Today’s word count: 1924 words
NANTUCKET total word count: 44,497 words
HARPER total word count: 5,435 words
I didn’t work on HARPER today. But I’m just 76 words short of my 2,000 word target, so I’m happy enough with that.
I’ve been fighting the urge to go back and revise both of my current writing projects. With NANTUCKET, I keep writing down new things that necessitate changing previously written sections.
Examples: I realize a character whom I had slotted to play a minor role is actually going to play a much larger role. Certain conversations don’t make sense anymore because of new directions that emerge as I’m writing. My two main police characters have changed their personalities somewhat, right down to a new nickname that other cops apply to both of them. None of these changes are reflected in the earlier scenes.
I think this must be one of the pitfalls of just going with the flow and not having a detailed outline. As I type and the story continues to emerge, the entire thing is incredibly fluid and flexible. What I write today has a profound effect on how the past needs to be.
I’m satisfying myself by scribbling down all the things I will need to change, and trusting that when it comes time to revise, I’ll catch all of the changes that need to be made.
With HARPER, I’ve been having an annoying time with the tense of some of the chapters. The story is told in alternating first person and then third person narrative. I started with the first person narrative in past tense, but I find I have to consciously keep it there, or I lapse almost immediately into present tense.
So of course, I decided yesterday that this was a sign that the first person narrative is better told in present tense. And now I’m itching to go back and fix up what I’ve written, and make the tense consistent.
I’m not letting myself do that either.
I’ve heard of authors who write a page a day, and spend the rest of the day polishing that page until it’s perfect. The next day, they write the next page, and revise it until it’s perfect. Other authors just aim to get the entire story down, and then revise the story from beginning to end.
When you’re writing, do you stop and revise as you go? Or do you get the whole story down first, and then go back to revise?
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I do the best that I can t just keep writing and to get it down first. Editing while writing at the same time is overwhelming for me. The process of editing in itself is overwhelming because like you say you have all of these changes to make and those changes usually present other changes, and the process can seem neverending.
.-= Nicole´s last blog ..Stop the Press! Do you disclaim? =-.
Interesting thoughts on narration and tense. I think a first-person narrator in the present tense is best for short, dramatic scenes (I have used it for some of my writing exercises, e.g. the one of today). For longer texts the past sense seems most natural to me.
“When you’re writing, do you stop and revise as you go? Or do you get the whole story down first, and then go back to revise? ”
I think the best way is to write away and revise afterwards, but I usually do the opposite. I am too much of a perfectionist even when it comes to first drafts so I write embarrassingly slowly much of the time. I can´t even help correcting typing errors immediately, just to realize that my computer has done so already ;(
.-= Dorte H´s last blog ..In His White Shirt =-.
I agree that it’s best to get it down first. In my view, keeping it fluid lets the story develop more fully, but if it’s fluid, then you’ll be going back and revising the previous pages every day! Because of the fluidity, it will change again and again and again.
.-= Cathryn´s last blog ..Figuring it out =-.
Nicole, a part of me thinks revision would be fun. A part of me thinks, maybe not!
Dorte, the wonderful thing about a “perfectionist” method is that at the end of it all, your first draft is the final draft, in perfect state, right?
Cathryn, that’s a good point. I hadn’t quite thought of it like that. But it is all so very fluid, so it looks like noting down my changes is all I can do for now (or drive myself crazy!)