gavintonks
Maester
I like to write and then the next day read from the beginning correcting odd things so the story flows from where I left off
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First Draft Finished?
- Thread starter Philip Overby
- Start date
Lorna
Inkling
My first draft was so bad I threw the whole story away and kept only three characters who have changed completely. It's taken me 7 to get to the point where I've got a 3/ 4 of a whole book with a chapter-chapter plot point by plot point where everything fits together and I'm beginning to think yes, this is good, at every part I read through. I think you learn to get a sense of which characters and in which incarnations are there to stay. There'll be certain scenes when you say 'right that's awesome, that's in' and when the characters come right because they'll speak to your heart every time you read it. If you're hooked on a re-reading it's in. If you think it's naff then readers will probably agree. I've been working on this damn thing 2 years ago and it's only since Feb I've been remotely happy with it.
The Dark One
Auror
The hard part (when it comes to editing) is getting rid of the good bits. Inevitably, no matter how well you've mapped out the story, you will occasionally venture down paths which you know in your heart are taking you away from the spine of the story, but you just can't bear to cut because somehow you've tapped into the great universal muse and created a glorious scene which sparkles with brilliance and joy.
It has to go.
These scenes are like sirens, calling you onto the rocks of ne'er-be-published. In order to accommodate them you find yourself totalling changing the flow of the story and losing the momentum you may have achieved. You have to develop the ruthlessness to be able to recognise these scenes for the career-killing perils they are. And they're simple to cut - you just imagine the course of the story without the scene and you'll feel all the tendrils coming back together in relief.
As an example, when I got my first acceptance the publisher said it was too long and I had to cut 230k words down to 160k. We eventually compromised on 192k but that was after many months of painful editing. The really tough bit was cutting a scene which was by far the funniest scene in the book (it was mildly humorous all the way through). I'd set up a major come-uppance for a minor-ish character, but the seven page set up was way out of proportion to the character's impact on the plot. When first writing the scene I was sitting in a crowded train on the way to work, literally howling with laughter in an otherwise quiet carriage. But the scene didn't take the plot forward and at 7 pages, it was a big chunk of words to lose in one go and help me get closer to the publisher's limit (it was the paper cost as much as anything else).
Mind you, I've still got the scene, so it may well reprise in the sequel.
It has to go.
These scenes are like sirens, calling you onto the rocks of ne'er-be-published. In order to accommodate them you find yourself totalling changing the flow of the story and losing the momentum you may have achieved. You have to develop the ruthlessness to be able to recognise these scenes for the career-killing perils they are. And they're simple to cut - you just imagine the course of the story without the scene and you'll feel all the tendrils coming back together in relief.
As an example, when I got my first acceptance the publisher said it was too long and I had to cut 230k words down to 160k. We eventually compromised on 192k but that was after many months of painful editing. The really tough bit was cutting a scene which was by far the funniest scene in the book (it was mildly humorous all the way through). I'd set up a major come-uppance for a minor-ish character, but the seven page set up was way out of proportion to the character's impact on the plot. When first writing the scene I was sitting in a crowded train on the way to work, literally howling with laughter in an otherwise quiet carriage. But the scene didn't take the plot forward and at 7 pages, it was a big chunk of words to lose in one go and help me get closer to the publisher's limit (it was the paper cost as much as anything else).
Mind you, I've still got the scene, so it may well reprise in the sequel.
gavintonks
Maester
sounds like you do not ahve a framework and time line to hang ths tory on
write it down plan the chapters
start the action
say what the conflict will be and what the characters will achieve
determine the emotion you wish the reader to experience
itemize the characters for the scene
place them in the environment
consider their voices and who is telling the story [just do not tell it]
then write
pan how many words as well
write it down plan the chapters
start the action
say what the conflict will be and what the characters will achieve
determine the emotion you wish the reader to experience
itemize the characters for the scene
place them in the environment
consider their voices and who is telling the story [just do not tell it]
then write
pan how many words as well
