Eunhae Han’s Reviews > Mastering the Process: From Idea to Novel > Status Update

G ood writing generally evolves from three sources: a knowledge of the elements of craft the extensive reading of the works of well-respected writers from various genres, and an enormous amount of practice. If creating a novel were easy, everyone would be doing it. The fact that it's not easy, the fact that it requires talent, knowledge, perseverance, discipline, and passion,

But for those for whom writing is a psychological and emotional necessity as well as a way of life, the more they know about the craft itself, the more they practice, and the more they work to develop a process that benefits them, the better the chances of finding someone willing to take a chance on them in the world of publishing.

Routine … 5 pages with rough draft ..or 50 pages with second draft. … write objective like two character analyses or 10 step outlined or two running plot scenes or to a timer ….

Self-discipline is all about being willing to delay gratification. It's all about doing what you have to do or need to do first and doing what you want to do second.

only. I want to be finished with the book because, frankly, after all the work I've put into it, the novel holds virtually no charm for me.
I also go through all of this because I'm a perfectionist. I take enormous pride in my work, and when I show it to someone-particularly to my editorI want it to represent the best I can do. Handing off a rough draft and telling my editor, "You figure out what to do with it,"

Why go through all this? you might well ask. I go through it because once I've sent the novel to my editor, I want to spend as little additional time on it as possible. I want my editor's letter to me to be very brief, suggesting

set she reads in advance so that she'll know what I'm looking for from her. Examples might be "Mark any spot where your interest is flag-ging" or "Mark every place where you suspect someone of something"

When I turn from this information-gathering step, I generate a second draft of the novel by working directly on the first draft. I won't put anything into the computer until the second draft is completed. During this part of my process, I cut and paste when necessary, I slash anything that seems prolix, unnecessary, or overwrought. If the novel needs to be restruc-tured, now is when I do it, moving things around

I then generate an editorial letter for myself. It's going to take me some time to do the second draft of the novel, so I want to know what my objectives are and I want to remember these objectives throughout my creation of a second draft.

This is the point at which I'm evaluating whether an entire subplot will stay or meet its fate on the cutting-room floor. I ask myself if the subplot truly meets the needs of the novel. I ask myself if the subplot adds to the reader's understanding of place, character, and theme.