So You Think You've Finished Your Novel?
Aug. 18th, 2009 09:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
naomi_jayCross-posted to Different Star
I mean, I have finished a novel. I've finished a lot. Thirteen, now, to be precise. But in the two days since I wrote THE END on SILVER KISS, I've already started to mentally map out all the things I need to revise, so I guess it's not really finished. So far my mental list is something like this:
1. Oh no, Characters X and Y have exactly the same speech patterns! People will accuse me of poor characterisation AND THEY'LL BE RIGHT!!!
2. The ending is kind of lame. I'm not very good at winding down books into happy, well-rounded conclusions. People will accuse me of writing unsatisfying endings AND THEY'LL BE RIGHT!!!
3. Is it long enough? Could I maybe add in that scene where K sees A beating up O? Man, everyone beats up O in this book. A beats him up a lot. Maybe K could see A beating someone else up.
4. Is the pacing in the second half okay? Will people accuse me of rushing AND BE RIGHT???
5. Are the funny bits funny enough? Will people accuse me of lacking a sense of humour AND BE RIGHT???
And so on. Basically, I'm a bag of nerves, especially since my writers' group will be giving me feedback this weekend. And it's not that I'm afraid they'll tell me it's a steaming bag of crap or anything... But you know, you can't rule out that possibility. And once they've given me their feedback, the real reivisions begin. Suddenly you've got all these different perspectives on your novel, and people who think A shouldn't beat up anyone, let alone O, given that O is just a kid and hitting kids is, you know, frowned upon. Or telling you that your beautifully crafted opening scene is dead weight and you should start at least a page later. And so on.
So then you sit and separate out the useful feedback from the random feedback (I myself am an accomplished random-feedback giver. My critiques are generally full of such insightful comments as "NOOOOOOOOOO!" or "ha, forest of suicides FTW!"), and start killing your darlings in order to produce (hopefully) a sleeker, stronger manuscript.
Now me, I could happily write nothing but first drafts and never revise any of them. I used to. The first six novels I wrote were unmitigated rubbish, but I didn't have any desire to make them better. It was enough to have just written them. Can't do that anymore. SILVER KISS is contracted for publication, and that means I have to edit it and revise it and do everything I can to make it as shiny as it can be. And that's why typing THE END means nothing, and also why I shouldn't have stayed up until after midnight watching Shaun of the Dead.
I mean, I have finished a novel. I've finished a lot. Thirteen, now, to be precise. But in the two days since I wrote THE END on SILVER KISS, I've already started to mentally map out all the things I need to revise, so I guess it's not really finished. So far my mental list is something like this:
1. Oh no, Characters X and Y have exactly the same speech patterns! People will accuse me of poor characterisation AND THEY'LL BE RIGHT!!!
2. The ending is kind of lame. I'm not very good at winding down books into happy, well-rounded conclusions. People will accuse me of writing unsatisfying endings AND THEY'LL BE RIGHT!!!
3. Is it long enough? Could I maybe add in that scene where K sees A beating up O? Man, everyone beats up O in this book. A beats him up a lot. Maybe K could see A beating someone else up.
4. Is the pacing in the second half okay? Will people accuse me of rushing AND BE RIGHT???
5. Are the funny bits funny enough? Will people accuse me of lacking a sense of humour AND BE RIGHT???
And so on. Basically, I'm a bag of nerves, especially since my writers' group will be giving me feedback this weekend. And it's not that I'm afraid they'll tell me it's a steaming bag of crap or anything... But you know, you can't rule out that possibility. And once they've given me their feedback, the real reivisions begin. Suddenly you've got all these different perspectives on your novel, and people who think A shouldn't beat up anyone, let alone O, given that O is just a kid and hitting kids is, you know, frowned upon. Or telling you that your beautifully crafted opening scene is dead weight and you should start at least a page later. And so on.
So then you sit and separate out the useful feedback from the random feedback (I myself am an accomplished random-feedback giver. My critiques are generally full of such insightful comments as "NOOOOOOOOOO!" or "ha, forest of suicides FTW!"), and start killing your darlings in order to produce (hopefully) a sleeker, stronger manuscript.
Now me, I could happily write nothing but first drafts and never revise any of them. I used to. The first six novels I wrote were unmitigated rubbish, but I didn't have any desire to make them better. It was enough to have just written them. Can't do that anymore. SILVER KISS is contracted for publication, and that means I have to edit it and revise it and do everything I can to make it as shiny as it can be. And that's why typing THE END means nothing, and also why I shouldn't have stayed up until after midnight watching Shaun of the Dead.
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on 2009-08-18 10:16 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-08-18 10:30 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-08-18 11:03 am (UTC)no subject
on 2009-08-20 02:54 pm (UTC)~Tyhitia
http://obfuscationofreality.blogspot.com/