Letting lessons sink in.......
I have been rather stuck recently, busy for sure, but frustrated and not writing for other reasons as well.
One of the problems has definitely been that I really didn't like the first draft of a chapter for the sequel to The Golden Banner; I tore it out, rolled it up and burned it tonight. That felt good.
So, what was the problem? Well, some weeks ago I read an interesting blog by a writer in which he talked about writing at the top of each manuscript page RUA: resist the urge to explain. I realised that I had spent the whole of this awful ten page chapter trying to explain stuff. It was dreadful. Anyway, it took me weeks to realise that I was guilty of this and, as I said, to tear the pages out and dispose of them.
Hopefully this will kickstart the project again. Although having said that I am not so sure that I want to just plough on with it. Recently I also came across an interesting methodology for planning and writing novels, so it might be that I go back to basics and actually plan the whole sequel better than I have so far.
I have been imagining trying to make writing my main activity. It is hopelessly unrealistic of course, and so, somehow, I am just going to have to discover hitherto untapped reserves of self-discipline.
This reminds me of other aspects of my life. I find that rather disturbing. Hmmmmmm.
One of the problems has definitely been that I really didn't like the first draft of a chapter for the sequel to The Golden Banner; I tore it out, rolled it up and burned it tonight. That felt good.
So, what was the problem? Well, some weeks ago I read an interesting blog by a writer in which he talked about writing at the top of each manuscript page RUA: resist the urge to explain. I realised that I had spent the whole of this awful ten page chapter trying to explain stuff. It was dreadful. Anyway, it took me weeks to realise that I was guilty of this and, as I said, to tear the pages out and dispose of them.
Hopefully this will kickstart the project again. Although having said that I am not so sure that I want to just plough on with it. Recently I also came across an interesting methodology for planning and writing novels, so it might be that I go back to basics and actually plan the whole sequel better than I have so far.
I have been imagining trying to make writing my main activity. It is hopelessly unrealistic of course, and so, somehow, I am just going to have to discover hitherto untapped reserves of self-discipline.
This reminds me of other aspects of my life. I find that rather disturbing. Hmmmmmm.
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message 1:
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Hazel
(new)
Nov 05, 2012 05:53AM
Eek burning manuscripts, you are brave, I'd be paralysed by doubt that perhaps somewhere buried in the dross I had written was a gem. So onwards and upwards now with the sequel
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Hazel wrote: "Eek burning manuscripts, you are brave, I'd be paralysed by doubt that perhaps somewhere buried in the dross I had written was a gem. So onwards and upwards now with the sequel"I did consider that there might be something worth saving, Hazel, and then I thought that it would probably be somewhere in my subconscious anyway; better to rely on that than plough through the chapter one more time.
