famous last words

They say you don't remember the pain of writing a story after it's over. And it's true. You don't. The pain fades quickly and all you're left with is a shiny spread of words to savor. How long or how hard it took to get them no longer matters.

But that knowledge is not helping during the writing of this particular story.

I'll take that one, over there

So, I've been sort of working on all three novels, kind of alternating one then the other, waiting for the "this one NOW!" spark to hit, and, as expected, it's DTD. So, started getting seriously into the edits on it last night.

I'm on the first pass, which is namely: yanking all excess wordage, flagging sections that need to go, and putting notes in on new stuff that needs to go in. Pass two will be writing the new material. Pass three will be making the whole thing shiny. Then it'll need a beta reader or two to make sure I didn't break anything new, then it is declared done. I'm figuring two months, maybe less, with March 15th my current deadline to polished final draft.

off and running

So, I started editing one of my novels today. It's nearly 145,000 words long, and 45,000 of those words need to go. Yanking the unnecessary stuff is actually way easier on this particular work than I thought it'd be, mostly because this draft has been completed for over five years, and I'm a very different writer nowadays than I was then. The story's still sound, but can you say bloated prose? I didn't touch it in all that time either, which makes it about as fresh as this one can get.

This is a novel that I've struggled with the beginning, because I originally felt I couldn't jump into the action without setting a few things up first. The beta readers all said once they hit chapter two, they couldn't put it down from there, but chapter one, that all important chapter one, bored them. So, there's the "swap chapter one and chapter two" theory, which I toyed with and don't like (or haven't figured out how to make work). There's the "throw out chapter one entirely and just let her rip" approach. Or there's something between those two. But on that subject, I read number 5 of this post today, which made me rethink what I need to do to the beginning. Again.

And I really liked this consise post from Elizabeth Bear today on narrative tension. I was talking recently with a non-writer friend on why they can't put down some books, and wish I'd read her post first. Then I would have had words (dilemma, escalation, resolution) and an easy example to explain it properly. My take was much more long-winded.

So, I've been wondering how much writing I want to push myself to do right now. The year ahead originally looked to be more of a editing year, but now it looks like it's shaping up to be editing AND new stuff too. I've committed to writing a story a month for my sister, due on or about the 15th of each month. So that'll be 12 new flash or short stories this year.

I briefly thought about doing this too. It's only 750 words a day, it's a deadline, I've got a bunch of friends doing it, so there's that peer pressure thing to help keep things on track.... The only thing holding me back is that I tend to devote heavily to projects, and I'm not sure how much I want to split my brain up into a new project while I edit the older ones. I'm not the best writing multi-tasker in the world. And I don't exactly need a new project when I've got three others needing editing and a fourth that needs to be finished. Still, going to spend tonight contemplating which project I would write for the new novel, or if I'd rather just focus on editing.

Plans

So, today I cleared the nano-chart off my whiteboard (where I kept track of daily word totals) and wrote down the writing projects I want to finish instead. Helps to look at their titles every time I walk into the kitchen. They're running constantly around in my head, but this gives me focus, and I can give them deadlines and keep track of progress.

Since nano, I've been mostly reading. Reading reading reading. Three novels down, working on a fourth now, a bunch of short stories, some biographical non-fiction. And, as usual, with so many words floating around in it, my brain is coming up with new stuff. And, as usual, the new stuff is little bits and images, a bunch of unconnected bubbles floating around, waiting for the links that will turn them into stories.

Completed Nano last night

What a different experience this nano was. What a pain in the rump this nano was.

Lesson 1. Do not attempt a complicated novel when you don't understand what you're doing yet.

Lesson 2. If you don't know where you're going or how even to accomplish it in a non-linear story, do not expect the story to just write itself.

Lesson 3. Do not attempt stories that require a lot of research without actually doing the research prior to nano.

Lesson 4. You can still write 50,000 words while not knowing what you're doing.

Lesson 5. Those words will be crap.

Been neglecting this journal

Only 13,000 words left to go to finish nano's demands. I've wanted to quit innumerable times. Not quite sure what's kept me going. Most of the actual writing I've done will be tossed out immediately upon rewrite. This nano's not like last year, where I could concentrate and wrote quite a bit I liked in the first draft. This go around is really like doing an expanded novel outline with dialogue. It's a load of crap. That's okay, and I'm cool with that. At least I know what happens in the story now, and I know what I don't like and what needs to change. I haven't had the same level of excitement I had last year towards the work. I care, but in a different way. Maybe because it's three novellas instead of one narrative. Because just when I got attached to the characters, I finished and had to move on to a new set. Because I'm unhappy with the p.o.v.s. Because I don't know how to work in the things that have to be there yet. Because it's so hard.

And yet, it's funny. Because when I had the choice early on this nano to drop this one and pick up the first book of the fantasy trilogy instead, my only thought was, but what's the point? This new book raises the bar for me, and nothing will be the same after it. I still like that other fantasy story, but if I ever write it now, it has to be reimagined into something different. It's so... straight-forward. A good exciting story, sure, but nothing distinguishes it from a hundred other good stories. And this is the problem with growing older, watching your writing and ideas mature. Sometimes you just can't go back.

Maybe I'll just "get the hysterics"

So, nano's underway and I'm a fair amount behind. I did reach nearly the daily quota yesterday. Nearly. Looking forward to today, to see what I can do with more time. Of course, I'm already procrastinating...

wacky phrase for the day

"kitchen tractor" = vacuum!!

still laughing. particularly as it was Dana Andrews who called it that. ahhhhh, I adore old movies.

"Why so gloomy?"
"I got a 48-hour liberty and four dollars. What am I supposed to do, get the hysterics?"

mmmmm, love when Dana gets all sarcastic. William Holden who?

Almost time to get to serious work

So, last night was my last night to brainstorm before Nano starts (due to trip starting tonight) and did I spend it diligently working out novel outline and setting and characters or did I watch Glenn Ford westerns? Heh. Well I watched "The Man from Colorado" and if it hadn't ended so unsatisfactorily, I might have left it there and gone on to writing. (The only thing good about "The Man from Colorado" was simply how good-looking William Holden was.) But it vexed me so I threw in 1943's "The Desperadoes" to see if it would be better. It was MUCH better. It pleased me greatly. Even Randolph Scott was cool. He was so full of energy and smiles and not just riding around all glum and stoic. Shocked me. I think Glenn Ford just brings out the best in his co-stars. Plus more Claire Trevor and Edgar Buchanan being all shifty again. And the love interest Evelyn Keyes was really cool. Why is it the women in the 40's seem to have much more spunk and intelligence in 40's westerns than they do in later westerns? She runs the livery stable, rides out alone to rescue people, jumps into fights, even knocks Glenn Ford out when Randolph Scott fails. Way cool. Not a great western, not as good as "Texas," but a fun and amusing one. And it made me forget the other movie, which was the whole purpose, so all ended well.

running short of time

A week and a couple days until I have to start writing in earnest, and I'll be gone for half that. But I feel ready... sort of. My brain has consciously NOT been plotting and planning. I have the characters, the basic structure, a lot of questions, and the rest is just going to have to come together on the fly as November progresses. I think I should be far more worried about this than I am. Like there's a murder in part one and I don't know which guy gets murdered or by whom, and, as it ties heavily into part two, I feel I oughta know who gets bumped off. I can make a case for all sorts of scenarios, and all of them work, but none of them feel right yet.

I'm sure the characters will delight in surprising me when I actually get there.

My goal this week is simply to read and read and read. Get words flowing easily in my head.

Music and Writing

I love Basil Poledouris's scores. However, I can't write to them. Not sure why that is, but it simply doesn't work. They're excellent around-the-house music, good reading music (though I don't usually listen to music while I read), good journal-writing or internet surfing music, but if I try to write fiction to them, I stay distracted and unfocused. Not entirely sure why that is, but it's rather interesting.