Just to remind anyone interested that the blog has now moved to DGRose.com. I've just posted a new entry, all about what I learned when I caught the bus to Cartagena, which was a surprising amount. I hope you'll join me over there and let me know what you think of the new site. The post is at http://dgrose.com/?p=32. See you there :)
An aspiring writer, I blog about my journey as I work toward publishing my first novel.
Saturday, 27 September 2014
Saturday, 6 September 2014
After the first draft ends
It has been said that the only certainty in life is change. Caterpillars become butterflies. Students become unemployed. Cows become steak. Change.
The one thing that has seemed to stand alone in defiance against the tide of change is my first draft. It shames me to say that it has been twenty one months and six days since I typed 'The End' on my first draft. In that time I can tell you exactly how much it has changed: not one single word. Not one single letter. Not even a full stop added or taken away.
First of all I'd read that you should get some distance after writing the first draft, so you can see it more critically when you go back to revise. Then, after a month had passed, I returned to the draft and cast my critical eye over it. I circled it for a bit, poking it with a stick to see what would happen. I printed it out, red pen at the ready. After a few pages of red lines and professional looking scribbles, I put the pen down and wondered what the hell I was doing.
Struggling to work out my next step, I found a few willing volunteers and let them have a look at the rough draft. The response was positive, better than I had expected. They let know what worked, and more importantly, what didn't work.
So what did I do with all that good advice? Nothing.
Knowing I had to something, I started reading as many writing books as I could get my hands on. In particular, I felt that the structure and plot needed tightening up, and I read some excellent books on the subject. 'Structuring Your Novel' by +K.M. Weiland and 'Plot And Structure' by +James Scott Bell have both been invaluable in helping me understand a bit more about making a tight well-structured story, whilst 'Nail Your Novel' by +Roz Morris is a book I will return to time and again, all books I would recommend to other aspiring authors without hesitation. I worked on deep character profiles and transcribing my story onto index cards along with many other exercises, all of which were helpful. Yet still the first draft lay there, staring at me in an accusing fashion.
So it was that earlier this week, I came to the end of yet another writing book and started looking for yet another one to read. It was then it struck me, that I've read enough books to do what I need to do, so why wasn't I getting on with it and actually revising this damned book? I realised that reading all these writing books had become a way of me feeling like I was writing without actually having to put my butt in the seat and put pen to paper. I have no doubt I will read many more books on the craft on writing, and I will doubtlessly go on learning more each time, but if I wait until I've read every single one before I carry on with the redrafting, then the story will never progress. And progress is essential.
So no more waiting. No more paralysis through analysis. I'm going to finish up this blog post, and I'm going to go straight out to buy a tub of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Then, I'm going to come back and I'm going to work out exactly what scenes need to be written to complete the novel, and I'm going to actually write them. It's time for change.
The one thing that has seemed to stand alone in defiance against the tide of change is my first draft. It shames me to say that it has been twenty one months and six days since I typed 'The End' on my first draft. In that time I can tell you exactly how much it has changed: not one single word. Not one single letter. Not even a full stop added or taken away.
First of all I'd read that you should get some distance after writing the first draft, so you can see it more critically when you go back to revise. Then, after a month had passed, I returned to the draft and cast my critical eye over it. I circled it for a bit, poking it with a stick to see what would happen. I printed it out, red pen at the ready. After a few pages of red lines and professional looking scribbles, I put the pen down and wondered what the hell I was doing.
Struggling to work out my next step, I found a few willing volunteers and let them have a look at the rough draft. The response was positive, better than I had expected. They let know what worked, and more importantly, what didn't work.
So what did I do with all that good advice? Nothing.
Knowing I had to something, I started reading as many writing books as I could get my hands on. In particular, I felt that the structure and plot needed tightening up, and I read some excellent books on the subject. 'Structuring Your Novel' by +K.M. Weiland and 'Plot And Structure' by +James Scott Bell have both been invaluable in helping me understand a bit more about making a tight well-structured story, whilst 'Nail Your Novel' by +Roz Morris is a book I will return to time and again, all books I would recommend to other aspiring authors without hesitation. I worked on deep character profiles and transcribing my story onto index cards along with many other exercises, all of which were helpful. Yet still the first draft lay there, staring at me in an accusing fashion.
So it was that earlier this week, I came to the end of yet another writing book and started looking for yet another one to read. It was then it struck me, that I've read enough books to do what I need to do, so why wasn't I getting on with it and actually revising this damned book? I realised that reading all these writing books had become a way of me feeling like I was writing without actually having to put my butt in the seat and put pen to paper. I have no doubt I will read many more books on the craft on writing, and I will doubtlessly go on learning more each time, but if I wait until I've read every single one before I carry on with the redrafting, then the story will never progress. And progress is essential.
So no more waiting. No more paralysis through analysis. I'm going to finish up this blog post, and I'm going to go straight out to buy a tub of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Then, I'm going to come back and I'm going to work out exactly what scenes need to be written to complete the novel, and I'm going to actually write them. It's time for change.
Monday, 1 September 2014
Professional vs Amateur Writing
Being a top level procrastinator, one of my biggest struggles is finding the time to write. I always have a million and one things that need doing, and writing often gets put onto the 'Tomorrow' list. So it was with interest that I started reading Stephen Pressfield's book 'The War of Art.' Mr Pressfield puts forward that all of us face an ominous 'Resistance,' a force from within that has the sole objective of doing what's really important (not necessarily what's urgent, a very important distinction).
One of my favourite sections so far is where the book compares the Amateur vs the Professional. After making the point that all of us are professionals in the sense that we work and (hopefully) get paid in our day jobs, the book lists the qualities that define us as professionals, the first three of which are as follows:
- Professionals show up every day.
- Professionals show up no matter what.
- Professionals stay on the job all day.
The book goes on to list other qualities, but those first three made me think. I went to work today at my day job, exchanging 8 hours of my life for a paycheck. I felt completely lousy this morning, having spent the previous evening sick as a dog and getting very little sleep, but I turned up anyway. My boss expects me to be there from 9am until 5pm, so that's what I do.
So how come as a writer, it doesn't seem to quite work the same? There are plenty of days I don't 'show up' to write, and it only takes the smallest excuse or distraction for me to not just quit writing, but fail to even start. To cut a long story short, if I were my boss, as a writer, I'd have fired myself a long time ago.
That's why this is going to be a short blog post tonight. Sure, it's been a long day, and the idea of crashing out on the sofa watching TV sounds most appealing. But the boss has had a word with me. There's work to be done.
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