When It Doesn't Work

[sleigh]

I just tossed out about the last 4,000 words I'd written for the novel-in-progress -- almost a week's worth of work. My subconscious had been trying to tell me for the last few days that this was the wrong path, the Big Clue being that rather than being eager to write the scenes I was writing, I was having to force myself to sit down and work. For me, that's often a sign that something's wrong. Last night I asked myself the hard question about whether or not the section I was writing was actually contributing significantly to the protagonist's character arc, and the honest answer was "no, not really."

So this morning I performed the surgery, cutting the scenes, saving the few bits I needed for plot purposes, and moving the rest aside. No, I didn't delete the scenes -- I've kept them, in case I change my mind, but I don't think I will.

Sometimes, making forward progress requires going backwards.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

I hate it when that happens. But it's nearly always for the good, in my case.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

In my experience, also. "Trimming the fat" is definitely part of revision.

[smofbabe.livejournal.com]

Brave of you! Maybe it will mean that the next part will go faster and so it will even out? :->

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

Well, I put 1,500 new words on the manuscript yesterday -- ones I'll be keeping. :-)

[lollardfish.livejournal.com]

Good work. I recently turned 45,000 words into 17,000, essentially losing a month. Necessary though.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

Ouch! But I understand the 'necessary' part, believe me -- when it doesn't work, it doesn't work.

[netmouse.livejournal.com]

ah, I meant to ask you at Midwestcon how the current novel is going, since I rarely get a chance to catch up on FB or LJ.

I hope we can find the time at bubonicon to visit, maybe grab a bite to eat in a group of substantially less than 20 people. :)

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

Actually, the revision's going well enough -- though it's a more significant revision at this point in the process than usual. But that's OK, as long as it results in a better book in the end.

Bubonicon is pretty packed for me, but hopefully we'll have a chance to sit down and talk!