Anju Gattani's Blog - Posts Tagged "manuscript"
Away from desk
I've often wondered how other authors get back in a project they've been away from? I'm in that situation right now and trying to figure my way around as I jump back in a manuscript from 2009.
At first I dilly-dallied for a while... unsure whether I could get back in. That means I was on FB and Twitter and whatnot for a while - procrastinating.
Then, I took the plunge and dived - head-first. I started rereading what I had done... revising and editing... and trying to build the mental picture in my head.
Chapter 1 was torture... now I'm on Chapter 4 and plugging my way through. The last leg of research remains and I wonder when I'll relive the joy of pounding out the original manuscript?
What do you think?
At first I dilly-dallied for a while... unsure whether I could get back in. That means I was on FB and Twitter and whatnot for a while - procrastinating.
Then, I took the plunge and dived - head-first. I started rereading what I had done... revising and editing... and trying to build the mental picture in my head.
Chapter 1 was torture... now I'm on Chapter 4 and plugging my way through. The last leg of research remains and I wonder when I'll relive the joy of pounding out the original manuscript?
What do you think?
Picking up
At first I thought my work-in-progress was going to be a hard and dry run. I had last worked on it in 2008 and then abandoned it for several reasons. Life, other books, a job and no time to work on it.
It's been 3 years since and I've been pulling open the pages of what I last wrote and trying to sink back in the story. Since then much has changed.
Not the story.
Me.
I've learned a lot along the way. The research for this book, again, has been huge and I'm on the last leg of it. The manuscript is half done and I've got half left to go. But I'm plugging away because there is no other way for a writer but the write way!
It's been 3 years since and I've been pulling open the pages of what I last wrote and trying to sink back in the story. Since then much has changed.
Not the story.
Me.
I've learned a lot along the way. The research for this book, again, has been huge and I'm on the last leg of it. The manuscript is half done and I've got half left to go. But I'm plugging away because there is no other way for a writer but the write way!
Author events in CT
Hi,
I called several friends and neighbors yesterday evening in CT and shared the news of my upcoming author events with them. The variety of reactions was interesting... from "O.K...", "Wow!" to "I'm so proud of you!"... the reason I called was because I didn't want friends to find out from the local newspaper and think I'm a snob in any way.
I'm the same person now as I was before... only now the book is out - it's no longer just a manuscript - and I'm a 'published' author.
The work however is the same. It continues. The stories are different and the characters I deal with have grown older than the previous book or are different altogether.
Writing books has been a journey. It still is. I called my friends to personally invite them to the events. I hope my readers will understand that I'm still the same person when I talk. Nothing has changed. Except the work. the manuscript is now a book.
I called several friends and neighbors yesterday evening in CT and shared the news of my upcoming author events with them. The variety of reactions was interesting... from "O.K...", "Wow!" to "I'm so proud of you!"... the reason I called was because I didn't want friends to find out from the local newspaper and think I'm a snob in any way.
I'm the same person now as I was before... only now the book is out - it's no longer just a manuscript - and I'm a 'published' author.
The work however is the same. It continues. The stories are different and the characters I deal with have grown older than the previous book or are different altogether.
Writing books has been a journey. It still is. I called my friends to personally invite them to the events. I hope my readers will understand that I'm still the same person when I talk. Nothing has changed. Except the work. the manuscript is now a book.
Perspective
Hi,
It's been a while since I last blogged and I have plenty of excuses. Family from overseas, the Coke factory, visits to the mall, shopping, etc... you get the idea :)
However, the work, characters, plot, pacing of the novel and edits don't go away. They're always... just... there.
What does change is perspective. Getting away from the manuscript. Thinking of issues and juggling them in my head for a while... then looking at the words with a fresh pair of eyes makes the page appear different. Well, not the page... the words.
I see things that the copy editor outlined in red, pink/magenta, and commented in blue and can step back, away from the manuscript, and see clearly.
Was I not seeing clearly before? I was. But now the distance - physically and emotionally - away from the manuscript, has given me a new perspective with which to see.
What's your perspective?
It's been a while since I last blogged and I have plenty of excuses. Family from overseas, the Coke factory, visits to the mall, shopping, etc... you get the idea :)
However, the work, characters, plot, pacing of the novel and edits don't go away. They're always... just... there.
What does change is perspective. Getting away from the manuscript. Thinking of issues and juggling them in my head for a while... then looking at the words with a fresh pair of eyes makes the page appear different. Well, not the page... the words.
I see things that the copy editor outlined in red, pink/magenta, and commented in blue and can step back, away from the manuscript, and see clearly.
Was I not seeing clearly before? I was. But now the distance - physically and emotionally - away from the manuscript, has given me a new perspective with which to see.
What's your perspective?
Attention
Hi,
Well it's been a while since I posted a blog and here's why...
I did hop on over to this 'blog' section several times last week but everytime my good intentions to post a blog hit - something came up.
The manuscript currently in edits would call. The blog tour scheduled for Sept 2012 needed my attention. My kids needed my attention and on and on and on...
But the good news is that I'm looking forward to 2 major reviews for DUTY AND DESIRE; one scheduled to come out in UK and one in India - both before the year ends. I'm also looking ahead to schedule more author events so have to work on those too.
As for the book of my heart - Bk III? That, like so much else, continues to wait. It calls for my attention but I can't be in so many places simultaneously. AND... I have to prioritize.
So back to the edits once again! And let's see who calls next!
Well it's been a while since I posted a blog and here's why...
I did hop on over to this 'blog' section several times last week but everytime my good intentions to post a blog hit - something came up.
The manuscript currently in edits would call. The blog tour scheduled for Sept 2012 needed my attention. My kids needed my attention and on and on and on...
But the good news is that I'm looking forward to 2 major reviews for DUTY AND DESIRE; one scheduled to come out in UK and one in India - both before the year ends. I'm also looking ahead to schedule more author events so have to work on those too.
As for the book of my heart - Bk III? That, like so much else, continues to wait. It calls for my attention but I can't be in so many places simultaneously. AND... I have to prioritize.
So back to the edits once again! And let's see who calls next!
Restructure
Hi,
Have you ever been in a situation where you read the same sentence again and again... and still can't make sense of it? I have. I am in that situation.
I wrote a paragraph of description and I'm re-reading what I wrote. Then I look at the copy editor's comments and think to myself 'No wonder she didn't get what I was saying!' You see, neither do I.
I'm trying hard to figure out how to say it better, cleaner, neater and in a polished way so that the readers *gets it* with just one read.
So I'm diving back to the manuscript... after browsing, hopping on over to Twitter, FB, and other pages... to fix what needs fixing.
Wish me luck!
Have you ever been in a situation where you read the same sentence again and again... and still can't make sense of it? I have. I am in that situation.
I wrote a paragraph of description and I'm re-reading what I wrote. Then I look at the copy editor's comments and think to myself 'No wonder she didn't get what I was saying!' You see, neither do I.
I'm trying hard to figure out how to say it better, cleaner, neater and in a polished way so that the readers *gets it* with just one read.
So I'm diving back to the manuscript... after browsing, hopping on over to Twitter, FB, and other pages... to fix what needs fixing.
Wish me luck!
Consequence Of...
Hi,
Writing a book is a journey. Like a train-ride perhaps. You start at Point A and enjoy (if it's worth enjoying) the ride to point B. Then off you get and on you go to you destination. Sometimes you get off in the middle somewhere and wait for another train on another platform - known more commonly as 'transit'.
So I began the journey of Bk III in 2008. After the initial beginnings of a first draft and a huge amount of research - I had to stop in 2009 and put the manuscript in 'transit'. - OK! I shoved it in the cupboard for a while. The 'while' became 4 years. So I'm guessing the manuscript was a stow-away then? Right?
Since January 2013 I've been busy getting my head 'back in the book' and catching up on where I last was (about half way through). Last night I reached the no-turning-back point. There's nothing to revise or edit for now - not in this draft, at least! I have to type the next few chapters on the laptop (from the original hand-written version) and then pound out the other half of the story.
Life doesn't roll like that now, does it? Real life, I mean. It doesn't stop and languish for a while until you have time to catch up. It just ticks away. Real life is like a chain of events that result as a series of actions from those preceeding it. A consequence of...
I wonder what the consequence of picking up the unfinished story will be? Any ideas?
Writing a book is a journey. Like a train-ride perhaps. You start at Point A and enjoy (if it's worth enjoying) the ride to point B. Then off you get and on you go to you destination. Sometimes you get off in the middle somewhere and wait for another train on another platform - known more commonly as 'transit'.
So I began the journey of Bk III in 2008. After the initial beginnings of a first draft and a huge amount of research - I had to stop in 2009 and put the manuscript in 'transit'. - OK! I shoved it in the cupboard for a while. The 'while' became 4 years. So I'm guessing the manuscript was a stow-away then? Right?
Since January 2013 I've been busy getting my head 'back in the book' and catching up on where I last was (about half way through). Last night I reached the no-turning-back point. There's nothing to revise or edit for now - not in this draft, at least! I have to type the next few chapters on the laptop (from the original hand-written version) and then pound out the other half of the story.
Life doesn't roll like that now, does it? Real life, I mean. It doesn't stop and languish for a while until you have time to catch up. It just ticks away. Real life is like a chain of events that result as a series of actions from those preceeding it. A consequence of...
I wonder what the consequence of picking up the unfinished story will be? Any ideas?
Scripts & Manuscripts
Hi Story Tellers and Story Lovers.
Story telling in its simplest form is an emotional ride. An experience where we have a chance to escape reality and plunge into another's world.
My trip to Chicago last week was an eye opener. In meeting department heads of TV and Film at Northwestern University and Columbia College I learned that true story tellers are true listeners. The heads of these departments found magic in breaking story down no matter what the medium... whether it was a TV series, sitcom, documentary, movie or series of movies.
These department heads viewed every mechanics of the story-making process with an eye glass authors don't own.
As authors, yes, we use our senses, paper / electronic screen is our medium and words are our tools. One scene leads to another. One chapter to another. And the story unfolds.
For screen writers and directors, visuals, sounds are the key senses, the screen is the medium and images are their tools. One scene leads to another. One sequence of actions to another. And the story unfolds.
As authors we have the 'luxury' of putting a character's thoughts on paper for readers to 'read'. We build the story world with words.
As screen writers they have the 'luxury' of creating a visual of the story world with images. They are challenged to relay the character's thoughts on screen unless they are using an 'aside' or 'narrator'.
As authors we create our characters and work with them in our heads.
As screen writers, they work with actors on set in real-time.
We edit our manuscripts.
They edit their scripts and re-take.
There is no end to the comparisons we can make. But Mr. Charlie Celander, Head of the Film Dept at Columbia College, told me something I'll never forget. No matter how pretty the picture, 3-D effects and visuals... if the story's foundation is weak the story world will crumble. And the story will never unfold. The basics, the foundation of any structure must be strong.
So take and re-take as many re-writes as you must because when that story leaves your hands, it must fly.
Story telling in its simplest form is an emotional ride. An experience where we have a chance to escape reality and plunge into another's world.
My trip to Chicago last week was an eye opener. In meeting department heads of TV and Film at Northwestern University and Columbia College I learned that true story tellers are true listeners. The heads of these departments found magic in breaking story down no matter what the medium... whether it was a TV series, sitcom, documentary, movie or series of movies.
These department heads viewed every mechanics of the story-making process with an eye glass authors don't own.
As authors, yes, we use our senses, paper / electronic screen is our medium and words are our tools. One scene leads to another. One chapter to another. And the story unfolds.
For screen writers and directors, visuals, sounds are the key senses, the screen is the medium and images are their tools. One scene leads to another. One sequence of actions to another. And the story unfolds.
As authors we have the 'luxury' of putting a character's thoughts on paper for readers to 'read'. We build the story world with words.
As screen writers they have the 'luxury' of creating a visual of the story world with images. They are challenged to relay the character's thoughts on screen unless they are using an 'aside' or 'narrator'.
As authors we create our characters and work with them in our heads.
As screen writers, they work with actors on set in real-time.
We edit our manuscripts.
They edit their scripts and re-take.
There is no end to the comparisons we can make. But Mr. Charlie Celander, Head of the Film Dept at Columbia College, told me something I'll never forget. No matter how pretty the picture, 3-D effects and visuals... if the story's foundation is weak the story world will crumble. And the story will never unfold. The basics, the foundation of any structure must be strong.
So take and re-take as many re-writes as you must because when that story leaves your hands, it must fly.
