Karen GoatKeeper's Blog - Posts Tagged "rewriting"
Taking a Break
Reading novels is fun. Reading my own is still fun although my internal editor stays on full alert the entire time.
Capri Capers needed lots of rewriting. When I wrote the first draft, each chapter ended with a cliff hanger. The next chapter began with an enhanced look at the cliffhanger.
Writing this way was fun but reading it did not work. So the end and beginning of each chapter was merged.
Then I pulled the novel apart and put it back together again.
Now I find I am seeing what I think is there, not what is there.
It is time to set the novel aside for a time. Then I can look at it and see what is really there. Maybe. I hope.
So, what shall I do over this break? Work on the Pumpkin Project, my garden and learn about road rallies.
Boredom is banished.
Capri Capers needed lots of rewriting. When I wrote the first draft, each chapter ended with a cliff hanger. The next chapter began with an enhanced look at the cliffhanger.
Writing this way was fun but reading it did not work. So the end and beginning of each chapter was merged.
Then I pulled the novel apart and put it back together again.
Now I find I am seeing what I think is there, not what is there.
It is time to set the novel aside for a time. Then I can look at it and see what is really there. Maybe. I hope.
So, what shall I do over this break? Work on the Pumpkin Project, my garden and learn about road rallies.
Boredom is banished.
Creating Characters
Capri Capers was a frantic rush draft during a November NaNo. It is almost all action.
That leaves the characters as flat two dimensional players. This is not suitable.
I know the characters. To me they have the depth and breadth a good novel character should have.
The difficulty is putting this into the novel draft. The draft seems complete so the only way is to literally take parts of it out and recreate the scenes adding dialogue and descriptions to make Harriet, Arthur, Dan and the others become the real people they really are to me.
It is slow going but worth it as I want others to know these people as I do.
That leaves the characters as flat two dimensional players. This is not suitable.
I know the characters. To me they have the depth and breadth a good novel character should have.
The difficulty is putting this into the novel draft. The draft seems complete so the only way is to literally take parts of it out and recreate the scenes adding dialogue and descriptions to make Harriet, Arthur, Dan and the others become the real people they really are to me.
It is slow going but worth it as I want others to know these people as I do.
Reading and Writing
Authors write. Yet no author is a perfect master of writing. Always there are items that come up leaving the author at a loss. Reading can help.
I am again plowing my way through Capri Capers. I am also trying to take to heart P.J.'s comments on not hoarding books.
Although some of my difficulties are solved with a little research and drawing two maps, one problem still dogs me in my novel draft. The characters seem too flat, contrived.
Out of frustration I started looking through some old Children's Writer books sitting on my bookshelf to sort a few out to pass on. Old means old: 1998. And an article about Katherine Patterson about creating her characters.
This author wants to be deeply acquainted with her characters. She wants to know their deepest thoughts and desires. Only then do the characters come alive on the page.
It is so tempting in my creme fluff novel to ignore this advice. I could leave it as a light chase novel. It would be done. I could go on to other projects.
And I would forever be unhappy as I would know this novel might have been so much more. I don't like this alternative.
Who is Harriet? Who is Arthur? What motives drive Roscoe Rascal?
At least two minor characters, Capri and Agate, are easy. Goat motives are something I understand without deep efforts.
I am again plowing my way through Capri Capers. I am also trying to take to heart P.J.'s comments on not hoarding books.
Although some of my difficulties are solved with a little research and drawing two maps, one problem still dogs me in my novel draft. The characters seem too flat, contrived.
Out of frustration I started looking through some old Children's Writer books sitting on my bookshelf to sort a few out to pass on. Old means old: 1998. And an article about Katherine Patterson about creating her characters.
This author wants to be deeply acquainted with her characters. She wants to know their deepest thoughts and desires. Only then do the characters come alive on the page.
It is so tempting in my creme fluff novel to ignore this advice. I could leave it as a light chase novel. It would be done. I could go on to other projects.
And I would forever be unhappy as I would know this novel might have been so much more. I don't like this alternative.
Who is Harriet? Who is Arthur? What motives drive Roscoe Rascal?
At least two minor characters, Capri and Agate, are easy. Goat motives are something I understand without deep efforts.
Plotter's Nightmare
Supposedly I am rewriting a draft I started a year ago and stopped when the plot hit a brick wall. Much of that draft is interesting. The main plot line is good. The brick wall now has a door in it.
The nightmare?
I like to write a draft freely with only a list of bullet point plot points. The plotter outline is swirling in the brain flowing through currents, eddies and backwaters carrying my draft along.
This time the bullet points are pages of writing. Events, people, dialog form dams blocking my new draft leaving me treading water. Even though the new draft begins months earlier with new events setting the action up and blowing it into being, my mind trips over those pages of words.
I am a plotter at heart. Those pages are security. Somehow they must work into the new draft.
My first draft is a pantser paradise. This one has soured worse than curdled milk. I need to find the paradise part again, unspoiled.
The solution?
Somehow I must close all those pages. The outline must return to bullet points. Then a good night's sleep may open up my pantser draft paradise again and the new draft will make the fingers fly once more.
The nightmare?
I like to write a draft freely with only a list of bullet point plot points. The plotter outline is swirling in the brain flowing through currents, eddies and backwaters carrying my draft along.
This time the bullet points are pages of writing. Events, people, dialog form dams blocking my new draft leaving me treading water. Even though the new draft begins months earlier with new events setting the action up and blowing it into being, my mind trips over those pages of words.
I am a plotter at heart. Those pages are security. Somehow they must work into the new draft.
My first draft is a pantser paradise. This one has soured worse than curdled milk. I need to find the paradise part again, unspoiled.
The solution?
Somehow I must close all those pages. The outline must return to bullet points. Then a good night's sleep may open up my pantser draft paradise again and the new draft will make the fingers fly once more.
When a Draft Stinks
July is a difficult month for me as a writer. The garden needs work. The hay needs hauling and stacking. Kids are being sold.
Perhaps it was a mistake to sign up for CampNaNo even for a measly 20,000 words. Except I needed that challenge to sit down and get started on the new draft of my third Hazel Whitmore book.
For three weeks I have struggled to get the draft started. There isn't really time to do rewrites but I did them anyway. After three rewrites, the first page still doesn't work.
The first two chapters are mired in mud, deep sticky mud.
The entire project is anchored to a millstone of previous work.
Only the challenge kept me struggling onward.
Then Amaya Hypocrite arrived on the scene. The skulduggery has begun. The chains are loosening.
The question now comes up: Can the fingers type fast enough to do another 9,000 words in three days?
The best part is finding the draft finally taking shape on its own. Maybe I will get it written this summer after all.
Perhaps it was a mistake to sign up for CampNaNo even for a measly 20,000 words. Except I needed that challenge to sit down and get started on the new draft of my third Hazel Whitmore book.
For three weeks I have struggled to get the draft started. There isn't really time to do rewrites but I did them anyway. After three rewrites, the first page still doesn't work.
The first two chapters are mired in mud, deep sticky mud.
The entire project is anchored to a millstone of previous work.
Only the challenge kept me struggling onward.
Then Amaya Hypocrite arrived on the scene. The skulduggery has begun. The chains are loosening.
The question now comes up: Can the fingers type fast enough to do another 9,000 words in three days?
The best part is finding the draft finally taking shape on its own. Maybe I will get it written this summer after all.
Rewrite Challenges
NaNo is over. My novel is almost over. Rewrite lies ahead.
I took a peek at the NaNo forums about rewriting novels. So many people are frightened of them. I suppose they are scary, especially the first time.
My novel still doesn't have a real title. I refer to it as Edwina. Titles are important but the novel is more important. And the novel needs work.
Starting the rewrite is so tempting. However, first I need to finish the rough draft. I think I know what to write now once I get to sit down and work on it the next time. Then I will start the rewrite.
Everyone says to let the novel sit before starting the rewrite. Sometimes I do. This novel I will not wait for but will push on to do a first draft.
The place to start for me is to pinpoint major problems. One is my main character. I didn't plan ahead very well and didn't know her well when I started to write. I do know her now. That will change the tone and situations in the beginning of the novel.
Secondly I will tackle Edwina. She is fun or should be fun. I want her role to expand a little and insert more of that fun into a novel that has gotten much too serious.
Third are the supporting characters. They are stereotypes and two dimensional. I know who one of them is but let her slip away almost into nothingness as the novel progressed. She does some important things in the plot and needs to be more than a ghost of a character.
The bad guys weren't planned to begin with. I have no idea who they are yet. They didn't even have names for a chapter or two.
Which brings me to names. There are so many for teachers and others in the novel. The cast isn't huge but each member needs a name.
Once the first draft is done, then it can sit a time. Then I will know more of what the novel is so I can ponder how to take it from there to where I want it to go.
I took a peek at the NaNo forums about rewriting novels. So many people are frightened of them. I suppose they are scary, especially the first time.
My novel still doesn't have a real title. I refer to it as Edwina. Titles are important but the novel is more important. And the novel needs work.
Starting the rewrite is so tempting. However, first I need to finish the rough draft. I think I know what to write now once I get to sit down and work on it the next time. Then I will start the rewrite.
Everyone says to let the novel sit before starting the rewrite. Sometimes I do. This novel I will not wait for but will push on to do a first draft.
The place to start for me is to pinpoint major problems. One is my main character. I didn't plan ahead very well and didn't know her well when I started to write. I do know her now. That will change the tone and situations in the beginning of the novel.
Secondly I will tackle Edwina. She is fun or should be fun. I want her role to expand a little and insert more of that fun into a novel that has gotten much too serious.
Third are the supporting characters. They are stereotypes and two dimensional. I know who one of them is but let her slip away almost into nothingness as the novel progressed. She does some important things in the plot and needs to be more than a ghost of a character.
The bad guys weren't planned to begin with. I have no idea who they are yet. They didn't even have names for a chapter or two.
Which brings me to names. There are so many for teachers and others in the novel. The cast isn't huge but each member needs a name.
Once the first draft is done, then it can sit a time. Then I will know more of what the novel is so I can ponder how to take it from there to where I want it to go.
Details, Endless Details
“My Ozark Home” is essentially finished awaiting publishing. I’ve gone on to another project: Mistaken Promises, the third Hazel Whitmore book.
Hazel Whitmore is now a teenager trying to adjust to living miles from town with no cell service. She does have internet now, although, as is typical in rural Missouri, it is slow, maddeningly slow.
Life should be settling down. That would be a boring book. Books need excitement, things happening. Hazel’s life flares up, target of someone with a grudge in “Mistaken Promises.”.
Once the question of who this someone is was settled, the book draft got written. Now the rewriting and editing are in full swing. Now all the details need attention.
Hazel loves to cook. She started cooking in “Broken Promises” as a way of coping with her hidden grief. Focusing on cooking let her mind relax. Cooking still relaxes her.
Hazel now has cookbooks, her grandmother’s recipe box and new foods to experiment with. These recipes are based on ones I use. I’m a casual cook, liking the process, but rarely having the time for special recipes. I have dietary restrictions and habits so I change recipes to suit these.
This will not work very well for recipes included in “Mistaken Promises.” I will have to follow the recipes – mostly – to make sure they are right before putting them in the book’s recipe section. At present there are fourteen foods Hazel makes. Some are repeats from previous books.
Hazel and Lily will take pictures for the local paper over the summer using their DSLR camera, a lucky find. That is, they will once they decipher the instructions.
My camera is not a DSLR. Luckily I do have access to the proper instruction book. Study time followed by rewrite time is on the agenda.
A county fair is part of the action. I’ve been to county fairs years ago. Still, I plan to check out the local version this year. More details.
At times ignoring these details is tempting. Write it so it sounds right. No one will notice. Wrong.
I remember an old story about the original Star Trek series. A new director wanted Sulu to reach up across his console to do some maneuver. He protested. Yes, the reach would be dramatic, except the button the director wanted pushed was the self destruct button. And the fans would point this out loudly.
Back to researching and fixing all those details.
Hazel Whitmore is now a teenager trying to adjust to living miles from town with no cell service. She does have internet now, although, as is typical in rural Missouri, it is slow, maddeningly slow.
Life should be settling down. That would be a boring book. Books need excitement, things happening. Hazel’s life flares up, target of someone with a grudge in “Mistaken Promises.”.
Once the question of who this someone is was settled, the book draft got written. Now the rewriting and editing are in full swing. Now all the details need attention.
Hazel loves to cook. She started cooking in “Broken Promises” as a way of coping with her hidden grief. Focusing on cooking let her mind relax. Cooking still relaxes her.
Hazel now has cookbooks, her grandmother’s recipe box and new foods to experiment with. These recipes are based on ones I use. I’m a casual cook, liking the process, but rarely having the time for special recipes. I have dietary restrictions and habits so I change recipes to suit these.
This will not work very well for recipes included in “Mistaken Promises.” I will have to follow the recipes – mostly – to make sure they are right before putting them in the book’s recipe section. At present there are fourteen foods Hazel makes. Some are repeats from previous books.
Hazel and Lily will take pictures for the local paper over the summer using their DSLR camera, a lucky find. That is, they will once they decipher the instructions.
My camera is not a DSLR. Luckily I do have access to the proper instruction book. Study time followed by rewrite time is on the agenda.
A county fair is part of the action. I’ve been to county fairs years ago. Still, I plan to check out the local version this year. More details.
At times ignoring these details is tempting. Write it so it sounds right. No one will notice. Wrong.
I remember an old story about the original Star Trek series. A new director wanted Sulu to reach up across his console to do some maneuver. He protested. Yes, the reach would be dramatic, except the button the director wanted pushed was the self destruct button. And the fans would point this out loudly.
Back to researching and fixing all those details.
Mixing Real Life With Writing
The other day I finally baked a chocolate cake with icing to check the recipe for the third Hazel Whitmore book “Mistaken Promises.” Strangely enough this turned into a lesson on writing.
In preparation I had taken out all of my cookbooks containing cake and icing recipes. I compared the cake recipes, debated them and rejected them. In the end I used a familiar one with a couple of improvements.
Stay with what you know. Experimentation is fine, but stay rooted as your shortcomings will come through glaringly. Research alone does not make you an expert.
The icing recipes were frightening. I hadn’t made icing since I was in high school and that was a disaster. The temptation to say, “Buy a can of frosting.” was so inviting. Hazel wouldn’t do that. She loves to cook and would consider making the icing herself a challenge.
Know your characters. Having a character do something he or she would not do without explanation disrupts your story’s world.
Most of the recipes called for boiling the icing to something called a “soft ball stage” where a drop of icing in cold water forms a ball. This, I found out, is 234° on a candy thermometer, something I do have although I have never used it.
Still, the easy, no boiling frosting was preferable. And here came problems. It called for powdered milk, something I don’t have. So I substituted milk for this and sugar in place of the honey naively thinking this would solve the moisture problem.
And had chocolate soup.
How many times do we happily type along and end up with soup? The plot falls apart. The characters become ridiculous. The whole project seems disastrous.
And we have a choice to make. We can abandon the project relegating it to a forgotten file. We can decide what went wrong and how to fix it.
I stood looking at my chocolate soup. It definitely was not icing. Why not? It was liquid. How did other recipes solve this problem?
Boiled recipes used confectioner’s or powdered sugar. There are two differences between regular sugar and confectioner’s sugar.
One is the fineness of the sugar. Since the sugar is dissolved, this does not matter.
The second is corn starch. Corn starch is an interesting substance. Added to liquid and heated to boiling, it absorbs the liquid and thickens it.
I made boiled icing adding additional sugar and corn starch. Did I reach the soft ball stage? I’m not sure. I do know the icing boiled and thickened into a creamy chocolate substance that spread onto the cake very well.
“Mistaken Promises” too has had its problems. The plot fell apart. I took the time to find the problem, decide on a solution and fix the book.
I hope the book came out as good as my icing did.
In preparation I had taken out all of my cookbooks containing cake and icing recipes. I compared the cake recipes, debated them and rejected them. In the end I used a familiar one with a couple of improvements.
Stay with what you know. Experimentation is fine, but stay rooted as your shortcomings will come through glaringly. Research alone does not make you an expert.
The icing recipes were frightening. I hadn’t made icing since I was in high school and that was a disaster. The temptation to say, “Buy a can of frosting.” was so inviting. Hazel wouldn’t do that. She loves to cook and would consider making the icing herself a challenge.
Know your characters. Having a character do something he or she would not do without explanation disrupts your story’s world.
Most of the recipes called for boiling the icing to something called a “soft ball stage” where a drop of icing in cold water forms a ball. This, I found out, is 234° on a candy thermometer, something I do have although I have never used it.
Still, the easy, no boiling frosting was preferable. And here came problems. It called for powdered milk, something I don’t have. So I substituted milk for this and sugar in place of the honey naively thinking this would solve the moisture problem.
And had chocolate soup.
How many times do we happily type along and end up with soup? The plot falls apart. The characters become ridiculous. The whole project seems disastrous.
And we have a choice to make. We can abandon the project relegating it to a forgotten file. We can decide what went wrong and how to fix it.
I stood looking at my chocolate soup. It definitely was not icing. Why not? It was liquid. How did other recipes solve this problem?
Boiled recipes used confectioner’s or powdered sugar. There are two differences between regular sugar and confectioner’s sugar.
One is the fineness of the sugar. Since the sugar is dissolved, this does not matter.
The second is corn starch. Corn starch is an interesting substance. Added to liquid and heated to boiling, it absorbs the liquid and thickens it.
I made boiled icing adding additional sugar and corn starch. Did I reach the soft ball stage? I’m not sure. I do know the icing boiled and thickened into a creamy chocolate substance that spread onto the cake very well.
“Mistaken Promises” too has had its problems. The plot fell apart. I took the time to find the problem, decide on a solution and fix the book.
I hope the book came out as good as my icing did.
