Friday, November 12, 2010
I think I'm Back
A computer crash turned out to be more complete than originally hoped so I now have a new computer, new versions of all my old files, and access to the internet at LOOONG last. Meanwhile, Earthlink changed some of their web software so it is no longer compatible with Firefox and I can't update my story that I was presenting there. So, that one will join E-ships on this blog (in it's own category) as soon as I figure out where I was. As I generally do when I am sans computer, I wrote a lot of stuff on paper which now has to be typed and I have to re-establish my posting schedule, so it is likely to be irratic, especially with the upcoming holidays. Please bare with me as I find the most effective new pattern for getting on line, and I hope you enjoy the side order of fantasy to accompany the science fiction.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
revising notes - the other book
I may have mentioned (or may not) that I was reviewing sequels to a book I'm trying to find a agent for and found them a bit of a mess. I did some preliminary fixes, read them aloud to my sister during a recent trip - the third book is still a sorry mess with many gaps, and noted lots of minor fixes and a couple of major ones for the second book.
Following Context, I'm going through it again, the same paper version in a binder, looking for other specifics including names and descriptions (yellow highlighter) of people, places, and things, so that I can create a listing and to ensure consistency. At the same time, I am drafting small filler bits I noted as needed and deleting lots of sentences that explain the same things repeatedly or explain things that don't need explaining. I do that a lot. Some of it I know I do, especially in early drafts, as reminders to myself, so I know why i did something and don't forget and accidentally delete something will be important to a later scene if not obviously the current one, but in the final draft, they all have to go. It must be left up to the reader to figure it out (if they even notice) as a small mystery, a hint, a forshadowing, or whatever. Otherwise too much of the pleasure of continuing to read (looking for answers) is lost.
I kind of new that and watched for it during my revision, but reading silently to ones self, the repetitive bits are EASY to miss, because they are already in the mind and the second time, its not obvious whether it was in the book already or in the mind, as before. Reading it aloud creates a new memory--the memory of saying the words rather than just the content of them--so even if my audience doesn't recognize the repetition (and usually my sister catches them right away unless they are phrased and focused VERY differently)--I recognize the repetition as I say it and make a quick squiggle in the margin for later revision/deletion (the first occurence doesn't get the squiggle but may be the version that gets deleted when i decide on the revisions). i was kind of aware of the need, but was surprised how much I had done it, and also surprised how often the unneeded explanations were one-liners that I was quite fond of at the end of paragraphs. They always say "kill your darlings" but whenever I've heard it, they were refering to whole scenes that are fun but don't add to the story. in this case, my darlings are a bunch of one liner sentences. Alas. When I put it in the computer, I'll keep it all by saving as a new version and making all the changes there, so it won't be quite as painful, but one way or the other, they have to go, and so do many paragraphs of explanatory narration. Valueable for thinking the subtlties of the story through, but not for the reader.
At Context, one of the teachers who taught the value of planning the plot up front repeated often that it helped avoid writing 150,000 words when you should be aiming for 100,000 or less. But that's definitely not my problem. I'd have to write 150,000 words in order to have a hundred thousand by the time I'm done revising. And its usually the better for being shrunk once all the additions have been made. If I have a complaint about published books, its usually that they didn't get the excess edited out, especially in the later books of any series.
Following Context, I'm going through it again, the same paper version in a binder, looking for other specifics including names and descriptions (yellow highlighter) of people, places, and things, so that I can create a listing and to ensure consistency. At the same time, I am drafting small filler bits I noted as needed and deleting lots of sentences that explain the same things repeatedly or explain things that don't need explaining. I do that a lot. Some of it I know I do, especially in early drafts, as reminders to myself, so I know why i did something and don't forget and accidentally delete something will be important to a later scene if not obviously the current one, but in the final draft, they all have to go. It must be left up to the reader to figure it out (if they even notice) as a small mystery, a hint, a forshadowing, or whatever. Otherwise too much of the pleasure of continuing to read (looking for answers) is lost.
I kind of new that and watched for it during my revision, but reading silently to ones self, the repetitive bits are EASY to miss, because they are already in the mind and the second time, its not obvious whether it was in the book already or in the mind, as before. Reading it aloud creates a new memory--the memory of saying the words rather than just the content of them--so even if my audience doesn't recognize the repetition (and usually my sister catches them right away unless they are phrased and focused VERY differently)--I recognize the repetition as I say it and make a quick squiggle in the margin for later revision/deletion (the first occurence doesn't get the squiggle but may be the version that gets deleted when i decide on the revisions). i was kind of aware of the need, but was surprised how much I had done it, and also surprised how often the unneeded explanations were one-liners that I was quite fond of at the end of paragraphs. They always say "kill your darlings" but whenever I've heard it, they were refering to whole scenes that are fun but don't add to the story. in this case, my darlings are a bunch of one liner sentences. Alas. When I put it in the computer, I'll keep it all by saving as a new version and making all the changes there, so it won't be quite as painful, but one way or the other, they have to go, and so do many paragraphs of explanatory narration. Valueable for thinking the subtlties of the story through, but not for the reader.
At Context, one of the teachers who taught the value of planning the plot up front repeated often that it helped avoid writing 150,000 words when you should be aiming for 100,000 or less. But that's definitely not my problem. I'd have to write 150,000 words in order to have a hundred thousand by the time I'm done revising. And its usually the better for being shrunk once all the additions have been made. If I have a complaint about published books, its usually that they didn't get the excess edited out, especially in the later books of any series.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Context was great
If you are a serious SF or Fantasy (or other speculative or historical fiction) writer and are going to go to one con, go to this one and pay for as many workshops as you can get into. Great material. I have all too many notes for rewriting and fixing Cerelian Gold, especially the center, and once I change the center, the end will probably change as well. Tips i found particularly applicable here were:
Give the characters hope and the illusion of nearing at least their first, lower level goal before dashing it and making them realize they have to deal with a bigger a problem than they hoped.
As you approach the climax, give the characters a big setback so the climb to success (or ultimate failure) is even bigger than it was before.
Add more problems as you go (complications) as well as solutions to the problems that were there from the start.
Lots of work to do.
Also, along the way I realized one of the reasons I was having trouble with my Something New: I have yet to create a character I actually like. I haven't had that problem when I've put the story further away from semi-contemporary life so I'm thinking of creating a character in space, maybe even an alien, or way back in the past, then turning them into a more contemporary human and plopping them back into the world of Something New, with an outsiders view even if they aren't actually an outsider: a lot of people, including but not limited to loners, geeks, and rebels have a tendency to at least feel like outsiders, and they are characters most of us can relate to, even like, so I can start there and see if that doesn't work a little better.
Give the characters hope and the illusion of nearing at least their first, lower level goal before dashing it and making them realize they have to deal with a bigger a problem than they hoped.
As you approach the climax, give the characters a big setback so the climb to success (or ultimate failure) is even bigger than it was before.
Add more problems as you go (complications) as well as solutions to the problems that were there from the start.
Lots of work to do.
Also, along the way I realized one of the reasons I was having trouble with my Something New: I have yet to create a character I actually like. I haven't had that problem when I've put the story further away from semi-contemporary life so I'm thinking of creating a character in space, maybe even an alien, or way back in the past, then turning them into a more contemporary human and plopping them back into the world of Something New, with an outsiders view even if they aren't actually an outsider: a lot of people, including but not limited to loners, geeks, and rebels have a tendency to at least feel like outsiders, and they are characters most of us can relate to, even like, so I can start there and see if that doesn't work a little better.
Friday, August 13, 2010
fixing the arc or arch or wave or something
I've been playing with the ending sections because they had a bit of mashe together feel, rather than the kind of flow I wanted. I don't think it's quite there yet, but I think it is improving overall. the tricky bit with these kinds of big changes is that I've probably left quite a few references to action in other scenes that maynot be out of alignment. If you notice something that seems out of sequence or just wrong, it probably is. Please let me know.
I still probably need to do something with the middle too, the story arc as they call it, though I think it a misnomer. An arc implies a fairly straightforward buildup to a climax, but most stories, especially novel length ones aren't that straightforward, and if they are, they shouldn't be. One description I was given was that it should be more like a W or an M, ups and downs, things seeming to go right as well as going wrong, even if they get undone in the next breath. I think my arc is too smooth an arch and needs some more ups and downs, contradictory forces, or misleads (mystery like). The trick of course it to have those ups and downs, and also changing between action, intensity, and other qualities while overall still building toward a climax. I've been working on one of my other books that does it rather better and noticed the nature of the problem, but haven't yet figured out how to fix it. How to you get a feeling of success as a prisoner on an enemy ship without it seeming a total illusion or a solace?
I still probably need to do something with the middle too, the story arc as they call it, though I think it a misnomer. An arc implies a fairly straightforward buildup to a climax, but most stories, especially novel length ones aren't that straightforward, and if they are, they shouldn't be. One description I was given was that it should be more like a W or an M, ups and downs, things seeming to go right as well as going wrong, even if they get undone in the next breath. I think my arc is too smooth an arch and needs some more ups and downs, contradictory forces, or misleads (mystery like). The trick of course it to have those ups and downs, and also changing between action, intensity, and other qualities while overall still building toward a climax. I've been working on one of my other books that does it rather better and noticed the nature of the problem, but haven't yet figured out how to fix it. How to you get a feeling of success as a prisoner on an enemy ship without it seeming a total illusion or a solace?
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