There's nothing like pen & paper
First of all -- thank you, Laurie for the fabulous review you posted over on Amazon! Part of her review described Magic Lost, Trouble Found as "The Lord of the Rings meets The Sopranos." I love it; that's just priceless! ; )
So how did it go with trying to write my way out of the muck on The Trouble With Demons? I've realized I'm having my usual case of "first draftitis." While most writers love the discovery of the first draft, let's just say that it's not my favorite part of the process. I just want to get the story down as close to how I want it as possible, THEN the fun part starts for me. I'm an editor; I love tearing a manuscript apart, moving stuff around, then putting it back together, embellishing, polishing -- that's when the book comes to life for me. Don't get me wrong, some good stuff comes out of those first drafts -- about a quarter of the chapters from the first draft turn out to be what's on the bookstore shelves with few changes. But for the most part, I have to endure first drafts to get to the stuff I really enjoy. I like fixing things, and if I haven't written it yet, I can't fix it.
Which brings me to what I did yesterday. For you writers, if (or shall I say when) you ever get stuck, I can highly recommend writing the old fashioned way -- pen, paper, imagination. Without my computer, I didn't have access to my notes. No notes means no sidetracking, no confusing the core story with things I thought I might need to include. That makes for a crowded brain; and for me, a crowded brain is an unproductive brain. My only reference notes yesterday were the ones I have between my ears. Lately, I've been wondering if that space wasn't hollow, but from what all I got done yesterday, apparently it isn't. Thank God!
Writing longhand also keeps me focused on the scene I'm writing, which helps immerse me into the scene, so I can get honest, genuine dialogue, and dig deeper into the story rather than skimming the surface by trying to fit in everything my notes say I should. Having no notes to refer to also makes it harder to put words in my characters' mouths (which is a big no-no). It makes me shut up and listen. And when I truly listen, I find myself in the writer's "sweet spot" -- where I'm not writing dialogue, I'm taking dictation. : )
So how did it go with trying to write my way out of the muck on The Trouble With Demons? I've realized I'm having my usual case of "first draftitis." While most writers love the discovery of the first draft, let's just say that it's not my favorite part of the process. I just want to get the story down as close to how I want it as possible, THEN the fun part starts for me. I'm an editor; I love tearing a manuscript apart, moving stuff around, then putting it back together, embellishing, polishing -- that's when the book comes to life for me. Don't get me wrong, some good stuff comes out of those first drafts -- about a quarter of the chapters from the first draft turn out to be what's on the bookstore shelves with few changes. But for the most part, I have to endure first drafts to get to the stuff I really enjoy. I like fixing things, and if I haven't written it yet, I can't fix it.
Which brings me to what I did yesterday. For you writers, if (or shall I say when) you ever get stuck, I can highly recommend writing the old fashioned way -- pen, paper, imagination. Without my computer, I didn't have access to my notes. No notes means no sidetracking, no confusing the core story with things I thought I might need to include. That makes for a crowded brain; and for me, a crowded brain is an unproductive brain. My only reference notes yesterday were the ones I have between my ears. Lately, I've been wondering if that space wasn't hollow, but from what all I got done yesterday, apparently it isn't. Thank God!
Writing longhand also keeps me focused on the scene I'm writing, which helps immerse me into the scene, so I can get honest, genuine dialogue, and dig deeper into the story rather than skimming the surface by trying to fit in everything my notes say I should. Having no notes to refer to also makes it harder to put words in my characters' mouths (which is a big no-no). It makes me shut up and listen. And when I truly listen, I find myself in the writer's "sweet spot" -- where I'm not writing dialogue, I'm taking dictation. : )
posted by Lisa Shearin at
8:02 AM
2 Comments:
Glad you liked the review, Lisa. :)
"First draftitus." LOL Know it well. I'll have to remember that phrase.
Yep, I'm still having first draftitis. I'm having to remind myself that it's on the second pass that my books come to life. On first drafts, I feel like I'm constantly doing CPR.
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