I am grieving over my novel
Writing a novel – a writer’s journal: part 21
I strangely find myself grieving.
I am grieving over my finished novel. That may seem a somewhat strange reaction to finishing my novel for children last Tuesday, but that is exactly how I feel. For almost nine months this story has been growing within me-and I didn’t plan the gestation period to be nine months, but that has an oddly significant synchronicity to it.
Much of my planning and thinking over the last nine months has centred on the novel and its characters. In particular, the last two months has seen me totally focused on getting the first draft done. I worked long hours on the story during that time and finally the first draft has come to an end. To carry the analogy even further, I almost feel like I’m going through some form of post-natal depression. Weird.
I was so caught up in the creative process of the developing story that the ending came with a real let down. It’s finished. What was going to happen to my characters now? They had come to life on the pages of my printed out manuscript-and now their lives have been cut short.
Now comes the messy part. Just as a new mother has to deal with a new born baby and the messy bits-the muck of excreta, the insistent demands to be fed, the restlessness of sleeping and waking-so too the new born novel screams out for attention. Before my novel can emerge into the wild, imposing, critical world for all to see, it demands my total attention again, and again, and again.
It needs a firm, disciplined and yet loving hand to mold it into shape. It has flaws that need correcting. It has errors that need elimination. It has aspects missing that need to be inserted. It has inconsistencies that need righting. Above all, it needs daily attention and assistance until it has reached maturity and I can wave it goodbye and send it off to a publisher.
Oh dear-I can see another day of tears looming, the day my baby leaves home for good.
I think I’d better go and get pregnant with another story.
Related articles:
- Writing a novel – an archive of articles detailing how I went about writing a novel.
More about rewriting and editing a novel
2 Comments »25th September, 2009; Category: Master of Arts course, Novels, Writing a novel, Writing Hints
Writing a novel – a writer’s journal: part 20
Rewriting and editing: is there a difference?
There is a fine line between rewriting and editing. One of my lecturers is quite adamant that there is a huge difference. I see them as distinct but closely related. What you call them is not important. It’s the process that is crucial.
By rewriting I mean going back over the whole text and literally rewriting whole passages – perhaps even whole chapters. In my case, there should be a minimal amount of this as I strive for my first draft to be very good. Blogging – as well as many aspects of the course work for my MA – has taught me to write quickly and accurately. It comes with experience – the more you write the better you get at it.
Despite that, I know that there are quite a few passages where I need to scrap what I’ve written and rewrite afresh. My supervising lecturers, (and fellow students) have pointed out that in the early chapters I have managed to have an inconsistent and shifting point of view which is confusing to the reader. It is very important to be consistent with POV in children’s books.
In some cases only a sentence or two need rewriting; in other areas it can be as much as a paragraph or part of a chapter.
There will also be some cultural elements relating to my setting (Nepal) that I still want to include. My first draft was just getting the story down. This element of the rewriting is more fine tuning the story, adding local colour, cultural references, locally used words and expressions and so on. I’m striving for authenticity; all I have at present is the plot. (Perhaps that is being a little harsh on myself! I hope you get the point.)
Editing on the other hand is a distinct discipline. In this stage I will look at all the nitty-gritty elements of spelling, punctuation, word usage, grammar and sentence construction. It really is a nit-picking stage. Basically being an editor with a big red pencil. A bit like how I marked students’ work when I was a classroom teacher in another life.
The editing process is also distinct from the proofreading stage. This last stage is checking that everything is totally correct, that there are no typos and the finished manuscript is perfect in every way. You don’t look for elements of style or even grammar at this stage.
Good writing.
Related articles:
- Writing a novel – many articles extensively outlining the process I went through while writing a novel for children.
My novel is finished
8 Comments »22nd September, 2009; Category: Fiction, Master of Arts course, Novels, Writing a novel, Writing for Children
Writing a novel – a writer’s journal part 19
I DID IT!
I actually did it. I have finished writing the first draft of my novel for children. I wrote the last words this afternoon.
My target was 40,000 words which is set down as a requirement by my lecturers. (This is my thesis paper for my Master of Arts Creative Writing degree.) In the end I finished on about 39,175 words which is good. It gives me a little flexibility during the rewriting stage. I know there will be extra things I want to include in a few places. The maximum word count is a guide only anyway, but we really can’t stray too far under or over. In reality it may have been better to be over by a few thousand words; it is much easier to cut rather than add words.
Next stage: rewriting
I’m going to let it sit for a few days before getting back to it. Ideally I might be better off leaving it for a few weeks, but with a deadline of the end of November I don’t have that luxury. The next stage is to go through the whole manuscript, rewriting sentences and passages as needed. I know I have some problems with point of view in the early chapters, for example. I will also sit down with my supervising lecturer and analyse whether there needs to be any structural changes. This will inevitably lead to more rewriting.
Editing
The next crucial stage is editing. In this stage I will go back over the whole manuscript, looking at all the fine details of spelling, punctuation, word usage (is this the best word to use here?), grammar and sentence construction. It is a process I do not enjoy. I’ve been trying to get to ‘like’ this stage as an important step in the creative writing process. I don’t think I’ll ever ‘love’ it. At present I tolerate it as a necessary stage towards getting published.
Proofreading
The final stage is proofreading. In this stage I will check every letter, every word, every punctuation mark and make sure everything is perfect.
I have a few busy weeks ahead.
Good writing.
Related articles:
- Problems with point of view
- The importance of editing
- To err is human – to proofread is to be a good writer: seven effective proofreading hints
- Writing a novel
Progress report on writing a novel for children
No Comments »18th September, 2009; Category: Fiction, Master of Arts course, Novels, Writing a novel, Writing for Children
Writing a novel – a writer’s journal part 18
Progress report
This week has seen great progress on my novel for children. I have had one of the most productive weeks in a long time. It has also helped that my diabetes at last is under some sort of control. Sure, I’ve had a few periods where it has caused a little problem with sleepiness, but overall I am feeling much better. Energized, creative and productive – that’s a good combination.
The momentum with my novel has been building now for quite a few weeks. Over the last week I’ve added on 8000 words. I passed the 36,000 word mark this afternoon which is another major milestone along the way. My target is 40,000 words but we do have a little leeway either way. I still have a chapter and a half to go and that should add 2500 to 3000 more words so I am right on the money with my planning.
Originally I planned to write 20 chapters each of about 2000 words. I’ve generally achieved that. Most are a little under and several are just over. The first chapter was written deliberately short, so that gives me a bit more flexibility in the rest. During the rewriting stage I anticipate adding a few sentences and paragraphs here and there, so I should still be within the word limit.
One of the interesting things that has happened over the last week is that the momentum built up and the total focus on getting the story down has produced some unplanned, unexpected twists. Several times characters have popped up in unplanned ways, giving the plot a little twist which has enhanced the tension of the story.
Another interesting thing has happened with the tension. After about chapter 4 or 5 I realized that I needed to dramatically ramp up the action. I believe I have succeeded in doing this. Aimed at 10 to 12 year old children, it needs to be a page turner. Each chapter needs to end on a high, a cliff hanger, or the desire to want to turn the page to see what happens next.
Problems with point of view
2 Comments »8th September, 2009; Category: Fiction, Master of Arts course, Novels, Writing a novel, Writing for Children
Writing a novel – a writer’s journal part 17
Problems with point of view
I honestly thought I had this point of view (POV) thing licked.
Not so.
Over recent days I have struggled with my choice of using the third person limited point of view. Initially-way back in chapter 1-I experimented with the first person POV. I wrote the chapter in the third person, then at the suggestion of one of my supervisors rewrote it in the first person. While it was an interesting exercise, it didn’t jell in my thoughts.
Since then I’ve stuck with the third person, and tried valiantly to maintain only the protagonist’s POV. Using the limited POV has inherent problems. Chief among these is the fact that the main character must be ‘on stage’ all the time. At one point in chapter 5 I have him running off away from the other children he was playing with. That’s a no-no. It’s his story-so we have to go off with him.
In other chapters I fall into another trap with limited third person POV. In subtle ways I slip into-without meaning to, of course-the thoughts of other characters. That’s another no-no. Limited POV means just that: limited. I can only let the reader ‘hear’ the thoughts of my protagonist-not everyone else in the neighbourhood. In order to dip into their thoughts, I actually have to make them say what they are thinking. There is no other way of knowing what they are thinking, or feeling. Well, actually, their actions can also convey this in a limited way.
Why didn’t I choose an omniscient POV? Then I could have dipped-God-like-into everyone’s thoughts! This can be very confusing to young readers, of course, so that option is not really one I can take.
Perhaps I could have used a shifting POV. The chapters could alternate the POV from one character to another. Again, this presents problems for both writer and the young reader. Possible, but it has to be done well. I made a decision against this before even writing a word. I had another idea for my novel, where there were two equal protagonists, each having their POV in alternating chapters. I chose not to follow this path as I felt my technical skills were not up the challenge. The plot also needed far more research than I had time for anyway, so I shelved that idea for another day.
All I can say now is that when I come to rewriting and editing, I’m going to have a few nerve wracking weeks trying to eliminate every shift in point of view.
Good writing.
Related articles:
- Writing a novel – a writer’s journal
- Writing a novel part 7
- Writing a novel part 4
- Writing success – well – sort of.