(no subject)

[mamculuna]

I've been thinking about revision (a sure sign that I'm not doing it!) I guess everybody finds revision the hardest part of writing, so sure I'm not alone in these feelings.

I'm convinced revision can make the difference between a fine book and a barely readable one, but I'm not convinced revision can make something worthwhile out of something that...basically sucks. And that's what happens to me. I can hate the first draft and still get it down, telling myself that the revision's going to fix everything up. And I can get lots of very specific and helpful critiques, and plan changes that will deal with the giant plot holes and implausible characters along with the lapses in grammar, memory, spelling, typing, general cluelessness, etc., etc.

And then I start work, and I start getting images of silk purses and sow's ears. It begins to seem that the real problem is not so much any of the ways I've worked things out as it is the whole concept.

And then I reach the stage of not trusting my own judgment, of not being able to tell if the rewrite is better or worse than the original.

Bah! there's got to be a way to keep on revising in spite of all this.

I remind myself about yoga lessons and try to think about writing as a practice, not an acheivement, but you know, eventually I keep wanting readers.

I also recall that the mind never tires of finding reasons not to do hard work, especially when it has boring moments.

However, you'll notice that I'm currently over here doodling around in LJ instead another place in my computer...

Comments

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Sometimes you're right: some stories are sow's ears, and there's no sense trying to make silk purses out of them.

But sometimes what you need to make that judgment is an outside perspective. Too often we hear emphasized that an outsider can be brutal, can see flaws that the original author can't see, and that can be true. But it can also be true that an outsider can be much kinder than a perfectionist author.

The time I hold my breath the most is between rough draft and first response from a first-reader, because I trust that my first-readers will tell me, "Yes, this is good stuff" or "No, this isn't going to work," in addition to more details, and I don't know which it'll be. But I don't have to send drafts of a novel to a publisher without knowing that at least a handful of people believe in it, and that seems like a good thing for me. Someone who can say, yes, there's a lot of work to be done here, but it's work that's worth doing -- that's a valuable thing.

[c-mantix.livejournal.com]

And then I reach the stage of not trusting my own judgment, of not being able to tell if the rewrite is better or worse than the original.

Well, unless the lazy gene is the one whispering in your ear at times like this (and I don't think it is), it seems to be a good time to walk away from the text for a time; that is, if that is at all feasible. I've no idea whether you are on a deadline or not.

Hopefully, some LJ doodling has given you some perspective on both versions... :-p

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Oh, no deadline! This is fiction, purely for my own reasons, and not yet even at the stage of approaching an agent. In fact, I worry about doing too much getting away from it--the lazy gene and the fear gene, they're always hanging out together.

But yes, LJ doodling does very much help! Thanks for listening!

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

I really, really benefit from readers. I use OWW and am totally thankful for those comments. Some are truly professional. But have only one person (my writing partner) that I feel able to ask to read different version of same chapter or even sentence and paragraph--and feel like there are limits to how much even she can stand.

[bhadrasvapna.livejournal.com]

For me it comes down to something C.S. Lewis said to JRR Tolkien, "Tollers, they don't make the books we want to read so we are going to have to write them ourselves." or something with that jist.

I try to write the book I would want to read. As long as I do that, at least one person wants to read my book. I'm not unique, so maybe that number might even hit the double digits.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Great quote--Oh, exactly. It's just that when I take a look at the draft, it's not just that it's not yet the book I want to read--it's that I question whether it ever can be.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Yah, it can be hard to start to feel like you're the eye doctor and your writing partner is the patient: "This, or this? This, or this?" My sympathies.