I finished the paper edit of the third story today. I'm delighted...
...but the story needs a complete rewrite! (arrghh) I did plan the first draft, but half-way through I changed my mind and went another direction. The result is a little weird. Characters change their entire personality at the turn of a page. The dialogue ranges from robotic to flirtatious. And there are several plot holes the size of swimming pools.
But it's all good as it's part of the magical process of novel writing. I can understand why I struggled the first time around. The story's premise and setting are challenging and the characters need to develop and change over a short amount of time.
A full rewrite rather than an edit means that it'll probably take me a week and a half to finish, as I have to concentrate on quality rather than quantity at this point. Tomorrow I'll spend some time planning the story scene by scene and iron out any bumps.
Oh, and happy May Day everyone!
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Swimming Pools
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13 comments:
Hi! Just found your blog and I look forward to reading more.
Have you ever seen the move The Ten? It's not great but it has a good premise, the ten stories via the commandments thing. An Irish version could be brilliant. Good luck!
Well done! The good thing about rewriting a short story is that it doesn't take nearly as much time as rewriting a novel. Thank god! :o)
Welcome Crabling Otter! I haven't watched The Ten but I've heard of it - a remake of sorts of The Decalogue, a series of polish films. Thanks for the lovely comment!
Calistro, the payoff comes much faster doesn't it? But rewriting ten short stories will probably take me as long as rewriting a novel - so in the long run it's still a pain. :(
Well done. Happy May day to you too.
Hey there Yvonne, congrats. And on May day too!
Big, big hugs
Hullaballoo
Yeah well done!
Happy May Day - how is it May already???
I like the idea of characters who change their whole personality at the turn of the page! Keeps your readers on their toes don't you know x
Debs, thanks!
Hullaballoo, big hugs back!
M&T, where is the time going?
Helen, perhaps I could get away with calling them schizophrenic...
It sounds like you are working very hard Yvonne! Happy May Day to you too :)
Holler, thanks!
Congratulations on your progress. You're really moving along.
Like M&T I can't believe it's already May either! I had to triple check my dates before flipping the calendar today. Craziness.
Good luck with the rewrite portion. It sounds like you have a good handle on it.
Sounds like it's going really well :o) Can't believe it's May already...
Angie, thanks and congratulations again for finishing your first draft! What a rush!
Karen, it's insane. I hope this month goes a little slower otherwise the year will be over before I know it...
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