Indigo Update

[rj_anderson]

Hit the 40,000 word mark last night. More than halfway there!

The problem with writing a first draft in just over a month is that while it's very useful for reassuring you that the story does, in fact, hang together, there is a certain discouraging aspect of turning out substandard prose day after day after day.

I keep thinking wistfully that if I could just write one really good -- not perfect, but good -- scene, something that makes me feel happy and proud to have written it... but there are no such scenes in the book, not yet. No time for polishing at this stage, no chance to go back and verify that the pacing's right and the emotions ring true and the mood is consistent, none of the things that elevate a novel from Action to Story. As Laurie King put it in her recent blog entry on revision (which is excellent by the way, and well worth reading), the first draft is really more like a 300-page outline. And useful as they may be, nobody really wants to read an outline.

So here I go again, off to the sausage grinder, squishing out words. Yay?

Comments

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

Aw, I know this feeling. The knowledge that everything you've written is...kind of crappy, even if it does mean that you're on the right track.

Just think, though. Rewriting will be so much more satisfying, having gone through this. (At least, so I've found.)

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

Have you? *takes deep breath* Okay. Okay.

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I call my first drafts "how NOT to write this story," which means it gets a lot of the obvious and unworkable stuff out of the way, freeing me to get even more creative than I usually would when I come back to it for the rewrite.

[dolorous-ett.livejournal.com]

I get just the same feeling with my translations. For the first draft I churn out as much as I can - including multiple meanings of words or phrases if I can't decided which one will do, rude comments about the plot, notes to self to check things...

It looks awful... And yet, given enough time and polishing, you can get a convincing final version out of it all.

Be strong!

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

Thank you, that's very reassuring. *clings*

[newport2newport.livejournal.com]

I've been watching and cheering you on from the start. Yay for the FDE crew, and yay for you, reaching an amazing 40,000 words!

I've got a much shorter outline, and I hope to have it finished by the time the FDE pulls into the depot. Still, I can't guarantee this new track I'm taking is the *perfect* approach.

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

Yeah, any new approach is scary. I'm so used to growing my story from a tiny seed and seeing it branch out in unexpected directions, and only finding out at the very end what kind of plot it really is (even though that often means I have to do a lot of pruning)... whereas this method feels more like I'm building a house with Lego, while looking at the instructions all the while. Efficient it may be, but I'm still not sure I like it!

But I really appreciate the encouragement -- thanks so much. And yay for you, too! I think this FDE thing has been great and I hope it continues.

[rose-in-shadow.livejournal.com]

I felt the same upon writing my NaNo novel--50,000 words in 30 days should be a torture reserved for the deepest, darkest part of the dungeon.

The good side though, is that, as you mention, you'll have an outline and the revising process should be easier.

Good luck!

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

Were you pleased with your NaNo novel, once you'd revised it? Or have you not got to that stage of things yet?

[rose-in-shadow.livejournal.com]

I haven't gotten to the revising stage yes. I got distracted by another plot bunny for "Fairborn" and that's occupied me for more than a year now. However, I was pleased after NaNo ended that I did have the story down and out and revising should be easier when I do get around to it. Yes, the writing quality is not what I would like, but still, the bones are there. Muscles and organs will come later.

[jmprince.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing the thought that the first draft is really more like a 300-page outline. I've felt like this might be the case with my WIP, and it's heartening to know that published professionals feel this way, too. Because, the thing is, I know my WIP has some redeeming qualities that I'm hoping I can mold and sculpt into something really great...but right now, it sucks!