Scrape my bottom, Matey
Jan. 30th, 2005 12:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pjthompsonI'm approaching the dreaded midpoint of the first draft of Night Warrior. Well, maybe not quite. I'm just finishing chapter 13 and if that isn't midpoint, it's drifting into those troubled waters where the barnacles of dread and doubt attach themselves to the hull.
To shift metaphors in mid-ocean: the bloom is off the rose.
That denouement which I thought worked seems to have gotten more porous as I push forward; my strategy for telling a very complex story in three timelines is looking dubious; and, as always, I am plagued by proliferating peripheral characters who want to strut their hour on the stage. I haven't reached the panic stage yet, but since that's a built in part of my process, I'm sure that's just around the corner.
I'm a long way from quitting, though. I remember hitting this same patch in every novel—the advantage of having finished a few, even if I've sold none. I had severe anxiety attacks with Shivery Bones, starting at about this point, but I . . . think I pulled that one off. And in the rewrites I eliminated a lot of the stuff that gave me heartburn, so I know, I know I've just got to get out of my way and give myself permission to push on and finish this current novel. The first draft doesn't have to be perfect, shouldn't be perfect, should be the place where I try out all the stuff, where I thrown in everything and the kitchen sink, where I junk at up—whatever the hell my psyche needs to get it on the page.
The craft part is there to a certain extent in the first draft, but I think the first draft—at least for me—is all about exploration. For me, the real craft is in the rewrites. That's where the novel truly stands or falls.
I just need to remind myself of all that and scrape the barnacles off so a new crop can form. There are always barnacles of dread and doubt. And always a need for a periodic scraping.
To shift metaphors in mid-ocean: the bloom is off the rose.
That denouement which I thought worked seems to have gotten more porous as I push forward; my strategy for telling a very complex story in three timelines is looking dubious; and, as always, I am plagued by proliferating peripheral characters who want to strut their hour on the stage. I haven't reached the panic stage yet, but since that's a built in part of my process, I'm sure that's just around the corner.
I'm a long way from quitting, though. I remember hitting this same patch in every novel—the advantage of having finished a few, even if I've sold none. I had severe anxiety attacks with Shivery Bones, starting at about this point, but I . . . think I pulled that one off. And in the rewrites I eliminated a lot of the stuff that gave me heartburn, so I know, I know I've just got to get out of my way and give myself permission to push on and finish this current novel. The first draft doesn't have to be perfect, shouldn't be perfect, should be the place where I try out all the stuff, where I thrown in everything and the kitchen sink, where I junk at up—whatever the hell my psyche needs to get it on the page.
The craft part is there to a certain extent in the first draft, but I think the first draft—at least for me—is all about exploration. For me, the real craft is in the rewrites. That's where the novel truly stands or falls.
I just need to remind myself of all that and scrape the barnacles off so a new crop can form. There are always barnacles of dread and doubt. And always a need for a periodic scraping.
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Date: 2005-01-31 12:52 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2005-02-01 07:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-03 04:43 am (UTC)I've been writing first draft for so long now that I'm starting to doubt that I can turn those stilted sentences into shiny when it comes time to look at them again.
Looking forward to dipping a toe into Night Warrior very soon!!
no subject
Date: 2005-02-03 10:33 am (UTC)Looking forward to dipping a toe into Night Warrior very soon!!
Not to worry, whenever you feel like it, no hurry. Let me know if you want me to send you anything. ;-)