, I don't mind that.
But I currently have a long fic in beta and I keep having these weird moments of almost-panic, wondering if it's going to come back from the beta with great big slashes in metaphorical-red-pen saying that this scene and that scene and this other one need to be deleted because they achieve nothing.
So, yes. You've just deleted a chunk. You deserve many cookies.
And going back to the beginning and reading, I can see the pattern early on in it going this way, and it's--does that sound some kind of really weird psychotic break?
I'm currently doing a Creative Writing class at uni/college, and there's this whole idea about *themes* of writing which goes over my head. I'm writing because the characters talk to me, they tell me about one little thing and... it's like finding a twisted ball of yarn, y'know? I'm writing to untangle the ideas, to hear the ends of the conversations, to straighten the string.
But, apparently, we're supposed to keep the *themes* of our piece in mind as we write. We're supposed to have this level of self-awareness that I clearly lack -- that I always have, because just because I see the themes in a story when it's finished, doesn't mean I had a clue they were there as I wrote -- but I find that stoppig to think about the themes just makes the words dry up. It stops me from writing.
Of course, I think more editing after the initial writing would probably be better.
(Mind you, the other frightening thing mentioned in this course? The idea that a lot of good writers write down a novel, delete nine tenths of it, and then start again and re-write the entire thing. I think that would be too painful to bear.)
Reply
Reply
That's the reason I hated and still hate lit and English classes *so much*. But then, I hated the entire cutting of a story into it's seven component parts,too--what was it, theme, mood, setting, characterization, tone, dialogue, and something else. It just--noo. I'd sit and think, it's a *story*. Not a mathematical equation.
(Mind you, the other frightening thing mentioned in this course? The idea that a lot of good writers write down a novel, delete nine tenths of it, and then start again and re-write the entire thing. I think that would be too painful to bear.)
*thoughtful* I wonder how *literal* they're being when that's said, though. I really do. I mean, it just--I don't see it. What's the point of writing it if you're never going to actually use any of it?
Hmm.
Reply
Apparently, it's to clarify the characters and backstory in your mind. It's...
Well, when you're writing original fiction, I think it's taking the place of canon. Like, when you write a good fic, there's all this backstory of canon that you know about the characters (but you don't go through and summarise it all in the story -- because that would make it clunky and boring -- but you write as if it's a known thing). So, for original writing, the theory is that you don't need to spell everything out but as the author, you should *know* those bits of character history.
It's sort of... I don't know. If I think about it rationally, it probably leads to good writing, but it *feels* all pointless.
Reply
Leave a comment