Different Books -- Different Problems
I was distressed at the problem I ran into with Enchanted No More. A new one, but one I don't ever want to face again. Usually I consider my endings very solid. This is because lately I've reached the middle of the book and the idea for the ending scene(s) have leapt out and demanded to be written.
The problem with Enchanted No More was that I wrote about 5 endings (a total of 10 scenes or bits of scenes, 7K) over the period of the book -- that is, I wrote the first climax in November of last year, one in February, a bit here and there. And they clashed. And there was way too much action and not enough logical choreography for all that I'd planned to happen actually happen, especially not in the hour of book time.
I won't ever do that again. That's where my out-of-sequence writing technique really ambushed me. Especially as the book changed...so, for instance, there is a set up for a villain who became a red-herring. There was a set up for a death that didn't happen.
But trying to shoehorn these in and keep all the bits and make them work was agonizing -- especially since I'd thought I was running short ((93K is barely acceptable and I had 82K going into the home stretch).
So, now I am aware of this problem, I will keep an eye on it and myself in check.
For my first three books, I got stuck at the third turning point. I learned how to deal with that, now this crops up...
May you understand your flaws today, and not repeat them.
Robin
The problem with Enchanted No More was that I wrote about 5 endings (a total of 10 scenes or bits of scenes, 7K) over the period of the book -- that is, I wrote the first climax in November of last year, one in February, a bit here and there. And they clashed. And there was way too much action and not enough logical choreography for all that I'd planned to happen actually happen, especially not in the hour of book time.
I won't ever do that again. That's where my out-of-sequence writing technique really ambushed me. Especially as the book changed...so, for instance, there is a set up for a villain who became a red-herring. There was a set up for a death that didn't happen.
But trying to shoehorn these in and keep all the bits and make them work was agonizing -- especially since I'd thought I was running short ((93K is barely acceptable and I had 82K going into the home stretch).
So, now I am aware of this problem, I will keep an eye on it and myself in check.
For my first three books, I got stuck at the third turning point. I learned how to deal with that, now this crops up...
May you understand your flaws today, and not repeat them.
Robin
posted by FantasyAuthor RobinDOwens | 12:34 AM
1 Comments:
Yeah, not repeating the mistakes is the real kicker. Sometimes I find myself doing things I *know* don't work for me, and yet I keep doing them... But the first step is awareness, right? (g)
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