Getting back into writing again
No Comments »9th February, 2010; Category: Master of Arts course, Novels, The Writer's Life, Writing a novel
It is time to get back into my writing again.
Over the last two months my writing has taken something of a back seat in my life. I worked really hard over many long hours over an extended period of time in an attempt to get my novel finished before the end of November.
It didn’t happen.
As it turns out, my six weeks of illness in the middle of the year put me behind on my schedule and I never really recovered. The hard push to get it finished took its toll, and by the end of November I was well and truly cooked. So I decided to have a break from my novel writing.
I had actually finished the first draft well before the end of October. I then spent quite a few weeks editing and rewriting. The novel is now in its 6th draft, with at least two more drafts to go, perhaps more.
It has taken me fully two months to get back to the stage where I want to get back into the novel. I hope that the long, enforced break has distanced me enough from the earlier writing to give me fresh eyes for the novel as it now exists.
Many writers will agree with what I have done. Putting aside a story or poem or novel for a few weeks or even months can have a beneficial effect. Of course, sometimes writers do not have the luxury of giving their stories this kind of space, particularly if they are on a submission deadline.
Over the next week I will see how I go.
In the meantime – good writing.
Happy birthday to me
IT’S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY.
(Blushes as he hears all the wild cheering.)
I haven’t posted here for quite a few days. I’ve been busy putting the finishing touches to my MA novel and the accompanying essay. My novel is now in its 6th draft and will soon see its 7th and 8th drafts. More on that another day. My 10,000 word exegesis essay is lingering around the 2,000 word mark and desperately needs my attention. Tomorrow.
For my birthday I treated myself by buying 2 new novels: “The Turning” by Tim Winton and “The Slap” by Christos Tsiolkas. I’ll review them here when I’ve finished reading them in a few weeks’ time.
Good writing.
Why I’m not participating in NaNoWriMo
I think that the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a great idea, but I won’t be participating this time around.
It’s just that I simply do not have the time to do it this year. Nor did I have time to do it last year. I’m in the last stages of completing my Master of Arts in Creative Writing and only have this month to get everything finished and submitted. I finished the course work earlier in the year. Now I’m working on my thesis paper, a 40,000 word novel for children. My novel writing month was spread over about six weeks in August and September. That’s when the pressure was on for me.
Now I’m busy with rewriting, editing, revising and proofreading. It’s a tedious job but one that must be attended to with meticulous care if I want to stand a chance of being awarded my degree. After that I will be submitting the manuscript to publishers so it will be time well spent.
The NaNoWriMo concept is a good one. It’s main strength as I see it is to motivate people to get the novel they’ve been wanting to write for so many years and actually do something other than talk about it. Then there’s the incentive of having hundreds of other people doing the same thing around the globe at the same time which results in a certain momentum being built up. It’s like being caught in the surge of a crowd of people, or catching a great surfing wave. It just carries you along and builds an energy from within.
If you are participating – good writing.
May you eventually recover from the inevitable lack of sleep.
For more information about NaNoWriMo click here.
Revising my novel
Over the last week I’ve been revising my novel for children set in Nepal. Normally I don’t enjoy the editing, rewriting and proofreading stages of writing. I love the creative process of writing a new story or novel. The tedious, nit-picking process that follows I often find boring and uncreative. Besides, I often have more ideas for stories than I can physically get written waiting in the wings. I just want to get on and write them.
Revision
I am trying hard to refocus my mind on revision, a very important part of the process of writing. A writer cannot hope to be published these days without this important step because the competition is so intense and publishers are so swamped with manuscripts that they quickly reject those which do not measure up. They just do not have the time nor the resources to take on projects where the writer needs help with the basics of punctuation, grammar, story structure, inconsistent points of view, poor characterisation and all of those other elements which are essential in a published book.
My novel is now in its 4th draft. It’s been hard work getting there, always under the pressure of time. I am still hopeful of completing it ready to hand up for assessment for my Master of Arts in Creative Writing by the end of November. I also have to complete a 10,000 word exegesis essay on the process I went through.
I anticipate that the novel will go through several more drafts before I am completely happy with it. Time to stop blathering on here and get back to it.
Good writing.
Further reading:
- Writing a novel – a series of articles I have written during my journey with my novel.
Quiet please: I’m using a chisel on my novel
It is said that Michelangelo, when asked how he had sculpted his masterpiece, David, replied, “I looked at the stone and removed all that was not David.”
Not a bad description of the novel revision process. From the mass of words you have created, you’ll take away all that is not your novel. You’ll chisel and add, touch up, and cut, but in the end what you want is your story in its purest form.
And only you can decide what form that will be. Kelly’s Picks: Write Great Fiction: Revision & Self-Editing October 26, 2009 by Kelly Nickell
Quiet please everyone – I’m using a chisel on my novel.
Not literally, of course. Metaphorically this is beautiful. I’m currently on the 4th draft of my novel for children set in Nepal. After so many drafts I am still astounded at the changes that are occurring, and the alterations needed. This editing and rewriting stage is crucial if I want my story to be the very best it can be.
Sometimes it’s just a word or two here and there. Often a whole sentence needs to be chipped away; it adds nothing to the story so out it goes. Occasionally a whole paragraph or even up to a half page needs to be removed to reveal the underlying beauty. In many cases a simple rewriting of the sentence will suffice.
No going back
With a sculptor there is no going back.
Once a piece of stone has been chipped off, it’s gone.
Forever.
That’s pretty drastic, but that’s the reality. Once committed there’s no going back. Bit like life really.
Writers can go back
Writing is different. If I cut something out and later change my mind, I can always go back and resurrect that which I’ve cut out of a story. I keep back copies of each draft, so it is relatively easy to bring back to life something I’d previously eliminated. I don’t do it often, but it’s reassuring to know I can go back if needed.
Writers can add
Something I am finding with my current novel is the importance of adding words, sentences and whole paragraphs to enhance the story. I do this strategically, always with a very critical eye and asking myself that important question: ‘Is this crucial to the story?’ If it is mere padding to get to a word count, there is a fundamental problem with the story. Sculptors don’t have that luxury; they can’t add a new bit of stone.
Time to cut and run; my chisel is getting cold.
Good writing.
Related articles:
- Writing a novel – more articles in a series I’ve written about the processes I used to write my current novel.