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And here I thought you only wrote about relationships . So what is your story about?
Lol, no I'm not very good at relationships, but I think I've made enough mistakes over the years to pass on some pearls of wisdom. Ok, maybe not pearls, more like broken seashells.
The story is about a man who is coming to terms with the choices he's made in life. Trying to right some wrongs and move forward at the same time. It's a blend of tragedy and comedy.
The story is about a man who is coming to terms with the choices he's made in life. Trying to right some wrongs and move forward at the same time. It's a blend of tragedy and comedy.
After its all done, I figure it should be at least 300 pages. I know that's going to take me a very long time. This is my first real attempt, so I know that I will be learning a lot for what works for me in the process.
Liz
Try not to get too hung up on how many pages it should be. Let your thoughts flow first. Develop the story and keep adding or taking away until it's right where you want it in terms of quality, not quantity. If you focus too much on getting 300 pages, you might start sacrificing the quality of the story just to fill pages. Just keep writing and the pages will come, focus on the content.
Try not to get too hung up on how many pages it should be. Let your thoughts flow first. Develop the story and keep adding or taking away until it's right where you want it in terms of quality, not quantity. If you focus too much on getting 300 pages, you might start sacrificing the quality of the story just to fill pages. Just keep writing and the pages will come, focus on the content.
Well, I put 300 just because I am already about 60 pages into it and I am just barely getting to the heart of the story. If I could make it short and simple I would. But I understand what you are saying.
So how long have you had your story idea Coolhand? Have you had anyone read your work yet?
The idea spawned on me back in 2005. I didn't really start putting it together until 2007. I've set it aside so many times, mostly due to some turbulent years between then and now. I couldn't find the focus to get back into it until recently. That's a poor excuse on my part, if you are going to write, you should never stop. Just keep putting your thoughts down on paper and you can always go back to edit. I would recommend a very good book to you by Stephen King, titled, "On Writing". The first half is autobiographical, the second half of the book gives excellent advice on writing. I highly recommend it.
This is for anyone who has ever written or attempted to write a novel. I am currently working on two. Both have about 50 pages. My original plan was to completely finish one and then start to rewrite it, but I'm finding it hard to continue with the story when there are so many holes that I need to patch up in the story structure.
So my question is, what is your method for rewriting? Do you rewrite after each page, every ten pages?
Do you set it aside for a while and then come back to it when you can analyze it better? What do you find that helps you improve?
I would appreciate honest answers, thanks.
~Liz
Here's another older thread that I think is worth revisiting. The original posters may all be gone, be their comments can be a starting point for further discussion of the matter.
In general, I don't rewrite everything. I edit, of course, but in detail (spelling, grammar, word choice, etc.) and more broadly (deleting paragraphs or sections or entire chapters, moving them from one part of the narrative to another, and so forth) in the original document. I have experimented with rewriting the entire work but have found that altering the original works better for me.
When I write, I periodically go back and read what I have written during the writing process. Mostly, I do this to keep the narrative as a whole fresh in my mind so that continued writing flows properly. As I do so, I make changes. These tend toward the more detailed changes I mentioned above. The result is that when I finally finish a project, the beginning is the most polished, and the degree of polish generally decreases throughout toward the end.
I do not set my finished work aside unless life happens to inconveniently intervene just at that time. One of the pleasures of writing, the great payoffs, is to finally be able to behold the work as a whole. I am eager to do so. I read it, take notes, do the usual polishing, and then read it again and do the same again. After four or five read-throughs (at this time I'm usually sick of the damn thing and ready to move on) I give it to my most important reader: my wife. She provides me with my first input. I don't plunge right back into it at that, not for any strategic or tactical reason but just because I want to do something else. When I do turn back to it, the changes tend to be big ones. Some chapters are rewritten. Others are deleted. Sometimes I find that I need to create new 'scenes' to improve the narrative. When I'm (momentarily) satisfied, it goes out to beta readers. More changes then occur, partly based on input and partly on my further consideration of what the work needs.
Editing has always been slow, tedious, and painful. I first have to put aside my work, the one that I wrote in a white-hot passion, until I've forgotten about it and can view it as though someone else wrote it.
Often, I catch myself thinking, 'What on earth did I mean by THAT?' So, out that passage goes, or it gets clarification, or some such thing.
And that's only the second draft. When it gets down to fourth, or sixth...
I actually enjoy editing. It takes a a long time to get the big picture, plot and organization in a decent form. And I have to be in the right state of mind for that. But the editing I can do a paragraph at a time, whenever I like. Its akin to polishing that luster on to it or putting the final coat onto something you crafted so that it shimmers. Choosing exactly the right word or re-arranging that sentence is like solving a puzzle - very satisfying.
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. So what is your story about?
