Good Morning All!!!
So recently I have been working on Finding Me, and as you can see I made some excellent headway last week 30,000 words. I wanted to continue this streak but fell short, now I knew that my friend would be in town and my husband would be working the same hours as me (which is rare and wonderful) however I had expected to still take time to write, well the problem isn't my friend it's me. So I wrote these wonderful words and realized that part of the story wasn't working as well as I had hoped, in fact it wasn't working at all. I had "writers block" if you will, but it wasn't that I had nothing to write about, it was the fact that this piece needed to be fixed before I moved on.
Ugh dread came over me. Only reason is because I knew it had to be done, now don't get me wrong once I write it I know I'll feel better, but in the moment knowing that the only thing standing between me and continuing on my path of a good first draft is that little story in the middle. Well okay so it's not little, which is why I must change it now, it makes the whole story. No I do not plan on giving details, however maybe a little snippet or two will come in the following weeks.
So I took the plunge and started re-writing the portion we're talking about and it's flowing beautifully, it makes me feel great just writing it down. I knew then that I had made the right decision! So I ask you have you had to rewrite or revise anything recently? Is anything giving you a hard time?!
Oh and also if you haven't participated in the story I've started on my blog please take a look! It's a lot of fun! Click Here!
22 comments:
I've definitely had times when my story just derailed and I get stuck. I've learned to follow my instincts and go back to rewrite. It really helps to get things back on track.
You know I have been feeling this way too. You will get there. Take a break and go back. Sometimes you need to clear your head and look at it with fresh eyes. I wish I could have handed that award out to more people :)
I am glad to hear you are working through it. You can do it Jen!
I love the story thingy down below. It is so much fun!
So glad things are back on track for you! I was amazed to see your percentage move so far every day! I feel like that and just a few weeks ago had to fix A LOT of what I was working on. I have been so crunched for time this week, I've hardly gotten any writing done, I miss it.
It's so hard to good back and rewrite! I fight against it because I want to go forward all the time, not back. But it does make the story better. You have to follow your writer instincts. I'm glad it's going well for you!
Middles are definitely the most difficult things to write. Along with the beginning and end. ;) Congrats on your progress!
am i rewriting anything?! i don't think i even want to talk about it. rewriting and i are not good friends. i love to first draft - it's playing for me. but 2nd drafting - it's like going for a root canal. one of my least favorite things to do and i put it off with a vengeance. but it has to get done or the story will never be finished. best wishes on yours.
I finished revising my current wip right before Christmas. I had a critique partner, my sister, my 14-year-old niece, and my 13-year-old daughter read it. While they were all super encouraging, they also pointed out several weak spots, parts that didn't make sense, or areas they wanted to see explained in greater detail. So I went back to first draft mode and added almost 15,000 words to my 40,000 word novel. Now I'm still revising the rewritten draft, and (I hope) it's much better than it was before. As painful as rewriting can be, it's worth it in the end.
I haven't written...In weeks.
I'm in a similar boat. I tell myself to keep rowing... keep rowing... :-)
Well, you know I'm a big proponent of following your gut when it comes to writing (and everything else), so you must be on the right path if it feels so good!
I'm a bit torn on the rewrite now or wait till it's done issue; I made myself proud during NaNo last year by not editing, but if I were to go back now and try to salvage that book...gosh, it would take me months, probably. If there's no time constraint, it may be for the best. :-) 30k is amazing! Congratulations!
Only thing really giving me a hard time is me. Seems like I'm always finding something else to to. And then of course there's all this blog activity --- oh, too much fun.
Lee
I'm rewrite/revising my novel "The Faery's Tale" right now and it's giving me huge issues. I completely changed one character's back story as apparantly I had it wrong the first time - that changed the entire rest of the novel! I can still use all the scenes I had before, I just need to put them in a different order and change the conversation a bit. Which is fine, but it's just hard to do sometimes when I take the scenes and spread them out on the floor then look for a logical way to reorder them - and then rewrite them!! But I'll get through it and the story will be much stronger when I do!
Ugh! I'm doing that right now! I wrote a chapter and I just knew it wasn't right, so I"m rewriting it.*sigh*
My biggest problem is I revise way too much. Ugh..
And your story yesterday was so much fun!
You are inspiring. Love the motivation you have for your works!
I was having a lot of trouble with the middle of my WIP, but I decided to just ignore the urge to edit right now and get the words down on paper. I'll worry about the revisions when the first draft is done. It took me a long time to get to this point, but right now I think this is the way to go.
I've definitely been there. Sometimes, you just have to go back and do the rewrite before you can move on--like needing to relay the foundation before you can build. Otherwise, all the walls seem to go up crooked. Good luck with the rest of your writing!! 30K words is nothing to sneeze at. You're doing a great job.
I'm up to the revision and editing part of my story, but I was only a quarter through writing it when I realised I had made some major mistakes - it's a kid's mystery and there was only one suspect, instead of rewriting then, I just made some notes of what would have to change, suspects I could introduce and I kept writing as if the beginning had already been changed. Sometimes you don't want to break your flow.
I hate plot holes and mistakes and things you notice only once you've passed them. I believe now that they're part of the process. I think they're necessary, even if they're stressful and depressing.
It all creats a better story. :]
I'm glad to hear that your writing is back on track for you. That gives me hope that the same thing will happen for me. :)
I had to put my writing on hold this last week because of work and now I am struggling to dive back in. Why? Because I am in the middle of a sticky bit that is not really working. LIke you, I know once i start it will be fine but something about knowing that I have to work through some issues makes me procrastinate like nobody's business!
It is so cool that you started an interactive story on here! That is a very neat idea ^^
and recently..I have been editting my book. Well not too recently, actually, as editting bores me to tears so I do it at laaaaarge intervels.
(and thank you for the wonderful comment! I have no idea what perfect bone structure looks like, but if I have it..awesome!)
-Robyn
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