Well, I was, actually. It's always easier to revise than to write new stuff. I'm more of a rewriter than a writer.
But in the process of scanning a relatively recent scene that I'd thought was mostly done but was reading through again just to put me in the right frame of mind to move into the next scene, of which a couple of paragraphs or so were already written, though they didn't resonate with me, hence the stalling tactics...anyway, while I was looking over the "finished" scene, I started seeing ways to make it better and so of course I started fiddling with it (this, too, is writing, I told myself) and suddenly it was no longer a matter of making cosmetic adjustments but doing some real word surgery, which not only gave the tension a sharp twist, but also tied in some earlier threads and handed me the perfect event to launch the next scene with the stakes much higher than they were before.*
And I'd never have discovered it if I'd pushed ahead with new words instead of putzing over the old ones. My meticulous, plodding brain needs time to sift through the layers and find the treasure.
This is why I obsessively compulsively rewrite. This is also why I'll never be prolific.
But I'd rather have the treasure.
(*In case anyone was wondering, that run-on sentence was 144 words.)
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
And here I thought I was procrastinating...
Posted by Beth at 6:02 PM
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9 comments:
Beth,
I also rewrite a gazillion times. In fact I'll never have a first draft of anything, because some parts are so much more polished, and others just fragments and ideas or dialogue. I dare not ever count how many times I've reworked some scenes.
Rhonda
beth, how fantastic you found a gem! i rewrite a lot, too, but after the first 40 pages of my novel (and lots of rewrites) i just decided to spew forth the whole thing and try it that way. so now i'm "done" but the rough draft is a mess. i feel daunted just thinking about revising and revising and revising it. (and usually, i enjoy rewrites!)
i hope you move foward in the tale even with rewrites! there are gems ahead as well!
My god, you are really me! I never knew! Ha, this is what I did to myself this morning, and many times before. I keep trying to learn the lesson, and that lesson is DO NOT EVER READ BACK MORE THAN A PAGE. EVER. Not until the draft is done. But do I listen? Of COURSE not. But it's good to know I am not alone.
PS I love the look of this page, love the photo, too. Very zen.
cyn said: i hope you move foward in the tale even with rewrites! there are gems ahead as well!
Good reminder. :)
writtenwyrd said: I keep trying to learn the lesson, and that lesson is DO NOT EVER READ BACK MORE THAN A PAGE. EVER. Not until the draft is done.
But, but, but...that's how I figure out where to go next. I only move on when I know the scene is about as done as it can get. 'Cause otherwise, I'll hare off in the wrong direction, nine times out of ten.
I love the look of this page, love the photo, too. Very zen.
Thanks! I took that photo in Lower Antelope Canyon, a slot canyon near Page, AZ. A very surreal and magical place. In fact, seeing a photo of it years ago gave me the idea for a something in my novel that I called the stone river. It became my ambition to see the place up close and personal--and I finally did, a couple of years ago.
Beth,
I work this way too, polish and polish until that unexpected gleam emerges, and I can better see my way forward. I've done it often enough to be patient with myself and allow that process to happen with most scenes. I know I'll move forward eventually. That's not an issue. But like you said, I'm liable to choose a wrong path if I don't stop to read the signage thoroughly. *s*
And this works for nonlinear writing too, at least my brand of it.
Lori
You can work any way you want to, hon, but I keep losing my forward momentum by revising the life (literally) out of what I wrote in an enthusiastic spasm the day before.
So for me, it isn't a good idea.
Beth, the only problem with your blog is you don't post enough.
Hi Julie,
Sigh. I know. I'm working on doing better. Two new posts coming real soon!
writtenwyrd--
Of course you must do what works best for you. I was only saying that for me, it's often better not to move on too quickly, because often as not, I'll shoot off in the wrong direction.
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