9/18/11 - 9/25/11 | Apathy's Hero

TLIF - MMM...Writing Mojo

It's amazing how much the little things can make a difference when I'm writing. I usually know what I've got a block that I just need a little pebble to dislodge in order to fix things, but the problem is figuring out which pebble.

It's rarely the same one twice. And never twice in a row. I'm one of those people who has more success trying new approaches than doing what worked last time.

I've been trying to get back into these revisions of my story for months now. I can tell because the last time I started a major overhaul was in May. MAY. And I only made it about halfway through even though I knew exactly what needed to happen in the whole story.

Okay, that's a lie. I made it about 1/4 of the way through. But 1/4 is 1/2 of 1/2 and so it's practically 1/2, especially since it's 200 times closer to 1/2 than it is to 1.

Anyway...I made a tiny little tweak. And a little bigger one. The first was changing the POV, like I mentioned yesterday. That's freed up so much room to let this particular story flow. From where I sit, it's allowed a lot more room for the kind of world building I need here, without being too 'telly'. I don't know that for sure and I'm hoping my CP's will confirm it for me, but that's the way I see it.

I also figured out I was stifling my character. I let her voice flow, and she's got a great one (I think), and then I forced it into this depressing...dare I say 'Bella-esque' (that's my term, you can borrow it if you want) reactionary state.

Once I stopped making her wallow in self-pity, she forgave me for mistreating her and started to shine on the page again.

It's true, I'm only into day 3 of revisions. But considering the last six months I've had a hard time writing for more than 2 hours every million or so days, I consider this progress.

What's your current writing achievement? Share and let us celebrate with you ^_^ (That means Kate, and Laura and everyone!)

You walk into the room...

I finally grabbed my USB drive and finished a whole chapter of revisions yesterday. In the process I made an amazing, brain shattering, fantastic discovery. This isn't the first time I've had this revelation, but I always have to have it again.

I found out why I didn't love poor Ronnie anymore. And why she had stopped talking to me. And once I figured it out, I didn't blame her. I'd stop talking to me too if I made me into a whiny, withdrawn, incapable brat.

So I've given her back her strength and personality, and she no longer finishes every single chapter curling up into a ball in the corner of her apartment and sobbing because the voices in her head just. won't. shut. up.

I wish I was exaggerating, but no. Almost every single chapter read like that. And I have to wonder what kind of dark, whiny place my own brain was in that I thought that was compelling conflict. I mean, sure I can see how it would be to a certain audience. But that audience isn't me.

I think part of this came from reading the very early versions of the same story. Like the original draft. The original draft has something in it none of the other versions have, and while I kind of miss it (it has some awesome lines in it, if I can toot my own horn about that ;-), I know why I had to cut it.

I called them intermissions. Ronnie talks to the reader. The Ronnie who already knows how the story ends, because she's the one telling it.

The story was also entirely in first person. The intermissions first person present, the rest first person past. Something that didn't survive the first draft. And I hesitate to bring that back because...well...because I think too many books are written in a first person POV and I get tired of it.

But I've always said that a story needs to be written from the perspective that benefits it the most, regardless of trends, so I'm probably going to switch it to first person as I make this final revision.

And maybe someday I'll find a good excuse to post those snippets of intermission outside of the random quotes that have littered my tumblr for the last week.

Do you think POV be influenced more by the story or by author preference?

I'm Going to...Really I Am...

I'm putting off my revisions. I was all set to dive back in today. I even psyched myself out for it at 4 this morning. I knew exactly what I needed to do. I still want to meet my deadline of being done by the end of the month. Someone reminded me yesterday that September ends in a week. Which isn't true. I still have nine days. That's almost a week and a half. Which is really almost like two weeks. So I still have two weeks to finish right?

I would have worked on it this morning before work, but I slept in (because I was awake at 4 am...so good excuse, right?) Or maybe I could have done it after I finished automating a process that didn't need to be automated because supposedly it's going away soon. Soon being a relative term, I decided to do it anyway. But it's work, not procrastination. I'm supposed to be doing work here.

Besides, I keep forgetting to bring my USB drive with me when I'm in places where I can write. It sits right next to my laptop. So I don't know if my subconscious is having me leave it behind because it doesn't want me to revise, or if I'm just forgetful.

I should look into cloud storage. Then I wouldn't have to worry about forgetting my USB drive. But then I'd have to set it up. And remember to transfer my files to it. And I don't trust clouds yet, because I work too closely with the technology and it makes me nervous, even though that's on a whole different level.

or I could write it all in google docs. Which is cloud-like anway, but actually has a word processor attached to it and I could access it from anywhere.

Except I don't like the way it exports to Word. it screws up my formatting to switch back and forth between the two and I'm a creature of habit and besides, my story is in Scrivener right now anyway and that's not really a compatible format...

But none of these are excuses. Not at all. I'm not putting it off because I have trouble finding balance in world-building. I know what's too much. I know what's too little. I know my world. I now know that Ronnie likes to dance when there's music and she hates to be talked down to, and she likes the material things in life but mostly only because they're new to her.

I just don't know where the middle-ground is once I cut out all the unneccesary.

And my mind has convinced me it has to be perfect this time. Which is ridiculous, but try telling that to my brain.

But I'm not procrastinating. Not me.

I'm going to lunch. That's it. I have to eat. And put my USB drive somewhere that I'll remember it next time I'm on my way to write. Like in my jeans pocket. And hope it doesn't go through the wash.

Yeah.

Does your subconscious ever procrastinate for you?

Guest Post: A Devil Inside

I wanted Ronnie to guest post today. She doesn't want to talk to anyone because she's sulking because someone pointed out I don't love her as much as I do some of my other characters. So she's got a ~~cheesy~~ inspirational 80's music video in response.

There's more to the song than what's on the surface, and she's just taken this song as her theme song.

I'm intrigued...