ecdavis
Troubadour
I'm having a rough time with the third book in my trilogy. It isn't exactly an epic tale, but I have a number of well-developed characters that I want to bring to a point of conclusion.
I think I may have messed up by putting the big 'Final Battle' in the middle of the book. I did this because it felt logical and fit the run of the story. Though I had it all scripted out in my mind, I think it somewhat overwhelmed me getting it down. As I said, it isn't exactly 'High Fantasy' but I've found that big battle scenes are really exhausting.
When I finished the 'Final Battle' it was a relief, but it left a number of loose ends that I have to address. What is amazing me is that I'm enjoying writing these 'loose ends' more than I did the 'Final Battle'. That surprises me for some reason.
But though I'm enjoying the 'loose ends' section, I've found that this week I've not really been too productive. The only factor that is different from my most productive times is that I don't have a lot of private time to write.
It seems hard to write when someone is around, and I imagine many writers have this problem. I don't have any children and my wife supports my desire to write, but it seems that every day I get home from my 'real job', we spend three hours 'Taking Care of Business'. It's never anything that can really be removed or shifted around, either and so I find that instead of typing 5,000 words, I often end up under 2,000 on a good day.
Then on the days I think I'm completely focused on productivity, I am so tired from my 'real job' that I fall asleep while typing.
What is crazy is that I've had passages in other volumes of my series that flowed like a river at flood stage, and sometimes the same distractions were in place then. I had one crazy idea for a short story one day at work and I thought it would be about a 30 or 40 page story, so I took a break from my second book and worked on it. I had the whole thing done under a week and it was just under 100 pages. It flowed so smoothly that I am still amazed that I could have it finished and edited in about 6 days time.
So I was wondering what everyone's thoughts are on why some books are 'Easy Writes' and others are "Hard Writes'? In my case, both the easy and hard to write books are parts of the same series and have the same characters. I'm satisfied with the plot, so that isn't it. The characters are who I want them to be as well, so I'm not unhappy with their development at all.
I'm not tired of writing about them, and in fact I find myself rather sad that this will be the last book I plan on writing about them as the main characters. The only reason I can come up with that it seems to be much more difficult this time is because I feel obligated to finish the tale in a manner fitting for them and as they need this great finish, I am more distracted by daily problems and responsibilities that didn't seem to bother me as bad in the earlier volumes.
I hope that doesn't sound too insane.
Also, does anyone have another word for 'shrugged'? I feel like I use that term too much, but I can't think of another word that conveys the same meaning.
I think I may have messed up by putting the big 'Final Battle' in the middle of the book. I did this because it felt logical and fit the run of the story. Though I had it all scripted out in my mind, I think it somewhat overwhelmed me getting it down. As I said, it isn't exactly 'High Fantasy' but I've found that big battle scenes are really exhausting.
When I finished the 'Final Battle' it was a relief, but it left a number of loose ends that I have to address. What is amazing me is that I'm enjoying writing these 'loose ends' more than I did the 'Final Battle'. That surprises me for some reason.
But though I'm enjoying the 'loose ends' section, I've found that this week I've not really been too productive. The only factor that is different from my most productive times is that I don't have a lot of private time to write.
It seems hard to write when someone is around, and I imagine many writers have this problem. I don't have any children and my wife supports my desire to write, but it seems that every day I get home from my 'real job', we spend three hours 'Taking Care of Business'. It's never anything that can really be removed or shifted around, either and so I find that instead of typing 5,000 words, I often end up under 2,000 on a good day.
Then on the days I think I'm completely focused on productivity, I am so tired from my 'real job' that I fall asleep while typing.
What is crazy is that I've had passages in other volumes of my series that flowed like a river at flood stage, and sometimes the same distractions were in place then. I had one crazy idea for a short story one day at work and I thought it would be about a 30 or 40 page story, so I took a break from my second book and worked on it. I had the whole thing done under a week and it was just under 100 pages. It flowed so smoothly that I am still amazed that I could have it finished and edited in about 6 days time.
So I was wondering what everyone's thoughts are on why some books are 'Easy Writes' and others are "Hard Writes'? In my case, both the easy and hard to write books are parts of the same series and have the same characters. I'm satisfied with the plot, so that isn't it. The characters are who I want them to be as well, so I'm not unhappy with their development at all.
I'm not tired of writing about them, and in fact I find myself rather sad that this will be the last book I plan on writing about them as the main characters. The only reason I can come up with that it seems to be much more difficult this time is because I feel obligated to finish the tale in a manner fitting for them and as they need this great finish, I am more distracted by daily problems and responsibilities that didn't seem to bother me as bad in the earlier volumes.
I hope that doesn't sound too insane.
Also, does anyone have another word for 'shrugged'? I feel like I use that term too much, but I can't think of another word that conveys the same meaning.