McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
It's Crap! Should I finish???
IronKite:
Hellz yes.
You know what? Even if it's *not* crap, finishing is one of the hardest things in the world to do.
Steven Brust, rule #9: Remember that getting to the end of your first novel is the most difficult thing you will ever do as a writer, whether it publishes or not. Once you’ve done that once, you can do it again. Get cocky about it.
So true.
the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
--- Quote from: Suilan on September 14, 2008, 06:45:20 AM ---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.
--- End quote ---
I do not believe that every worthwhile story can be summed up in one sentence, put it that way.
--- Quote ---You need to find your story's theme before you can write a query.
--- End quote ---
I'd say this is provably untrue.
--- 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.)
--- End quote ---
To my mind, that works in some of them a lot better than others, and is noticably jerkier in the books where there's more than one plotline going on which don't have much in common and the transitions between them sometimes don't flow overly well; much of why Death Masks is my least favourite (apart from Fool Moon, because the communications failures in that get me down) is because it feels to hop back and forth from "this scene is doing this for the Denarians/Shroud plot" to "this scene is doing this for the Ortega plot" in ways that grate.
--- Quote ---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.
--- End quote ---
I think the problem with it as a notion for fitting with my own working methods is that if the characters are alive and the story is working, it will surprise me within every scene; trying to focus that on a goal kills it.
--- Quote ---I know writers so obsessed with perfecting their early chapters that they never get anywhere near the end.
--- End quote ---
True, and that's a failure mode.
On the other hand, there are successful published writers out there who cannot revise once they have written a scene, and have to think it through enough to get it right first time; and that approach does not seem, on the whole, to produce less good or less successful books, so if that happens to be the kind of writer you are - I'm not, myself - I would worry that too much emphasis on "you can always fix it in revision" could kill one's ability to write.
meg_evonne:
Two bits worth from Brett Anthony Johston...
"It's for the reader to define the theme." :-) On reflection, I deferred to his wisdom.
the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
--- Quote from: meg_evonne on September 17, 2008, 08:33:59 PM ---Two bits worth from Brett Anthony Johston...
"It's for the reader to define the theme." :-) On reflection, I deferred to his wisdom.
--- End quote ---
I like Iain Banks' standard reply:
"What's (book X) about ?"
"It's about (y) hundred pages long."
Roaram:
I think I agree with Azj, if a story isn,t working, try something new. Why hack away at something you know is no good? you can cry "experience" all you want, till the cows come home. But no matter how much you experience "crap", you don't get experience on doing things right. for example I am writing a novel, and got all the way to the first big plot point, and then realized that my writing sucked. certain scenes/chapters were good. but as a whole it was sliding into awful. so, I scrapped it and started over. by analyzing what sucked, I realized what to do. after a stressful group of months I dragged my story onto its feet and now its running, with only a stumble or two on the way.
basically its like this, I agree you can't learn to ride a bike without falling down, A LOT, but its no use to keep pedeling once you hit the ground. same with writing. once you suck, stop, pick it up, and figure out what you did wrong.
by the way I do not suggest wearing a helmet while writing, while riding I maintain helmet use to be a good idea.
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