Saggy and bloated
Sep. 2nd, 2009 03:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pjthompsonNo, I'm not talking about the current state of my belly, although I am actually off work today with belly troubles.
I'm actually referring to the middle portion of my WIP. Some serious carnage is in its future, but for now I'm pushing onwards. I've been down this road enough to know that I won't know what to slash and burn until I've got a completed draft on my hands. I've reworked a lot of this from the 90k unfinished draft I had, but I still haven't written that final 25k or so that makes the crucial difference. You know, the actual climax. Once that's in the can, I'll have a better sense of The Real and Truly What of my novel.
I realize this isn't particularly efficient or something I would recommend to anyone else, but it is what it is.
I just posted chapter 13 to the workshop yesterday and was horrified to see that it was over the 7500 word limit. I could break it into two chunks which would make it more palatable to critters, but that would require deleting one of the other chapters I've got posted (there's a three post limit). I'm hoping for at least one more crit on the other chapters (11 and 12) already there, so I'm just going to let it ride. It's difficult to acquire new critters when you get to the saggy middle point of a novel, anyway. I've been through that enough times to not be overly concerned about it. It is what it is, too. Not every novel finds its audience on the workshop. Or, as one disgruntled critter noted, "Good luck with editing this."
I'm actually much better at editing drafts then generating first drafts. Sometimes my books go through amazing transformations in the editing process. Sometimes not. Such is life.
Perhaps I'll go back to cold querying the novels I already have finished and polished while I stumble forward with this one. I haven't done that in awhile due to various life circumstances and brain circumstances. I think it's time to get off my duff.
The current status:
The stage of the unfinished draft:
I'm actually referring to the middle portion of my WIP. Some serious carnage is in its future, but for now I'm pushing onwards. I've been down this road enough to know that I won't know what to slash and burn until I've got a completed draft on my hands. I've reworked a lot of this from the 90k unfinished draft I had, but I still haven't written that final 25k or so that makes the crucial difference. You know, the actual climax. Once that's in the can, I'll have a better sense of The Real and Truly What of my novel.
I realize this isn't particularly efficient or something I would recommend to anyone else, but it is what it is.
I just posted chapter 13 to the workshop yesterday and was horrified to see that it was over the 7500 word limit. I could break it into two chunks which would make it more palatable to critters, but that would require deleting one of the other chapters I've got posted (there's a three post limit). I'm hoping for at least one more crit on the other chapters (11 and 12) already there, so I'm just going to let it ride. It's difficult to acquire new critters when you get to the saggy middle point of a novel, anyway. I've been through that enough times to not be overly concerned about it. It is what it is, too. Not every novel finds its audience on the workshop. Or, as one disgruntled critter noted, "Good luck with editing this."
I'm actually much better at editing drafts then generating first drafts. Sometimes my books go through amazing transformations in the editing process. Sometimes not. Such is life.
Perhaps I'll go back to cold querying the novels I already have finished and polished while I stumble forward with this one. I haven't done that in awhile due to various life circumstances and brain circumstances. I think it's time to get off my duff.
The current status:
The stage of the unfinished draft:
no subject
Date: 2009-09-02 11:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-03 12:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-03 03:12 am (UTC)So, I am critting, but just slowly by misfortune. Yes, I see that is a big one, but size isn't an issue with friends. I just won't do them at this length for strangers.
And it is running out of my turn for the cable again. Sigh. Methinks I will personally speak to any hotel the dh thinks to book in future. We are both irritated by this.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-03 04:03 pm (UTC)