McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
On the Utter Drek we write and Show verus Tell
The Deposed King:
--- Quote from: Paynesgrey on March 31, 2012, 03:37:53 AM ---I tend to gravitate towards "showing" I suspect, mainly because it's more fun and gives me greater opportunities to do amusing things with my character's inner monologues. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't go back through what I've written so far and look for obvious, dull telling, where it would be better to some showing. Thanks for the links.
I'm not sure how much Drek I produce. (Although since this, my first foray into painting with words, is basically as Star Trek fanfic that gradually shifts to my own original Trek characters, there are those who would argue that I'm Drekking by definition.... Hey, I like Star Trek, and I want more stories to happen there.) *Puts on his Fighting Trousers.* ;)
Anyway, I tend to spin through the whole story, constantly in daydream cycle. Envisioning, wording, re-wording, coming up with key scenes and (to me) killer lines that I jot down to use later. I basically do rewrite after rewrite in my head, then when things go "KA-CHUNK!" into place, I sit down and hammer out a chapter or scene. I still go back and polish and massage, then ship things off to my valued Tell Me If This Sucks Team of Experts. (I pay Shecky in beef jerky. Which reminds me I owe him a shipment.) Then I implement or address the fixes, changes or corrections they point out to me, but at that point it's not what I'd call a re-write.
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If it works, don't stop and don't listen to anything that suggests you should change. Keep it up!!!
That said, if it doesn't work. Listen to Einstine and make a change.
have a blast,
The Deposed King
synthesis:
--- Quote from: The Deposed King on April 01, 2012, 02:16:03 AM ---
On the other hand. Being a writer involves being told your stuff sucks. Its the only way you're stuff will get good enough to be put out there and succeed. So ra ra team until its done, then its find someone you can trust, to give you the down low. I've found for myself that creating and editing require two different mindsets. Never the two should twine. Or at least not very often. Editing kills creativity. But editing is essential to producing something you can be proud of. Conversely if you edit before its created most of us will lose our momentum and stop.
The Deposed King
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You know, that is such simple and obvious advice, but it's something I'd never even thought about before. The past umpteen years, I've been doing a few completely different types of writing, one of which benefited from constant revision i.e. whenever I got stuck moving forward, I could go back and revise as I gathered my thoughts. It didn't throw anything off, but just let me collect my thoughts and solidfy things. Obviously, it was not fiction because, returning to fiction the past few months, I've realized my former method just does not work at all. And you are right, the editing is killing the creativity. I'm really not progressing when I go back, but looking for all the flaws. Without the "whole picture" completed, my mental editor just says "this might not be good--change it" over and over :P
The Deposed King:
--- Quote from: synthesis on April 01, 2012, 02:54:52 AM ---You know, that is such simple and obvious advice, but it's something I'd never even thought about before. The past umpteen years, I've been doing a few completely different types of writing, one of which benefited from constant revision i.e. whenever I got stuck moving forward, I could go back and revise as I gathered my thoughts. It didn't throw anything off, but just let me collect my thoughts and solidfy things. Obviously, it was not fiction because, returning to fiction the past few months, I've realized my former method just does not work at all. And you are right, the editing is killing the creativity. I'm really not progressing when I go back, but looking for all the flaws. Without the "whole picture" completed, my mental editor just says "this might not be good--change it" over and over :P
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Glad if anything |'ve said is helpful.
In another thread, or maybe its this one. I wrote that you have to be willing to write the Drek and produce the stink bomb, after which you can then go back and put the puff on it. Turning your ugly duckling into a peudious flower.
Editing is vital, don't get me wrong. But it seems easier to go back and tweak thousands of words a day than it is to fire up the old creative juices and put thousands of words to processor. That's why I say don't let anyone, not even yourself, get you down.
Line by line tweaking is great. Its helpful, and if you've been away from teh story for weeks or months, maybe necessary to remember everything that's gone on. But for me, if I edit too much, I'll never get anywhere. I tear out as little as possible, after I get past the first 10k word. by 10k I've mostly got my concept down and its time to flow it all out onto paper. I can come back later and fix.
Not to say that if you already have a working process you should change. If it works don't fix it. If its not...
I wish you every success,
Remember to always follow the dream,
The Deposed King
synthesis:
Yeah, I definitely did a fair bit of drek today. I actually did go back and eliminate an entire conversation where a character was comparing herself to spaghetti-os. But, I fiercely went with it as long as I could :D
The Deposed King:
--- Quote from: synthesis on April 01, 2012, 03:13:14 AM ---Yeah, I definitely did a fair bit of drek today. I actually did go back and eliminate an entire conversation where a character was comparing herself to spaghetti-os. But, I fiercely went with it as long as I could :D
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;D
For me I try to not to eliminate. If comparing herself to spaghetti-os is not good. Try something different or wait until the edititing team comes on board. Then puff those spegetti-os into some super cool platinum fixture of your book.
Or not. hey its your book and you need to make it how you want it.
I'm just adverse to deletions. Revising, morphing, etc are all in my hand book. Deletion... makes me shudder, unless it really is the Drek.
The Deposed King
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