If you like math, you may have already guessed that I'll be done with this book in forty days. No. I will not. It will probably take longer. Possibly twice as long. Why? Because the middle is much much harder to write than the beginning. I think it should be. So does John Irving:
The craft of the novel is to make it better, more compelling, more unstoppable on page 400 than it was on page 40.More unstoppable means more work. More brain power. More time. Definitely.
So I don't know what the future holds. I don't know how long it will take to do this rewrite. And I don't really care. Because I'm so proud of myself right now. Probably the proudest I've ever been. I was proud of myself the first time I wrote this book too, but I was going too fast. I wanted to be on Oprah too bad.
Going fast is not my problem. Didn't you know that I cranked out 160,000 words in three months? Now, I'm challenging myself to go slow, and really plan everything out.
I've written one scene today. And I've got one to go! What are you up to?
Set yourself a routine of writing every day if you can whether the muse is willing or not. Ernest Hemingway said that he wrote a page then polished it, condensing it into a half page if he could.
ReplyDeleteHe said two pages written like that were worth ten pages just churned out. Just a thought.
I'm in your corner, rooting you on, Roland
You can do it!!! I've re-written mine 4 times and it seems overwhelming at first but it gets done...eventually:)
ReplyDeleteWhoa 4 times! That is impressive!
ReplyDeleteRoland-- perhaps this post is misleading. I write by scene count everyday. Tough scenes, like a fight scene, I'll do one per day, usually though I do two. I hardly ever let my muse write my book. She's around for character memories and plot ideas, but she writes some crazy scenes and dialogue, so I usually take over there.
And thanks for being in my corner!
I agree with Roland. I was all over the place writing my current novel. I started a year and a half ago. I'm still revising and changeing so many things but I'm learning in the process. The other idea I started I'm approaching differently.
ReplyDeleteI recently set a loose schedule to my day to include writing and it helps.
It gets done. I think I'm finally settled on how the whole thing should go.
Good luck!
That's great Christine! We have to do what works. I made a plan for myself the first time around. I had a monthly goal, a weekly goal, a daily goal. It worked. But now, I only have a daily goal. Two scenes a day on the days that I write. Which is 4-5 per week. It works for me!
ReplyDeleteCheers to schedules, whether they be tight, loose, or nonexistent!
Good meeting you, Christine, on another blog. Dayana, the ghost of Hemingway would be proud of you.
ReplyDeleteEach of us must tackle our writing in the way that works for us -- I guess that would be the Zen of writing, right?
Thanks for visiting my blog. Don't be a stranger, Roland
my 140 page novel only took me 10 years to put together...
ReplyDeleteWarm Aloha from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral
You're so funny Cloudia! You must be in the ultimate writing Zen!
ReplyDeleteI've spent the last two days on one little stanza. Talk about slow!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by yesterday.
My Daughter Dayana,
ReplyDeleteBoy you are something else, always knew you were.
I am just fascinated by what ever you write.
So proud to be your Mommy