Well, this week I was more productive than I thought I’d be. I was able to rewrite out a new scene. Then while I was talking to a friend on Facebook just chatting away an idea came to me that might help to enhance the scene even better. But then a question came to my mind. “Is it worth all the effort to try and write the scene in the new way or take the easy route and just leave it be?”
Well, I think our gut instinct, if we are honest with ourselves, is to take the easy way as it’s just that: easy. But that old saying, “Nothing in life comes easy.” This is too true. The things that matter most almost always are hard to do or get done. Yet, those tend to be the most rewarding. When we’ve done them we just feel good inside.
This couldn’t have been more true than with my novel that I’m currently writing. When I started writing it I was 100% green behind the ears. I had no clue what I was doing. Fiction techniques? What’s that? I had no idea what a passive voice was and that I could go back and forth between present and past tense. Telling? Again, was I doing that? But of course I was as I was the queen of telling. I kept being told once people started to read my writing that I need to show and don’t tell. But I thought I was showing. Boy did I have so much to learn.
So with my novel, I had it in my head that the story was about my main character Katalina, or Kat. I had other ideas that might have been good for the story which would have added more depth but that would have taken so much more work on my part so I decided against it. I told myself that it would detract from the main part of the story which was Kat’s journey have the tragedy and show she dealt with it. Why would I want to take away from that. So I wrote my first complete first draft. I felt good I had done it but something felt off. When my word count came in at only 50,000 words I didn’t understand. I knew I needed about 100,000 words yet I was off by half.
Then began the editing phase. I got to about chapter 10 and I just couldn’t motivate myself to edit anymore. So there sat my book starting to collect dust. I kept putting off my editing as I came up with every excuse I could as to why I could do it. I even tried to pick it back up a couple of times but got no where. So it sat and sat and sat.
Then I was on the phone with a very dear friend of mine, who also happened to be a writer, and we were talking. Somehow we got on the subject of my novel. And then we did more talking. Then it was like an epiphany hit me. All of a sudden I was drowning in ideas for my story. The romantic interest in my story went from where she met him for the first time in the hospital after her accident to now having known him before the accident. In fact, they used to be neighbors. And a twist in the story became even more twisty.
And then there was what I didn’t do before that would have taken way too much time and effort to do and that was to add what I talked about before. All of a sudden I knew I had to have this part. It was add depth to the story that was needed. This person and Kat could be there for each other. It would enhance the story better than I ever thought before.
So it boils down to how I should have gone with my instinct and just done it even if it would take more effort on my part. The effort would have been well worth it in the end. The great thing about me not doing it though is that the overall story is going to be better as a result. So I think of that first draft as a major learning experience. And now I’m undertaking a major rewriting of what I had before because now it will be so much better.
It hits us that way sometimes, Kristena. Talking with friends, especially writing friends, brainstorming, talking over our book–it all adds up to ideas. 🙂 Glad things are booming for you!
Thank you Carole. And you are so right. Just talking to someone about what you are story is about, especially if you hit a road block, of sorts. Just talking can help you to work things out in your mind.
I think it’s great you taking time to focus hard on various areas of your work, Kristena. You’ve come a long way since I criitqued some of your chapters. I’m happy to see you sharing with others and express your feelings….it’s a good thing~ 🙂
Thank you Diane. That means a lot to me. My hope is that I not only continue to grow but that others can see that growth in me just as you have. 🙂
As one of my favorite authors says, “Writing for me is largely about rewriting.”
No, we can’t take the easy way, not if we want to write well. When I get bored, or frustrated, or “blocked” in my writing, I know that I’ve quit listening to the storyteller inside me. Then I take a break. Before long the ideas start flowing and the story comes alive again.
Good luck with your rewrite!
And Linda, your favorite author is so correct. When we rewrite we can find the right path to take with the book we are writing. We just have to listen to our inner voice.
Wow Kristena, I sure do identify with your statement “When I started writing, I was 100% green behind the ears”. I have don’t know much about writing, but I am sure learning. I’m reading everything I can get my hands on and I’m taking all the classes that I can. At some point I have to jump right in and start writing the story that is in my head. That’s the scary part. I know I can do it.
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Gayla, when I got my idea in my head, I had sat down that night and start to write it. I had never read a single craft book on writing but went for it. That’s the advice I give to you. Just go for it. As you do it and you keep learning and then submitting for critiques, you will start to learn so much. For me, I can only learn so much from reading. I have to just do it and then I learn so much moving forward.