Ok, Now I'm Excited Again

I was down to the last nine pages of the edit, plus the new ending chapter I had to write from scratch. It turned out that I painted myself into a corner, or wrote a story to nowhere, I suppose in this case. What to do, what to do? I tried diagramming what I wanted the ending to be, but couldn't make it fit with the story I had in place. Uh oh.

If I couldn't make the ending fit the story, I would make the story fit the ending. Here's what I did: I typed my handwritten outline and made revisions. I made a quick sketch of what parts of the story would have to change and noted that on the printed outline. There was quite a bit of red by the time I was finished. To top it off I wrote some character sketches. Some would say you should write those before your fifth? draft. Whatever.

With these vital documents in hand I turned back to the computer. Draft 5 became draft 5a and away I went. Much to my surprise a lot of what I read was actually good. The first few days of the edit I flew through 20% of the novel. Not bad. The effort wasn't the slash and burn then rewrite extensively affair that previous revisions have been. Of course, this is not a major revision, just a tweak (hence the A in the draft number). For the most part I moved around sentences and paragraphs. I did write a fair amount, but took out much less. I added about eight computer pages and only took out one and a half.

The first few days went well, but the next two (also the last two) have been a little slower. A little background: There are two sections to the book - Before and Now. Before takes place (somewhat confusingly) in modern times. Now is 100-200 years in the future when life as we know it has been destroyed. Before is about 20% of the total. The past few days I've been working on Now, which during the previous edit I added a lot to the beginning. Reading it this week, it showed.

Some paragraphs looked scabbed together while the rest were obviously untouched or completely new. It might have been quicker for me to start over, but the thought of all that white is so intimidating. Methodically I moved paragraphs and sentences around to make the story flow with the new outline. On top of that I added a few paragraphs - Now was just not flowing as well as Before. There was so much revision that I added a new chapter. It's a short one, but it explains a lot to the reader. Previously I had spread out too many revelations through the entire story. Now, in Now, the reader gets a Cliff's Notes type explanation of the future (remember that Now is in the future).

To make a long story short - I have made some good changes that will make the story purposeful and upon reading my work over I feel that all the writing is finally at a level I am proud of.

Ugh

Lately I've been thinking that I should just give up, that the GIANT is a waste of time. I'll never work out the story, never make the plot believable for everyone. In the past I've felt this way when I've hit a block, a rut, and that is also the case now. So, just a chapter short of the finish, I'm putting the writing on hold.

Just a few minutes ago I sketched out a revised plot and restructured ending which I'm confidnet makes 100% more sense. I think next I'll type out my handwritten outline and reincorporate my newest ideas. THEN, I'll go back and rework the changed chapters and sections until I find myself at the new ending.

After that I'll keep to my old plan of revising the first section, then skipping the middle so I can incorporate similar language and structure into the ending, finishing with the middle. I'll keep my fingers crossed that I will then end up with a publishable book.

As a side note, I'm outlining another novel (as yet untitled) - I'm on the fifth or sixth draft of the outline and I've made extensive notes. I have four pages of characters names, motivation and descriptions and lots of notes on the story - so I'm learning! If I'm to be a writer after all, I'll try to be a good and efficient one.

Plans for the Next Edit

I continue to make major cuts towards the end here. Granted, I did revise the plot making much of the text outdated, but during past edits I think I cruised towards the end. Before, when I was near the end I tended to gloss over errors (this is obvious to me reading it now).

My plans for the next edit, starting sometime in the spring will be to revise the first section first, then I will jump into the ending. This should give me a fresh take on the end and also allow me to tie in themes and language from the beginning into the end.

I'm going to type my handwritten outline so I can make further changes to it before the next edit as I'm still having doubts wondering if readers will completely buy into the world I have created. Still I don't feel that I have explained themes enough. Is this a case of me trying to seek higher levels of perfection, or am I still coming into my own as a writer?

Draft 5 is nearing completion

I've had a lot of time to write lately and it's been going well. The weather has been nice this week which has also lifted my spirits and cast a warmer glow on the GIANT.

I've done a lot more cutting than writing lately - the total page count has dropped by ten or so this week. It had been holding steady at 200+ digital pages (probably 400 or so printed book pages), but now has dropped under 200. Much of the cut passages were marked "already covered" as I shifted the plot back somewhat. Too many of the revelations and developments were loaded at the end - which would made for a confusing and boring read. I have spread out the big points (excitement?) to add more suspense.

I'm closing in on the end of the draft, though I'm going to add a new ending to it. Now the ending is free floating, I'm going to add a section that makes it more concrete and answers some questions that were left floating.

Feeling Good

I'm feeling really good about the GIANT now. I have only 66 pages to go and am hitting a stretch of the book that doesn't need so much intensive work. When I have to rewrite a passage or a sentence I'm never sure if I'll like it on the edit, but when I'm happy with work I previously redid, well that's doubly good. I liked it when I wrote it and I like it now.

Despite my efforts at creating an outline I've had to pop around the story to answer questions that pop up. Most of the time this has been a case of me doubting my outline (it has been pretty thorough and accurate), only occasionally did I neglect to write a point down on the outline. The short? The outline I've written post story has been helpful and accurate.

When I've been popping around the story I have run across good parts, some of which I wrote on this current draft. Isn't that good news? I still like the work I wrote a few weeks or months ago. This book just might turn into something after all.

A Thin Stack Remains

After getting through the big conversation edit and revision I come back to a thin stack of printed pages. The conversation cut and edit was a lot of work, but as has been the case previously, well worth it. Formerly the story was disjointed and jumpy - its much smoother now.

I keep track of total pages and pages to go - six total pages were cut during the last editing session. I also keep a digital file of long cut passages, usually anything more than a sentence. My packratedness certainly extends to the electronic world, but I also like to keep all the cut material somewhere in case I decide to pull it back in (I have not yet) and to see how far I've come. The cut file now contains 25,000 words. Witness the wrath of the displeased writer.