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After last week's IWSG post, I'm experimenting with writing more about writing. This is also my chance to lay out my holiday posting schedule, except... I think I'll be posting when I feel like it through the end of the year, with the exception of my #Fi50 post on the 24th, and Flashback Friday on the 29th. Otherwise, you can look for chaos for the next 2 1/2 weeks. I do plan to post Part 2 of my Pismawallops PTA Christmas story on Friday.
As for writing, my mind is full of the question of editing, and our internal editor, the one who has most of us convinced at some point in the life of every book (or at many points) that the book is awful. For me, the only way out of that seems to be to a) let someone else read it and give me honest feedback, and/or b) walk away for weeks or months until I have perspective again.
But what if the gut feeling is right and the book is deeply flawed? I have salvaged one by coming back literally years later and doing a major rewrite. Maybe the toughest test a writer can face is the need to make deep changes in a book you thought was done (thanks, Jemima Pett, for showing by example that this is a genuine option). But unless there is something incurable, I think that it's worth putting in the time (I'm not happy about that thought; I'll do some kicking and screaming and whining if I need to do it, but I think it's right).
I may be in that position with Death By Adverb. I was planning to start advance advertising, even to schedule a release date. But now I'm not so sure. Plans are on hold, including plans to reveal the gorgeous cover Danielle English has made for me. I have reasonable confidence that the book will be finished. I just don't know when. I do know that I have to put in the work it needs, and no release a half-baked story. I also know that if I need to give it space, I have a long backlog of projects I can turn to. One piece might be a mess, but I never run out of things to write.
Watch this space to see what happens next!
Writing is like body-surfing: sometimes you ride the wave, sometimes the wave lands on top of you and you get sand up your swimsuit.
©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2017
As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated!
As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated!
I have a handful of manuscripts stuck in a drawer because I knew something was wrong with them, but I didn't know at the time how to fix them. Some I might go back to, knowing more/better about the craft than I did. Others are in that drawer for good. :)
ReplyDeleteWishing you a wonderful holiday season!
I have a couple that will stay in the drawer, from my earliest efforts. But like you say, as you learn more, you gain some ability to fix them, too. One I am toying with pulling out and completely re-writing (so really just recycling characters and main plot points. That's only something I can consider doing when it has been years and years since the first version.
DeleteI have learned the hard way not to make a big deal about / talking about a story before it's finished. Now I like to make sure it's completely (or at least very nearly completely) done before I start doing stuff like revealing covers and "marketing", etc. Even if the finished document sits dormant for a few weeks or months, doing it right is better than rushing it out and then regretting it afterward.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the roll-out!
Exactly! So I can take the time I need, and start the marketing when I'm sure the book is going to make it (it had better--I've already committed to the cover, though I suppose worst case I could write another book that would fit the cover :D ).
DeleteThere often seems to be sand up my swimsuit :-) Looking forward to your cover reveal when the time is right.
ReplyDeleteLOL! I remember that from our trip to Hawaii quite a few years ago! I loved swimming in the ocean (too cold and dangerous to do that here), but man! There was sand in places you never knew you could have sand!
DeleteGoogle went through a phase of refusing to let me comment. I;ve forgotten what I was going to say now. ;)
ReplyDeleteOh no! Google is annoying that way. It won't ever let my mom comment, even though it's not supposed to care if you have a google account or not.
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