Tag Archives: editing

Disintegrating Characters

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PhotonQ-Homer' s Evolution Theory

How should a novel’s characters evolve? Should one create the characters before the plot or as the story unfolds? Do you do sketches before writing your novel?

My first novel, Spiral of Hooves, began life as a rough outline back in 2000, but went through various versions, with characters changing their names, motives, roles, and in some cases ceasing to exist. Other writers in my novel writing group tried to suggest improvements, which I attempted to integrate into my evolving patchwork of plot and counterplot. Thirteen years later and I am taking on board the comments from my US e-book publisher’s editors. And I need to check the voice of some of my characters and their motives.

Time to check my character sketches. Except the 2000 versions are sketchy, if they even exist; probably on dusty floppy discs. But it seems that they only evolved in my head, not as updated notes. Bad move.

English: Spiral made of Floppy discs

English: Spiral made of Floppy discs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So now I am producing new sketches and timelines as I check through the current manuscript. In most cases no old sketch exists so the page is blank, although I have an unfolding story to refer to, plus the scribbles in my head. Reminds me of writing character profiles in English Literature classes at school. Oh, and I need to create a timeline that matches the manuscript or at least shows where I have made errors.

Sounds like I’ve written my first novel in fits and starts, using multiple maps and asking the way from friendly faces that sent me via their favourite attractions. Just the basics to guide me so I must be a Pantser.

And here I am claiming to be a plotter. However I confess that almost all subsequent novels, now in various draft stages, have been plotted: detailed character sketches, timelines, scene by scene OR chapter by chapter outlines, and even research notes. But never set in stone, so when the first draft pours out, the unexpected and inspirational can happen. And my characters are often the ones driving the plots.

But which is best for characters sake? Pantser or Plotter? Will my plotted novels suffer the same fate as my first novel and spiral out of control, character sketches disintegrating as the timeline fractures?

Perhaps I need to upgrade my sketches more often, as the story evolves and the characters mature – like wine rather than cheese, I hope.

What do you do? What are your words of wisdom?

Creative Chinese Character Art

Creative Chinese Character Art (Photo credit: sinosplice)

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Beyond the Monotony

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A foggy evening 01

A foggy evening 01 (Photo credit: AnneCN)

What would you do after three months of editing?

Variety is the spice of life they say, but how do you achieve it? Stop editing and write? Switch projects? What happens if you have five draft novels all needing editing and two new plots pounding at your mind?

Most sensible writers seem to blend the editing and writing successfully, judging by their Blogs and their Facebook posts. But living with MS makes that hard. If I work at the revision then I no longer have the energy to do anything more than chill out. Which is why it has just taken me three months to complete the third revision of my 97k novel Wyrm Bait. Yesterday I sent it off to my editor for detailed analysis; also sent it to four beta readers for their thoughts.

Some time ago, I would have switched into writing mode and produced another draft novel, which is why there are so many lurking around, waiting to be edited. Heading the queue is that blast from my past, my first novel Spiral of Hooves. It’s been with the editors for the US ebook publishers – one English, one American – and is due back any day.

Decision made, therefore: I have to revise that next, addressing their input = another month or so of editing.

You Want Me To Go Down Where?!

You Want Me To Go Down Where?! (Photo credit: tobym)

Do I scream? It’s a change of setting, characters, plot and of problems to be addressed. But it’s still editing – NOT writing.

But editing is part of the writing process, the experts tell us. I need to learn to love the revision stage. The short cut of editing as I write is a gag on my creative flow. I prefer to plot carefully, write freely, and edit gradually. Except three times five novels = 15 months of editing. But total revision for each novel is far longer, which cuts out the creation. Doesn’t it?

However no new novels won’t work, not if I want to satisfy my urge to create and my potential readers urge for new words. When Spiral of Hooves sells, the readers should want the sequel, but it’s not written.

One source of new material has been NaNoWriMo in November and I have heard rumours of a June challenge as well. Is that the solution? NaNoWriMo has produced two first drafts: The Last Leaf (2011) and Wyrm Blood (2012). One took a month but the other was almost three to first draft completion. Even have two ideas in plotting process; if I can decide which one comes first in the penning order. Probably Tortuous Terrain the sequel to Spiral of Hooves. However Seeking A Knife is more alive in my mind. Decisions, decisions.

Image representing Facebook as depicted in Cru...

Image via CrunchBase

Need more time. Maths not looking good. Something needs to give. But what? Social media? Emails? Gaming? All cut to a minimum and part of my survival plan, whether to maintain contact or to chill and reward myself.

One solution is to blog rather than create new novels. Still writing and far faster, requiring quick editing. Revert to short stories and simplify my inspiration. Even novellas not novels. All ideas to be swept along in the tide of editing. And high tide is approaching. With MS lurking to dash the plans with exhaustion and pain.

So what do you do? What advise can you give the Silver Scribbler?

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Do you struggle with Word Selection?

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Words have a power all their own

Words have a power all their own (Photo credit: Lynne Hand)

The word is on the tip of my tongue, or is it in my fingers poised above the keyboard. Wherever it is I need to find that dang word but I can’t. As I work through the current draft of Wyrm Bait, or in a few months some other novel, there are words that don’t read right. When nothing comes out of my addled head, I spend time delving for a better one in the Flip Dictionary, a really useful aid created by Barbara Ann Kipfer for The Writer’s Digest, which I prefer over a conventional thesaurus.

Cover of "Flip Dictionary"However hard I attempt to find dozens of phrases and words to change on every page of my manuscript, failure dogs my endeavours. Why? Conventional wisdom suggests that at the detailed editing stage I should be honing each word or phrase, since previous drafts only tackled the broader brush-strokes. In fact the number of edits should be nearer six if not more. What am I missing? Am I rushing? I’ve given myself two months at the rate of 8 pages per day. Or am I still too involved with my creation and unwilling to address its failings?

Maybe my writing process has eliminated the need to do repeated revisions. I plot my novels in detail and each day, before I write anything, I think through the next scene in my head. When I type, I don’t always churn out words as they come to mind. I craft my phrases a little but not at the expense of the flow. I also glance through my work at the end of each day or the following morning. Am I editing as I write?

I fear there is another answer. Word selection fails when I talk and I can ascribe that to my MS. Gradually the stress and the exhaustion has robbed me of my ability to remember even simple words. Sometimes I talk rubbish and I only pray that my writing isn’t close behind. Admittedly I can use the wrong word or hit the wrong keys but I call that a co-ordination relapse. When I was an equestrian journalist, remembering names of horses and riders’ faces was straightforward and essential. Now I forget friends’ names and the titles of song that I love by ?*&%$£?)(

Picture of Hollywood sign

Picture of Hollywood sign (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If only I hadn’t blown my money on Hollywood dreams, I might have the savings now to employ an editor with a better brain; or at least one without lesions.

Talk to you all next week. Good writing from The Silver Scribbler.

How hard are the Three Rs?

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A foggy evening 01

A foggy evening 01 (Photo credit: AnneCN)

Happy New Year to one and all whether ye be avid readers, passing travelers or fledgling writers like me. May 2013 be filled with purpose, inspiration, endeavor and fulfillment.

Before you delete this page as a return to school or education, please believe me that the Three Rs are not ‘reading, writing and arithmetic’ but some profound observations – well at least my take on my plans for the year ahead, along with a glance at the twisting road traveled in 2012.

Hence the Three Rs become: reaching realistic resolutions. WARNING: I’ve never been much good at sticking to New Year Resolutions but here goes.

Published Novel:     In 2012 I managed to get Spiral of Hooves accepted by a US e-publisher, Spectacle Publishing Media Group and hopefully this year the novel will become readable by more than a handful of inspirational mentors. However my intent/resolution is to get at least one more novel published in 2013, possibly Wyrm Bait which is the most progressed. But that requires me to produce a draft that will lead to Resolutions 2, 3 and 4.

Beta Readers:     I realize that finding willing Readers for a Work In Progress is not easy, neither is learning to apply their constructive critiques wisely [ADVERB!!!]. I was lucky on Spiral of Hooves to have colleagues from the Tunbridge Wells Writers Circle who were willing to read the manuscript and make valuable comments. However I feel that I will have to cast my net wider [CLICHÉ!!!] for the next WIPs, in part because I need some comments from typical readers of the genre and of MMORPGs – the setting for much of Wyrm Bait. Once the manuscript is ready for constructive criticism, I will be making a plea for volunteers. Resolution 2 – find willing Beta Readers.

Editor:    Editing has to be both essential and tough. It is part frustrating slog and part chance to rediscover and remould the words. In 2012 – and before that – there were some days when I enjoyed editing but others when I got lost in the forest of errors and stragglers. I don’t expect that to change over-year. Once I have re-drafted a manuscript then I know that I will have to turn to a professional if the work is ever to be seen by the buying audience. I’m not sure where to look but I have some ideas, although money is an issue at this stage. So resolution 3 is to find an editor that is both constructively critical and sympathetic.

edit on the go

edit on the go (Photo credit: fensterbme)

Publisher:     When I have passed Resolutions 2 & 3 then I will have reach a firm decision on how I intend to get published. Back in 2011/2012 there were periods in which I seriously considered finding an agent and even compiled detailed lists of which ones to approach; list that I still have. Then I began to realize that I would need to travel to anyone that expressed interest and wanted a face-to-face interview/assessment. Being disabled in a wheelchair and restricted by my MS as to the where I go, that got ruled out. Or are there agents out there that will use online conferencing to assess clients? What about mainstream publishers? Can I tread a conventional route in my wheelchair? And then there is self-publishing, an option I considered pursuing when I got a winner’s prize from CreateSpace completing NaNoWriMo in 2011. Problem = money. Any spare would go to the editor, so then where? Resolution 4 is my Catch 22 – decide how to get published.

Final Drafts:     I need to ensure that I finish 2013 with at least two final drafts of my current WIPs, including whatever that publisher-ready novel. There needs to be something in the pipeline [CLICHÉ!!!] that takes the pressure off [CLICHÉ] when the publisher/readers/conscience tells me another creation needs to find a place on some other tables/hard-drives/e-readers/old-fashioned parchment or whatever. So Resolution 5 is produce at least TWO final drafts.

First Drafts:     When those final drafts are passed on to their next incarnation, it will be essential that some of the ideas that are churning around inside my head or gathering dust under my computer desk have become First Drafts = by the end of 2013. Mathematically, applying the arithmetic that I learnt decades ago, I know that if I keep subtracting 2 from 6 there will be zero. As I write this blog, I have six novels at various stages from Spiral of Hooves, which should be available soon as with e-publisher, to its sequel Tortuous Terrain, which is an outline idea with characters and opening scribbled in its own notebook awaiting more. In between are four WIPs all at least first draft so in theory I can relax for 2013 as far as creating more is concerned, concentrating on the editing. But that ignores the urge to created, to explore new ideas and the future … and NaNoWriMo 2013, which should yield another first draft. Resolution 6 – write two + more first drafts.

100k in 100 Days:    During November and NaNoWriMo my daily word count was between 1,750 and 2,500 words but that was a drain on the rest of my life. I need to have some realistic target and with the 100k in 100 days challenge I have a new target, one that might be achievable as it allows for more than just novel words. This Blog post counts and basically all but not the shopping list. As a result I will attempt to post more often during the challenge: This is my more leisurely version of NaNoWriMo, where you have from 1st January 2013 until 10th April 2013 in which to write 100k words. That’s just 1000 words a day. There are some, not very strict rules. See: http://www.facebook.com/groups/125279004297437/  Resolution 7 is to write at least 1,000 words per day indefinitely.

Hard Read:    Reading has always been a part of my life but TV, gaming and writing have always proved to be distractions from this essential pastime. At the moment I am reading various crime/mystery/thrillers that I bought but there are books in my bookshelf that are definitely Fantasy plus ones that I never got round to reading after buying them second-hand to complete sets. One book usually takes 4- 6 weeks as I spend so much time on the computer, but I need to reduce the time online – delete more emails perhaps. Resolution 8 is read at least 12 books in 2013 and vary the genre so not boxing-in my mind.

MMORPG:    TV is no longer the escape nor cinema. When I can put the writing aside then I escape to another world. Playing games – MMORPGs ~ Massive Multi-player Online Role Playing Games – with my wife is our wind-down even if we get frustrated sometimes. Unfortunately even restricting gaming time to evenings we have a variety-seeking habit of changing games after a while and I keep creating new characters. We were playing LOTRO – Lord of the Rings Online – but are now in SWTOR – Star Wars The Old Republic … and we met online in Perfect World. Resolution 9 is to reach the maximum level on at least one character in SWTOR by the Spring.

AirTravel

USA:     For those who hadn’t realized, my wife was born in the USA and her family are mostly in Idaho and Utah but it will be two years in April since we saw any of them. Although Juanita talks to her kids, her mum and an aunt on the phone that is not the same as physical contact. Money is tight but getting over to see at least some of them has to be the priority – after covering essentials on both sides of the Atlantic BUT before luxuries. So Resolution 10 should be No 1 as it’s getting over to the States and spending time with the family in 2013.

Looking back over this Blog post I realize that to earn my Writing Wings I need to focus and the Three Rs that I have to concentrate on should be: reading, research and writing.

Whatever your poison [CLICHÉ], good writing – The Silver Scribbler

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How much time?

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St. Augustine writing, revising, and re-writin...

St. Augustine writing, revising, and re-writing

Please don’t think I’m lazy but apologies are due I believe. The unforeseen hiatus in posts was enforced by MS dragging me down. Anyway I am back to the Blogging again. However Time is a tough commodity to manage when living with spasms, stiffness and exhaustion, so no wild promises or resolutions this time.

When I started this Blog at the end of May, the dominant theme became Editing as that was the writing stage I had reached with my first novel.  After 12 years plus of working on Spiral of Hooves, I hoped that the end was in sight and only a couple of drafts were required to reach the finishing line.

Was I foolish thinking Editing would be so easy? 

Three months on from starting the edit I had reached a quagmire and quit three days ago. Identifying the dire marshes that trapped me is simple – word checking.  Was I reading too many posts about finding those ‘weasel words’ that grate and trying to eliminate them? I was spending day after day exterminating adverbs and expunging that/what/had/was or anything that was incorrect.  I began to hate the manuscript and believe that it was not good enough. Plus I craved the day when I could move on to a better novel and get out of the Dead Marshes.

English: A view of the Kepler Mire String Bog ...

English: A view of the Kepler Mire String Bog from the Mt York Road Southland New Zealand (Photo credit: Wikipedia) [Used in LOTR films]

I abandoned the novel and put it back in the ‘bottom shelf’, deciding to move on and use a better manuscript as my first novel – the one I would use to get an agent. There was a mixture of frustration at my failure to finish Spiral of Hooves and relief at the thought of tackling Wyrm Bait, which already has a sequel hovering in the wings (called Wyrm Blood).

But was I wrong to give up so easily?

In the last few days two things happened that have possibly opened up clearer paths forward in my writing quest.  First, my grand-daughter Jessica – step- if I was being pedantic – passed me a link to a US publishing group run by writers: http://www.spectaclepmg.com/. Perhaps they might be another route for a novel that needs a home – after a minor tinker.

Second, I read a repost by a US agent – http://www.rachellegardner.com/2012/08/the-writing-rules/ – that made me realise that I could be following the rules too rigidly and stifling my creation before I had given it a chance. Thanks then to Rachelle Gardner for rekindling my belief in my creative process and putting the Editing in a context – not that I’m throwing out the rules that pulled me away from my worst writing excesses.

I need to learn from this journey through the Pedantry Marshes when I move on to Wyrm Bait and I must choose a more sensible approach.  I’ve learnt that writing a first draft isn’t so much of a burden as the Editing and I need to manage Time better.  I hope that I can do that and find enough Time to produce the other ideas that are crying out for creation.  On the cusp of 59 I wonder how much more writing I can manage before MS steals all the thoughts away.

How much Time does a novel require in your life? Do you juggle or manage?

"Writing on the wood is prohibited."...

“Writing on the wood is prohibited.” DSC07600 (Photo credit: Nicolas Karim)

Digging out the Motivation

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Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

There’s blood hiding in the blizzard and the voices in my head are asking: Why is the protagonist acting so weird? Why is the heroine still friendly with her unfaithful ex?  What’s driving this group of diverse characters forwards and are they heading for a memorable climax or just oblivion?

I thought I had nearly finished my final edit of ‘Spiral of Hooves’ but then the niggling voices began. I’ve read a number of blogs recently that have led me to question whether I have made the motivation of each of my main characters clear.

In my head I know why my characters behave the way they do and why events unfold in a certain chronology, but will my readers understand what the words I have written mean?  It’s important that I ensure that the motivations are not so much overt but at least alluded to in the characters’ words and behaviour.

Deus ex machina

I may write mysteries but there’s a difference between hiding the clues within the telling of the story, and keeping them so secret that they’re invisible until they spring from the page like dei ex machina.

Hence the need for me, and of course other writers, to check on that motivation as objectively as possible.

Which on a linked tangent has led me to ask: why do I write?  Looking back over my fledgling career, I have always written so I could share the stories in my head.  However as for writing to earn thousands of pounds, that has never been an objective, although it would be nice to earn something in my retirement.

In addition writing helps me keep my MS at bay, helping me stay focused and occupied.  Yes there are days, like yesterday, when I struggle to get motivated to even leave my bed and write an email. Luckily that isn’t a problem every day, just some.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

On the editing front I have other areas to address before an agent gets to read anything. I also need to address the ‘how do I get published?’ question, but that’s a topic for another blog perhaps.

In my online search about ‘Motivation’, I have found the following links on Characterisation helpful:

Various articles on Characters: http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/01/developing-characters.html

Motivation and Motivational Issues: http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/motivation.shtml

Nailing Character Motivation: http://mojobot2000.livejournal.com/2636.html

Plus these Blogs have provided more food for ideas:

One writer’s character creation: http://jaylt.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/kim-lee-on-the-art-of-creating-characters/

A motive in many ways: http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/whats-the-worst-that-can-happen-your-characters-biggest-fear/

Improving female characters: http://impishidea.com/writing/how-not-to-write-female-characters