Writing or rewriting? - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T14:00:17Zhttp://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/537324:Topic:14364?x=1&id=537324%3ATopic%3A14364&feed=yes&xn_auth=noIt's according to the book. A…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-29:537324:Comment:151932007-03-29T16:11:22.844ZJackBludishttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JackBludis
It's according to the book. Although I find lately that I revise more.
It's according to the book. Although I find lately that I revise more. I am one of those that puts a…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-29:537324:Comment:151782007-03-29T16:03:17.830ZJannie Ballietthttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/tjannieballiett
I am one of those that puts a page by page through the wringer thirty times.<br></br><br></br>I tend to get the creative writing juices and write, finishing a few more chapters,<br></br>then might get stalled or feel I'm not as productive as I started, so I'll read and do rewrites of<br></br>earlier chapters.<br></br><br></br>For me, it not only strengthens and correct errors, but gets me kicked started again<br></br>with new ideas or better detail.<br></br>
<br />
My magic happens in the first draft, but it happens with…
I am one of those that puts a page by page through the wringer thirty times.<br/><br/>I tend to get the creative writing juices and write, finishing a few more chapters,<br/>then might get stalled or feel I'm not as productive as I started, so I'll read and do rewrites of<br/>earlier chapters.<br/><br/>For me, it not only strengthens and correct errors, but gets me kicked started again<br/>with new ideas or better detail.<br/>
<br />
My magic happens in the first draft, but it happens with rewrite,<br/>both. There are two kinds of magic. The draft being the creative magic, and the<br/>rewrite being the perfected, detailed, new and improved, magic.<br/><br/><br/>Aren't writers complicated? I'm trying to do this now. I…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-29:537324:Comment:147932007-03-29T00:08:19.035ZPari Noskin Taicherthttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/PariNT
I'm trying to do this now. I get stuck when I do too much revising while writing the first draft. <br />
<br />
Editing, once I've got that first draft, is a joy -- no matter how many times I have to go through it. <br />
<br />
Re: throwing out a draft <br />
I've only done that once -- with the book that will come out next Jan. I had to write the entire thing twice. Damn frustrating. But it simply wasn't editable (is that a word?) and had to be pitched the first time around.
I'm trying to do this now. I get stuck when I do too much revising while writing the first draft. <br />
<br />
Editing, once I've got that first draft, is a joy -- no matter how many times I have to go through it. <br />
<br />
Re: throwing out a draft <br />
I've only done that once -- with the book that will come out next Jan. I had to write the entire thing twice. Damn frustrating. But it simply wasn't editable (is that a word?) and had to be pitched the first time around. Let me "third" that statement.tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-29:537324:Comment:147882007-03-29T00:04:55.316ZBrian Thorntonhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianThornton
Let me "third" that statement.
Let me "third" that statement. I wish I could revise like yo…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-28:537324:Comment:147792007-03-28T23:48:54.466ZDave Whitehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/DaveWhite
I wish I could revise like you Duane. But instead, I have to write a full draft, let some others read it and then revise. We'll see if it works this time around, but who knows if it always will... I'm interested in the other results.
I wish I could revise like you Duane. But instead, I have to write a full draft, let some others read it and then revise. We'll see if it works this time around, but who knows if it always will... I'm interested in the other results. These days, I treat my first…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-28:537324:Comment:146332007-03-28T21:24:44.033ZSteve Mosbyhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/stevemosby
These days, I treat my first draft like a rehearsal. I do my best to get everything right first time out, but it always turns out I'm just assembling scenes: getting a few basics to work with, and so on.<br />
<br />
It's pretentious-sounding, but I do see it as the equivalent of making a film. Getting through the first draft is just collecting as much raw footage as possible: more than I'll ever need. The drafts that follow are about editing it all together, 'shooting' new scenes, changing the lighting,…
These days, I treat my first draft like a rehearsal. I do my best to get everything right first time out, but it always turns out I'm just assembling scenes: getting a few basics to work with, and so on. <br />
<br />
It's pretentious-sounding, but I do see it as the equivalent of making a film. Getting through the first draft is just collecting as much raw footage as possible: more than I'll ever need. The drafts that follow are about editing it all together, 'shooting' new scenes, changing the lighting, getting the structure right. And then, finally, smoothing the joins and sorting the grammar. <br />
<br />
I find it takes the pressure off a bit, thinking about it like that. Most of my problem lies in turning up, but if I know I'm only having a stab then I don't worry so much and just start typing. I never look back until the 1…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-28:537324:Comment:146232007-03-28T21:09:45.876ZSandra Scoppettonehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/sandrasc
I never look back until the 1st draft is finished. Then I go over it in hard copy. Put those changes back into computer. Next I print it out. Rewrite again. Back into computer. Hope it's finished. But I've never written a draft and thrown it out and rewritten as some writers (well, one writer) says he does.<br />
<br />
I do think I'd be in trouble if I tried to rewrite as I went along. Sometimes I have to look back because I forget what I've said, but that's the only reason. Wait until you're 165 years…
I never look back until the 1st draft is finished. Then I go over it in hard copy. Put those changes back into computer. Next I print it out. Rewrite again. Back into computer. Hope it's finished. But I've never written a draft and thrown it out and rewritten as some writers (well, one writer) says he does. <br />
<br />
I do think I'd be in trouble if I tried to rewrite as I went along. Sometimes I have to look back because I forget what I've said, but that's the only reason. Wait until you're 165 years old. I hate rewriting. I do it, bu…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-28:537324:Comment:145362007-03-28T18:10:41.908ZStephen Blackmoorehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/sblackmoore
I hate rewriting. I do it, but I hate it.<br />
<br />
For me, the first one is the "Vomit Draft", where everything just gets puked out onto the page. I just write. Keep moving and don't look back. Have to. If I go backward I want to fix things and that's not the time for me to do it. I break this rule a lot, though.<br />
<br />
Everything's painted in broad strokes (mix that with the vomit metaphor for a particularly colorful image) and the front of the story rarely matches the back. Or whatever it was that I'd set…
I hate rewriting. I do it, but I hate it.<br />
<br />
For me, the first one is the "Vomit Draft", where everything just gets puked out onto the page. I just write. Keep moving and don't look back. Have to. If I go backward I want to fix things and that's not the time for me to do it. I break this rule a lot, though.<br />
<br />
Everything's painted in broad strokes (mix that with the vomit metaphor for a particularly colorful image) and the front of the story rarely matches the back. Or whatever it was that I'd set out to do in the first place for that matter.<br />
<br />
After that, everything gets torn apart and scattered around like Legos. Then I start from the beginning again and rebuild it from the ground up. I'll keep most of it, but I'll correct spelling, grammar, how I want things to read. A lot of rearranging of scenes, bring in new characters, ditch old ones. This is the part where I'll let some people read it.<br />
<br />
The only god thing about this part is the fact that I'll inevitably despise the story by this point, so I'm happy to burn just about everything in it. Enough people tell me something's not working, out it goes. No attachment. Hell, I'm looking for excuses to cut shit.<br />
<br />
Somebody tells me it would work better in a different POV, though, and they're going home in a bag.<br />
<br />
By the time I get to the end of this part, I've rewritten a good fifteen or twenty times. Then, hopefully, it passes the "Doesn't Suck" test well enough and I can put a final polish on it. I'll second that. "Just" a sh…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-28:537324:Comment:145282007-03-28T17:53:34.336ZStephen Blackmoorehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/sblackmoore
I'll second that. "Just" a short story writer. Please.
I'll second that. "Just" a short story writer. Please. Rewriting, rewriting, rewriti…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-28:537324:Comment:145202007-03-28T17:29:51.217ZMark Troyhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/metroy
Rewriting, rewriting, rewriting. I've never had anything published that hadn't been through at least 7 drafts. That's not a magic number. It's just the fewest number of drafts I ever did on a story that sold. My novels are all double-digit drafts. My first drafts are always crap and the part of writing I hate the most. Once I have a draft finished, the writing becomes fun. I can make flat dialgoue zing, and characters come alive with somethng to work on in the rewrites. It's also in the rewrite…
Rewriting, rewriting, rewriting. I've never had anything published that hadn't been through at least 7 drafts. That's not a magic number. It's just the fewest number of drafts I ever did on a story that sold. My novels are all double-digit drafts. My first drafts are always crap and the part of writing I hate the most. Once I have a draft finished, the writing becomes fun. I can make flat dialgoue zing, and characters come alive with somethng to work on in the rewrites. It's also in the rewrite that I begin to think about the plot structure adn rearrange scenes for maximum effect. Of course my goal on every rewrite is to cut. I take the Michaelangelo approach--He's the guy that took a rock and cut away everything that wasn't David.