Sunday 13 January 2013

Middle of the book twighlight zone.

I've managed a lot of writing this weekend - much to the chagrin of my family. My wife told my daughter yesterday to ask that strange muttering man upstairs who occasionally comes down, if he'd like some dinner. I got the point.

   The only thing is that no matter how much I write, the novel doesn't seem to be getting any larger. I know it must be because I'm typing all day long. The word count is growing and the page numbers are increasing. So what's your problem, you might ask?

   The story isn't progressing.

   I think I know the problem. For the last few years, all I've done is edit and refine novels already written. But now, I'm actually being forced to write from scratch. It makes me wonder how I ever wrote seven complete works, and that's ignoring the ones so garbage-ey that even I knew they had to be thrown away.

   It is coming along and  don't want to rush it because few people will enjoy, or even buy a novel comprising about one hundred pages. But I want to get to the nitty-gritty. I want the violence and the mayhem. Unfortunately I also have to write the stuff that goes in between; you know those tedious parts about characters, their personalities and motives. 

  

7 comments:

  1. Boy, I understand this. Feels different, doesn't it when you've been editing forever to get back to writing.

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  2. Yes it does. I'm enjoying it, though. Within a few weeks I'll probably feel the same way about editing and want to get back to fresh writing.

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  3. lol. Readers want to get to that good stuff too, so I say just write what you like to read. Can you arrange the story in a non-linear way to make your writing experience more interesting? It's hard going back to drafting after so much revision. Gotta find the fun in it again. Change it up!

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  4. I thought of that. Since my new novel's character is four hundred years old the temptation to do a lot of flashbacks is strong. However I think I'll lose the audience, and myself. So I'll try to inject some life into it as he goes. I'm sure I can give him plenty so amuse us over four hundred years.

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  5. I hope the writing is going well! Don't worry about adding a lot of tedious parts- I say write what you like and what you find fun. Little details can be slipped in. Wishing you the best of luck!
    ~Jess

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  6. Thank you. Yes, I've decided to write the story, having fun as I go. When I get the whole plot down I can go back, adding all the filling in after. Now, time to use the word I've been saving - eviscerate

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  7. I feel your pain! My last three books were rewrites/revisions/edits of books written in 2006 & 2007. I had a heck of a time with Patrick (which needs some serious work) and so this one being my second "from scratch" went better, but yeah, it's hard to switch back!!

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