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Is this hard for anyone else?
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by
G.
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Aug 21, 2012 07:48PM
"Conventional" wisdom says that once your first (or second, or third) draft is completed, to set it aside for a while (days, weeks, a month or more) before beginning to edit. I understand wanting to have a fresh eye to go over it, but does anyone besides me find it hard to leave it alone for that long? I just want to keep tweaking little bits here and there. Argh!
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That's what I use my beta reading period for. That always takes at least a month or more, so I don't touch it again until I hear from all my beta readers and then I get to tackle it again with that break. ^_^
Mod
The beauty part about that is, once I've published it (print & ebook), then that's usually when I'll leave it alone. Me, I'm a little OCD. I want the same version of the book everywhere, so if I make a change then that means I have to get the file prepped for the KDP update process again, get the file ready for Smashword's meatgrinder process, and update the print edition which forces me to re-order the proof copy. It's an ordeal, let me tell you.
So it'd have to be one helluva typo/goof to justify correcting once it's been published.
Mod
Jeffrey wrote: "Consequently, it's happened to me several times in a row. Should that happen to you, may I suggest printing out a handy-dandy sheet of seldom used, hard-to-find expletives? Somehow the boring ol'..."Do they come in different languages?
Actually, I'm talking about after first draft, but before beta readers. I don't want the beta readers finding massive amounts of typos and stuff, I want them to be able to focus on the story and flow. It's that wait that's killing me, lol. The wait between finished first draft and initial edit. Once the beta readers have it, I'll start working on another project until I get their feedback.
Mod
Once I get it back then I'll fix the problems and move on to the next chapter. Once I've finished writing the book, then I'll put it on her iPhone (or Nook) and let her read it from start to finish. Naturally she'll find more problems. Once the final draft has been edited by me (again) to fix the mistakes, thereby earning the SSoA (Spousal Stamp of Approval), then it'll be off to the Beta Readers. Once I get all the feedback back it's off to the editor. Once it's back again, and I either make changes or veto suggested changes, it's time to publish.
The problem is.... Hmmm. Let me give you an example.
I start writing Chapter 12. If it's been a day or two since I've last worked on it, I always go backwards a few pages so I can get back into the story. Once I'm now 3 or 4 pages in Chapter 11, I start nit-picking what I'm reading, making corrections, etc. I can spend hours doing that. When I finally make it to the end of Chapter 11, I'm thinking not bad, I finished the chapter. Then it dawns on me that I haven't actually written anything new.
Of course my wife hits me with, "Are you done yet?"
Over and over and over. :) So I start back on Chapter 12 and get several thousand words into it before Dandelion Boy here (please reference Happy Cow Commercials with the racing cows distracted by dandelions - if you're confused!) gets distracted by something else and I'm off on a tangent.
Sensing something amiss, my wife conveniently walks back by. "Finished yet?"
Damn. Back to MS Word 2007.
Sadly, this can go on and on an on and on... :)
lol At least your wife checks on it. I couldn't pay my wife to read my stuff. On my first book, when I'd start writing again, I couldn't just go back a few pages. I'd have to re-read (or at least skim) all the way from the beginning.
As you can guess, the last few chapters took a while to write. :-D
At least now, I only go back a couple of chapters. The writers who can just fly through the first time and write everything down without looking back just boggle my mind (yes, that's a hint of jealousy you see).
Mod
From what I hear, I definitely lucked out with my wife. She not only will point out problems with my book, she'll even suggest changes!
Her: "Hmmm, you mentioned over here at the waterfall that they couldn't see anything in the water, but on this page you say that he did. If you change this to that then the overall flow would work."
Me: "Oh, okay dear." :)
See, this is precisely why I don't re-read what I've already written when I'm writing a draft. I'd never move forward! I will reread my scene-by-scene plot notes to get a general idea and then just keep writing.I write my first draft and do one read-through, correcting any continuity errors or major goofs, but then I send it to my beta readers. They all understand what a rough draft it is and what I'm looking for in their opinions, so I usually don't have issues there.
My husband will read my stuff, but only once it's done. He doesn't like it piece meal. But he's good on it, cause he's also a writer. (He co-wrote "Voracious" with me, and we're working on another project together now.)
It's very cool to see how other writers work, though. I always wonder about that kind of thing! But don't like to read books from big authors about it, just talk to other folk who do it. (Like we're doing here.)
Mod
I can't speak for other writers, but one thing I've noticed about myself is that in order for me to write, I have to be in a really good mood. I have a tendency to scowl if something bugs me. If I'm really bummed about something, or else something is bothering me (like why my wife insists on torturing me with Hell's Kitchen), then I get grumpy and it tends to show up in my writing.
There's a reason I have a Grumpy Disneyland sweatshirt, tee shirt, mug, watch, etc. :) My wife and my mom definitely have a sense of humor!
*lol* I totally get that. I don't necessarily have to be in a good mood. It can be a just okay mood, but anything worse off than that and my brain scatters. I can't even focus enough to write coherently.I could probably write in an angry mood, but it would probably show up in the unnecessarily gory death of some random character. Though in the paranormal stuff, that's not precisely a bad thing...
Yeah, I'm fairly easily distra-- there's a fly in here. ;-) I sometimes wonder how much I could accomplish if I went somewhere by myself for about a week that had no internet, no television, no phone, nothing. Just me and my laptop. I may have to try it sometime.
As far as mood, I'm kinda like Mia. Doesn't have to be great, just not bad.
I actually need the distractions. I need to have, like, the television and the internet to distract the random thoughts. When I try to just sit with me and the laptop and story notes, I get even more distracted and can't write anything. I'm very weird that way....okay, I'm weird in a lot of ways, but that's one of them!
Right now, I'm writing Kel'tara and watching Big Bang Theory. Not that the two have any relationship, really, other than BBT is awesome.
Sheldon: I believe that when the robots rise up, ATMs will lead the charge.LOL!!
*g* My favorite is still the first Christmas episode."I possess the DNA of Leonard Nimoy! Do you know what this means? With a healthy ovum, I could grow my own Leonard Nimoy!"
Of course, being as big a Trekkie geek as I am, I occasionally want to correct their Trek knowledge. :D
Yeah, that's my favorite too. I don't know how many times I've watched that clip on YouTube, but I still laugh every time.And now I have to go watch it again. :-)
Good times, good times. Though I didn't mean to hijack the thread. ^_^
Not so weird, Mia. I play the same distraction game at times. If I'm feeling restless or I can't quite motivate myself to start typing I'll use the tv to trance myself. I have it down to a very strange science; I have to put on a show or movie that I've already seen, but nothing that I like so much that I will actually pay attention. As I get into the writing, I start turning the volume down a notch here, a notch there, until I get rolling and finally shut the tv off.I used to rewrite on the fly as well until I realized how often I would re-rewrite or cut those chapters in later drafts. Now I start with a mini narrative that tells the plot and character arcs in short form. I rework that until I feel confident in the overall story. Then I do a first draft straight through (no look-backs). After the draft is done, I read it through to see what I've got, to see if the characters revealed anything new that needs to be incorporated into the plot. Sometimes I take a break for a week or two, then do a couple drafts before sending to beta readers.
Mod
My wife and I just crack up. Hits a little too close to home on a lot of things, but that's okay. :)
I only tried writing once when I was in a lousy mood. My wife picked up on it in the story instantly and I had to delete a few pages 'cause they were a wee bit dark. And usually when I'm writing, I have something playing in the background. Whether its the tv, or I have a movie on (has to be one I've seen a thousand times or else I'll end up watching it!), there has to be noise. I just don't do well with a quiet house. Drives me nuts.
It's so nice to know I'm not alone! Usually people I've talked to about writing, it has to be music. I can't write to music.I'm thinking when I write in the evenings, I'll need to start watching LotR again. Get in a good high fantasy mood. :)
Sounds like a good plan, Mia. I use music sometimes. I use the soundtrack from Firefly, Boderlands (the game) or Conan (also a game).
I listen to classic rock, but the music from Braveheart is good too.
Mod
Also I know a beta reader that doesn't get all distracted by typos if you want to send that draft out Dave lol.
Mod
Last weekend when I was working on getting my house ready for my mom to move in, I started with Down Periscope, then moved to Noises Off, then Blue Collar Comedy Tour, and finally Lord of the Rings - Two Towers - extended edition.
I usually get through my third draft before taking a break. When my first draft is done, I reread and fill in the plot holes (some of which are large enough to drive tractors through...) After that second draft, I go back and edit for typos, clunky sentences, i.e., basic self-editing. My husband reads my third draft, and then I go back and edit some more. My beta readers and my editor get my fourth draft. I usually take a break between the third and fourth draft (but it's no more than a few days since that's how long he takes to read it.) I work on a book at a time, so it's not like I get to do something else while waiting.
I usually listen to music when I write - just whatever song I happen to be in love with at the time. Sometimes it's something new I found on YouTube, sometimes something from the 80's I've rediscovered. I'll put it on repeat, and just write for a long time. A while ago it was Belinda Carlisle, for some reason. I hope the neighbours couldn't hear it :)
Anyway, as for being in a bad mood when I write - if I'm in a low mood for ages (weeks) I think it affects my writing a bit - or at the very least, it makes me less optimistic about my writing. All I'll focus on is what's wrong with my story, or how I won't be able to come up with a good ending, and it makes it much harder to write. It probably affects the tone of the book, too, but I probably can't rewrite the whole thing because of that. It'll just turn out to be a sadder book, I suppose. Can't be helped. I imagine plenty of the sad books out there weren't written by people who were super happy, and people still like a sad story. Unless it's supposed to be happy, in which case you're screwed :)
Anyway, as for being in a bad mood when I write - if I'm in a low mood for ages (weeks) I think it affects my writing a bit - or at the very least, it makes me less optimistic about my writing. All I'll focus on is what's wrong with my story, or how I won't be able to come up with a good ending, and it makes it much harder to write. It probably affects the tone of the book, too, but I probably can't rewrite the whole thing because of that. It'll just turn out to be a sadder book, I suppose. Can't be helped. I imagine plenty of the sad books out there weren't written by people who were super happy, and people still like a sad story. Unless it's supposed to be happy, in which case you're screwed :)
