)At first I worried about why it was taking so long to get my ideas down. I had an outline of sorts, I knew where my story was going to go, and then it hit me. This was the first time in about one year that I was starting something from scratch.
The last three things I have worked on were revisions of a previous draft. No wonder this was taking longer to get down, as I have not learned my characters inside out yet. (Well, one of them I have, and his chapter was writing much easier than my other characters!)
What are you working on? Is it something new or revisions? Are you finding it hard to get into it, or has it swept you away like a rain swollen river? I'd love to hear about it, so share below!
I have found that every first draft manuscript progresses at a different pace. Some gallop forward. Others make several false starts before really gathering steam. Others plod along at a slow pace until the very end.
ReplyDeleteCurrently, I have a plodding WIP. But I had to put it aside to make editorial revisions for the book I'm publishing with Clarion. Revisions and editing for that project have totally consumed me.
I don't know what will happen to with my WIP when I return to it ...
Hi Mary,
ReplyDeleteI'm in the middle of a new WIP. (I started on it last June. But so many other things came up with my completed MS that I only got halfway through.) Right now, I'm like you. I'm at a point where the writing is hard. But what I've found when the writing gets hard like this is to plow through with whatever comes to mind, even if it's junk that might get deleted later. Then I find my way back to a part that "sweeps me away like a swollen river."
I finished my newest first draft last month, and like you, hadn't written one in over a year. I've been the doing massive rewrites. Usually I hate writing the first draft. Not so much this time. This time it was fun. I still prefer revisions, though. That's when the story really comes to life.
ReplyDelete