McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
It's Crap! Should I finish???
meg_evonne:
Why do we write? Because we must. It doesn't matter if no one reads it at all, although that would be nice. I do believe that writer's are driven to write. It's in our genetic makeup. I do believe that the roller coaster ride can be less traumatic than Suilan describes and a sense of humor and friends always makes the difficult times more enjoyable. That and a mood control drug...
the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
--- Quote from: Suilan on September 13, 2008, 09:23:38 PM ---First drafts are always crap, don't let that discourage you.
Some writers like to outline (thoroughly) a story to the end before writing the first scene (and when they do write the story down, they don't even have to do it chronologically, because that's how well they outline plot and chapter beforehand). Others like to plunge right in with only a fuzzy idea of who their main character is and one inciting incident / object / setting, whatever. They like to discover their characters and plot while writing. When they found their them, yes, they will have to go back to the beginning and add a few (OK, a LOT) of clarifications. There's nothing wrong with either method. The writer automatically chooses the method that works best for him.
--- End quote ---
I'm not at all sure I believe in putting the theme in deliberately, fwiw. That way lies Atlas Shrugged.
--- Quote ---- go over each scene and revise for scene goal (does the scene have a scene goal that moves the plot forward toward the finale? If not, revise until it does) and focus within each scene (does the scene stay on topic regarding the scene goal).
--- End quote ---
the thing is, too much of this and it feels contrived, like an exercise. If you wasnt your characters to come over realistic, they have to do real-people things, such as be distracted by food and pretty people from the pursuit of the plot. real people don't stay 100% on topic, because it is exhausting.
Each scene has to do something, sure. That something does not always have to be primarily plot development.
Suilan:
--- Quote from: neurovore --- I'm not at all sure I believe in putting the theme in deliberately
--- End quote ---
I believe in discovering your theme as you write. You have discovered your theme if you are able to tell someone (who hasn't read your work) in one sentence what the story is about. You need to find your story's theme before you can write a query. Knowing what your story is really all about also helps with revision.
--- Quote --- the thing is, too much of this and it feels contrived, like an exercise.
--- End quote ---
Or like a Harry Dresden novel. ;) They're my favorite examples to show how scene structure works. (See Jim's journal on scenes and sequels.)
So no, I wouldn't agree that having a scene goal for every scene and then staying on focus makes your writing feel contrived. As with every writing technique, of course it can be done badly.
Anyway, my point was that the time to take care of all these things is AFTER finishing your first draft.
I know writers so obsessed with perfecting their early chapters that they never get anywhere near the end. That's a waste of time, imho, because even with the most detailed outline you cannot foresee everything that happens in your story, so once you're finished you will have to go over the entire manuscript scene by scene in any case.
blgarver:
Yeah, all of this stuff is encouraging. It will be a big lesson to just finish. Throughout this long road of the WIP I've taken two hefty breaks to write a couple of short stories just to feel the relief of finishing something. Both stories turned out great and simply finishing them was a great refresher and motivator.
So I have to imagine finally finishing this novel will be a huge sensation of accomplishment for me, even if the first go-round is crap.
I like the idea about reading my fav how-to's before I rewrite. Stephen King's "On Writing" is probably my favorite one, because it's more of a "why-to" than a "how-to". I found that book to be one of the most inspiring things I've ever experienced. That and the simple books like "101 Things Every Writer Needs to Know" or this one similar to it that slips my mind at the moment...I can't even remember the author's name right now...grrr.
Anyway, thanks for the input guys. I think I just needed to churn the butter a little and step away from my despair and frustration of the muddled plot. I've also been reading a new (to me) author named Patrick Rothfuss. His writing is the kind that is impossible to read without having a flash fire of inspiration spark in your brain. Reading him is helping tremendously.
Thanks again guys!
BLG
SailorYue:
I know the feling of wanting to say somethings DONE. Most of my fics are oneshots because i get tired of the story when writing chapter stories. You ougta post a sample online on one of th writing siter to get input from strangers. If you ask at the end for people not to flame it you mite get some constructive critizism. As well as positive words. Theres nothing like geting the ego fed.
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