Comments are starting to come back from crit partners and betas so my mind is turning back to the book. I'll get Miriam's comments later today but she's given it the tick of approval (not that the tick of approval means no more work needed lol).
So work on draft three will begin soon. For me the process goes something like this:
Draft 1 - write version of book that is way short (about 75% of what it should be) and full of people talking and severely lacking in setting and description etc. Early in this process do a collage and a soundtrack.
Revision pass 1 (to get to draft two) - read draft 1 and make notes to self about stuff that is missing, stuff that doesn't make sense, threads that need to be picked up etc and many comments along the lines of "expand" "what the heck are these people wearing" and "setting please". Start thinking about solutions to some of these problems. Then I generally cut down the soundtrack and maybe add a few new songs to it and perhaps fiddle with the collage or make another one if I need to though I didn't do that this time. If there's structural stuff I want to do (ie shift stuff around or make major story line changes or fix pacing etc) or if I don't quite feel I've got a handle on the book, I write a synopsis because that helps me see it a little more clearly. Then I get to work putting a lot of stuff in, circling back to layer stuff, cleaning up the language and getting it to the point where I'm not ashamed to let people see it. I prefer to revise fast but it takes as long as it will take.
Draft 2 goes to my agent and my crit buddies (either in full or bits) and any other beta readers. While they read, I chew my fingernails, become convinced the book is terrible and that my agent will sack me and try and distract myself by working on other stuff. The back brain also goes to work on the things that I think are still not quite right with the book.
The next revision pass depends on what the comments are and what my thoughts are. There might be structural things, there might be just polishing and tightening, there might be worldbuilding to solidify or subplots to tweak. I have my views on what the book needs right now and I'm waiting to see what else the readers see that I just can't. So while I wait, now that I have some comments, I'm going to do some revision prep:
1. Do the first draft of the synopsis and a scene outline. This gets the "what happens" back in my head and shows me the POV balance and timeline.
2. Play with the soundtrack some more. The muse is still happy with the collage, so apparently I nailed that early on this time.
3. Do some braindumping/free writing about the comments and my concerns to see what turns up.
4. Whatever else the muse tells me to (look for images, watch certain films or tv shows.
5. Possibly bore people who gave me comments with questions and discussions.
Then I'll do the next pass (and probably start to hate the book again and whine a lot) and it will go back to Miriam. Hopefully she won't want another pass but you never know. If she does then, it'll be lather, rinse, repeat until I get it right.
December 18, 2009
December 13, 2009
Quote of the day
"In the midst of the process of writing, inspiration falls through one's brain in tiny, continuous drops as well as in tidal waves. Word size, paragraph size, scene size and up. You just have to be ready with the bucket. My bucket generally takes the form of a three-ring notebook and a No. 2 pencil."
Lois McMaster Bujold. You can read the whole thing here.
Lois McMaster Bujold. You can read the whole thing here.
December 12, 2009
Cooking tip of the day
If you're going to make popcorn...and just say, you're going to make popcorn with some sort of coating that requires shaking the popcorn and coating in a sealed container to coat it, it's a good idea to make sure the lid of the container is on properly before you commence the shaking process. Unless of course, you want your kitchen floor to enjoy a significant portion of your tasty tasty popcorn*.
Just sayin'. As a service to you all. And I'm sure the champagne consumed before the popcorn making had nothing at all to do with my discovery. Nothing at all....
*Party popcorn from Nigella Express if you're wondering. Tis tasty. And not too evil (especially if you air pop the popcorn rather than cooking in oil). And easy.
Just sayin'. As a service to you all. And I'm sure the champagne consumed before the popcorn making had nothing at all to do with my discovery. Nothing at all....
*Party popcorn from Nigella Express if you're wondering. Tis tasty. And not too evil (especially if you air pop the popcorn rather than cooking in oil). And easy.
December 05, 2009
Post book brain
Finishing a book does strange things to your brain.
I tend to write the ends of books fast and prefer, where possible, to revise fairly fast too (though there are multiple passes at this).
For the first draft the endgame speed comes from the part where I finally see the shape of the ending, how everything is going to come together and I just want to get it down on the page. It's like the weight of the whole story gathers in my brain and kind of pushes (which will sound weird to anyone who doesn't write...the closest analogy I have, having seen two babies born, is that you get to a point where you've just got to push and get through to the end and you really don't have any choice in the matter). I often know the very final scene early in a book but, being a pantser, have little clue about how I'll end up at that point. For my revisions, I need to hold the whole story in my head and look at it from various angles and stitch together more firmly. And having that same sense of the weight of the whole book needs a certain kind of focus that works best if I can do it fast while I can sort of sense all the connections.
My process has changed over time and with changing from writing 240 page to 400 page books. My first drafts are shorter and that makes the revision that much more work. I wrote 90 new pages in two weeks for this revision plus made multiple changes to every single one of the original 338 or so I had at the end of draft one. Yesterday I wrote for close to ten hours to finish the second draft. And then I wrote for a few more hours on another wip because sometimes the writing just can't come to a full stop immediately.
And today I have post book brain, where I'm coming off the adrenalin jag of all that focus and pushing myself to write. My brain has a space in it where the book used to be and it feels like everything else is shifting around to settle back to where it belongs. It's hard to concentrate on any one thing for more than thirty minutes or so. I want to nap but can't quite relax enough. I want to write something new but also don't want to let this story go entirely because I know in another few weeks I'll have comments from my agent and crit buddies and will need to plunge back into it for round three. Plus there's the inevitable "oh my god is anyone going to like this or is it completely terrible" writer paranoia while I wait for said comments *g*.
It's a combination of satisfaction of being done (and of having actually finished a book this year after struggling to write at times and writing less than I would usually), of being tired, of not entirely wanting to relax and take a few days off because the writing is working again and writer paranoia imagines that it could just vamoose once more and of not being sure what to work on next anyway. It's frustration with feeling this way even though I know it happens every time I finish a draft. It's not helped right now by the fact that my exercise options are somewhat hamstrung by my dodgy shoulder. But tomorrow I shall do something to move the butt or the whole process is just going to take that much longer.
It's hard to explain how something that's almost entirely a mental exercise can leave you feeling so steamrollered.
I wonder if this is what bands feel like when they finish a tour? Probably fifty times worse because writers at least, don't have the crowd high to come down from as well (distracts self with somewhat amusing mental image of the writer in glamourous faded trackies and t-shirt typing on stage while the audience screams).
Anyway, that's as coherent as I get today and for the non-writers, don't feel bad when your writer buddies zone out, stumble around and forget minor details like the outside world when they've just finished a book, it's not you, it's them and post book brain.
I tend to write the ends of books fast and prefer, where possible, to revise fairly fast too (though there are multiple passes at this).
For the first draft the endgame speed comes from the part where I finally see the shape of the ending, how everything is going to come together and I just want to get it down on the page. It's like the weight of the whole story gathers in my brain and kind of pushes (which will sound weird to anyone who doesn't write...the closest analogy I have, having seen two babies born, is that you get to a point where you've just got to push and get through to the end and you really don't have any choice in the matter). I often know the very final scene early in a book but, being a pantser, have little clue about how I'll end up at that point. For my revisions, I need to hold the whole story in my head and look at it from various angles and stitch together more firmly. And having that same sense of the weight of the whole book needs a certain kind of focus that works best if I can do it fast while I can sort of sense all the connections.
My process has changed over time and with changing from writing 240 page to 400 page books. My first drafts are shorter and that makes the revision that much more work. I wrote 90 new pages in two weeks for this revision plus made multiple changes to every single one of the original 338 or so I had at the end of draft one. Yesterday I wrote for close to ten hours to finish the second draft. And then I wrote for a few more hours on another wip because sometimes the writing just can't come to a full stop immediately.
And today I have post book brain, where I'm coming off the adrenalin jag of all that focus and pushing myself to write. My brain has a space in it where the book used to be and it feels like everything else is shifting around to settle back to where it belongs. It's hard to concentrate on any one thing for more than thirty minutes or so. I want to nap but can't quite relax enough. I want to write something new but also don't want to let this story go entirely because I know in another few weeks I'll have comments from my agent and crit buddies and will need to plunge back into it for round three. Plus there's the inevitable "oh my god is anyone going to like this or is it completely terrible" writer paranoia while I wait for said comments *g*.
It's a combination of satisfaction of being done (and of having actually finished a book this year after struggling to write at times and writing less than I would usually), of being tired, of not entirely wanting to relax and take a few days off because the writing is working again and writer paranoia imagines that it could just vamoose once more and of not being sure what to work on next anyway. It's frustration with feeling this way even though I know it happens every time I finish a draft. It's not helped right now by the fact that my exercise options are somewhat hamstrung by my dodgy shoulder. But tomorrow I shall do something to move the butt or the whole process is just going to take that much longer.
It's hard to explain how something that's almost entirely a mental exercise can leave you feeling so steamrollered.
I wonder if this is what bands feel like when they finish a tour? Probably fifty times worse because writers at least, don't have the crowd high to come down from as well (distracts self with somewhat amusing mental image of the writer in glamourous faded trackies and t-shirt typing on stage while the audience screams).
Anyway, that's as coherent as I get today and for the non-writers, don't feel bad when your writer buddies zone out, stumble around and forget minor details like the outside world when they've just finished a book, it's not you, it's them and post book brain.
December 04, 2009
Done - take two
Let there be rejoicing for the endless revision is done and duly sent to my agent and crit buddies for comments. After which there'll undoubtedly be another pass but let's not talk about that right now.
Right now there is only the righteous joy of done-ness and a distinct urge to sleep for a day or so.
Final page count: 426 (making it officially my longest book ever by one measly page) and just under 90 pages added in the revision (I am coming to accept my write-short, grow in revision process but the volume of growth still startles me...when I wrote shorter stuff, 90 pages was a third of the book!)
I am now declaring a few writing free days and then I shall play with something new...possibly the crazy cinderella story but who knows?
Now all I need to be able to figure out why twitter doesn't like this blog's feed and complete happiness would be mine *g*
Right now there is only the righteous joy of done-ness and a distinct urge to sleep for a day or so.
Final page count: 426 (making it officially my longest book ever by one measly page) and just under 90 pages added in the revision (I am coming to accept my write-short, grow in revision process but the volume of growth still startles me...when I wrote shorter stuff, 90 pages was a third of the book!)
I am now declaring a few writing free days and then I shall play with something new...possibly the crazy cinderella story but who knows?
Now all I need to be able to figure out why twitter doesn't like this blog's feed and complete happiness would be mine *g*
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