Whew... okay! Everything is back how it was. I kept the good additions, the tweaks in character and pacing, and nixed that annoying contrivance set to establish false urgency; because that's what it was: FALSE urgency. I spent more time making my characters remind each other how urgent it was than I spent developing their relationship. It drove a wedge between my mains and kept everyone unhappy including me. I'm better off without it.
Progress wise I'm back in the realm of 60-90... that dreaded pie slice that has dogged me for so long. I'll tell you all when I get back to Kindle parts and have to snip her out again. My Betas tell me they don't miss her at all from the previous pages where she was summarily amputated. Just goes to show you that I didn't really need her to start with. I plan to write an obituary on her later when she's 100% gone.
For those friends who keep track of me on facebook and instant messenger I'm sorry I've been so absent. I've been keeping my chat streams off so I can get down to writing. I never make any progress when it's on - too choppy. I'll be back later when this stuff is sorted out.
If I don't post another blog I wish you all Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! You can keep up with me on Twitter (@threadcaster , @jenniferstolzer ) facebook and tumblr (jameson9101322)
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Crisis, breakdown and an emotional low
I have ruined my book.
It was doing fine. I loved it. I believed in the characters then suddenly I get some feedback.
"It needs urgency" my reviewer said. So I devised a plan... include a day in which things take place. Suddenly everything sucks.
I no longer know what's happening or what to do. I'm "fixing" things with patches I haven't preplotted out and messing with things I swore I'd never again touch. I'm at a crippling emotional low as I reconsider the value of everything I've made.
This book sucks, it'll never sell, It's a wasted effort, I'm a horrible author.
Why did this happen? Why have I fallen into this hole and how can I get back out of it?
First question I have to ask myself is was the edit worth it? Do I believe in the concept of the new story element? Well yes... on paper I believe in it fine. Utilizing it, however, has thrown me for a loop. I've edited it fifteen times... how can I use the same idea with less invasion?
Maybe I just namedrop it like it's not a big deal? No, it's a story thread... ugh...
Maybe I leave it out of the part that's confusing - aka the prophecy. We learn about the Brushcaster betrayal later in the game. Build it back up about the Curses again like I did last time.
Maybe I put this goddamn book on a shelf for another three years and rewrite it then.
I'm really miserable right now, you guys, I'm seriously considering abandoning ship and going to a previous draft where this addition didn't exist... at least to write ahead. I'm so tired of being stuck in the same ninety pages.
This blog post is more for my own frustration because my previous strategies haven't helped. I tried to talk it out but my sounding board didn't care. I tried to write it on paper and failed. I tried putting it together in the draft and sucked desperately.
All I ask from my audience right now is prayer - God's the only guidance I can trust at this point.
It was doing fine. I loved it. I believed in the characters then suddenly I get some feedback.
"It needs urgency" my reviewer said. So I devised a plan... include a day in which things take place. Suddenly everything sucks.
I no longer know what's happening or what to do. I'm "fixing" things with patches I haven't preplotted out and messing with things I swore I'd never again touch. I'm at a crippling emotional low as I reconsider the value of everything I've made.
This book sucks, it'll never sell, It's a wasted effort, I'm a horrible author.
Why did this happen? Why have I fallen into this hole and how can I get back out of it?
First question I have to ask myself is was the edit worth it? Do I believe in the concept of the new story element? Well yes... on paper I believe in it fine. Utilizing it, however, has thrown me for a loop. I've edited it fifteen times... how can I use the same idea with less invasion?
Maybe I just namedrop it like it's not a big deal? No, it's a story thread... ugh...
Maybe I leave it out of the part that's confusing - aka the prophecy. We learn about the Brushcaster betrayal later in the game. Build it back up about the Curses again like I did last time.
Maybe I put this goddamn book on a shelf for another three years and rewrite it then.
I'm really miserable right now, you guys, I'm seriously considering abandoning ship and going to a previous draft where this addition didn't exist... at least to write ahead. I'm so tired of being stuck in the same ninety pages.
This blog post is more for my own frustration because my previous strategies haven't helped. I tried to talk it out but my sounding board didn't care. I tried to write it on paper and failed. I tried putting it together in the draft and sucked desperately.
All I ask from my audience right now is prayer - God's the only guidance I can trust at this point.
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