Every now and then, I look back into my blog archives and scan through older posts. It's a very interesting thing. It's sort of like having a link to my past thoughts and all the weird/stupid/crazy things I thought once upon a time.
Once upon a time, when I was working on something I think I called the Epic Thing -- it's possible I never got around to titling that project -- I put a post on the blog about world building. (I'm not linking back to it, because in hindsight it wasn't my cleverest moment.) Back in my younger days, I didn't know how to balance the story in my head with the story on paper. I thought somehow that because I'd figured out a universe and a back story in my head, it all needed to appear on the page. And, you know, that's just not true.
No matter how big something is in my head, readers only needs to be told as much of it as I intend to use later -- they only need to know what's going to help them understand. Everything else is just wasting the reader's time. It might be cool and clever and interesting, but it's still a waste of time, since I'd just be throwing it out there just to throw it out there.
A few years ago, I hadn't realized how annoying that would be. Nowadays, it's one of my pet peeves as a reader. "Dear Author, just because you thought up a long back story doesn't mean anyone cares." That sort of thing. And in my revisions, I try to boil off the excess, the stuff I included but never ended up using.
This isn't to say I've given up on the idea of world-building. I still do that a lot. I'm working on my edits for Cordamant's Heir right now with both my notes and an alpha reader's, and one of the things I'm trying to make clear this time through are the rules of the political system. This is world-building, but it's world-building I need to do to make the plot clear. Because that's what really matters.
How's your writing going? How do you feel about elaborate back story? How do you build your worlds?
Showing posts with label revising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label revising. Show all posts
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
French It Up A Bit
This weekend, I finished my first draft of Imogen and Leander. I am, of course, at lose ends. Apparently, I don't know what to do with myself when I'm not writing.
Anyway, this is the first story I've ever seen all the way through that contained multiple protagonists. Guess who they are. While other projects I've worked on have had a male lead who went opposite my female lead, that guy tended to be more of a Love Interest than a Male Protagonist. He wasn't the guy I was following around, generally.
Still, as I was writing, I kept getting the feeling that instead of sharing the screen time, as it were, Imogen was really hogging the limelight. So, reverting to my theater days, I made up a French Scene Breakdown.
Technically, a French Scene is a scene that begins and ends with an actor’s entrance or exit. So a French Scene Breakdown shows you when the character enters and exits the scenes.
Or, a visual example from Imogen and Leander. (I started with just Imogen and Leander, but I tacked on breakdowns for their primary compatriots, largely for my own amusement.)
This sort of chart strongly backs up my suspicion that while Leander does appear on more than half the pages of the text, he really is comparatively less represented. I'm taking this as a serious reminder that in my next draft I really need to go back in a beef up his storyline. Because, really, as my Male Protagonist, he's got to be doing as much as my Female Protagonist, or I'm going about this story the wrong way.
I think French Scene Breakdowns are very useful for analyzing plots and keeping track of story threads. It's a visual indicator of how often you're hitting all of your notes, a fact that can easily slip away from you in a large project.
Do you ever make something like a French Scene Breakdown? Have you ever used something like this ever? Do you like doing visual breakdowns? What sort?
Anyway, this is the first story I've ever seen all the way through that contained multiple protagonists. Guess who they are. While other projects I've worked on have had a male lead who went opposite my female lead, that guy tended to be more of a Love Interest than a Male Protagonist. He wasn't the guy I was following around, generally.
Still, as I was writing, I kept getting the feeling that instead of sharing the screen time, as it were, Imogen was really hogging the limelight. So, reverting to my theater days, I made up a French Scene Breakdown.
Technically, a French Scene is a scene that begins and ends with an actor’s entrance or exit. So a French Scene Breakdown shows you when the character enters and exits the scenes.
Or, a visual example from Imogen and Leander. (I started with just Imogen and Leander, but I tacked on breakdowns for their primary compatriots, largely for my own amusement.)
This sort of chart strongly backs up my suspicion that while Leander does appear on more than half the pages of the text, he really is comparatively less represented. I'm taking this as a serious reminder that in my next draft I really need to go back in a beef up his storyline. Because, really, as my Male Protagonist, he's got to be doing as much as my Female Protagonist, or I'm going about this story the wrong way.
I think French Scene Breakdowns are very useful for analyzing plots and keeping track of story threads. It's a visual indicator of how often you're hitting all of your notes, a fact that can easily slip away from you in a large project.
Do you ever make something like a French Scene Breakdown? Have you ever used something like this ever? Do you like doing visual breakdowns? What sort?
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
So Bad It's Good?
The other day, Captain Film Major mentioned that when he comes across a bad line or scene in a movie, he'll rewind and watch it over again. When I asked why he would want to inflict that on himself a second/third/umpteenth time, he said he wanted to make sure it was really as bad as he'd originally thought.
Though this originally struck me as a little unusual (read: crazy weird) it's since dawned on me that it's not the most uncommon thing. After all, when I'm reading a conversation that seems to be going off the rails or the character is saying something utterly ridiculous, I find myself pausing to redirect the scene or patch up the rocky bits. I find myself trying to save it. Is that so different from Captain Film Major trying to see if maybe it wasn't that bad.
This leads me to an interesting thought. Normally, as writers, we are told to revisit works we considered particularly fantastic so that we could study what that author did right. Might it not also be worth our time to consider some things that were particularly awful so that we can see just went wrong and, possibly how it could have been made better?
Maybe studying things that we thought we massive train wrecks could actually be a useful tool for finding the errors in our own work and learning to correct them.
Do you ever find yourself revising work that's already done/published/released for your viewing pleasure? Have you ever read/watched/studied something just for its level of badness? Is there something to be learned from work that was just plain awful?
Though this originally struck me as a little unusual (read: crazy weird) it's since dawned on me that it's not the most uncommon thing. After all, when I'm reading a conversation that seems to be going off the rails or the character is saying something utterly ridiculous, I find myself pausing to redirect the scene or patch up the rocky bits. I find myself trying to save it. Is that so different from Captain Film Major trying to see if maybe it wasn't that bad.
This leads me to an interesting thought. Normally, as writers, we are told to revisit works we considered particularly fantastic so that we could study what that author did right. Might it not also be worth our time to consider some things that were particularly awful so that we can see just went wrong and, possibly how it could have been made better?
Maybe studying things that we thought we massive train wrecks could actually be a useful tool for finding the errors in our own work and learning to correct them.
Do you ever find yourself revising work that's already done/published/released for your viewing pleasure? Have you ever read/watched/studied something just for its level of badness? Is there something to be learned from work that was just plain awful?
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Reblocking = Rethinking
Once upon a time -- by which I mean last month -- I teched a play. One night, near the end of the run, an actor did something that made every techie watching the scene say, "Woah!" Because at the end of the scene where the couple fights, maybe the lights didn't dim quickly enough, maybe he needed more time in the wings, or maybe he just felt it, but the actor just got up and walked off stage.
Normally, blocking changes didn't freak us out so much. But this one had the effect of somehow altering the feel of the entire moment. At the end of the fight, instead of just staring at his wife until the lights dimmed, he just walked off. So, instead of their ending as some sort of truce, it looked like it had ended with his pretty much fed up.
This got me thinking. Somehow, with one change, it seemed like the actor had entirely changed the emotions of that one scene, which changed the manner in which he went into the following scene. So, in theory, with a single sentence, one could change a character's motivations, actions, and emotions.
When editing, consider every change, every new avenue to alter and shift the situation. It doesn't take much, not a whole scene, not a whole rewrite to alter the course of a character or plot arc. Just an action. Just a sentence. Just a single revision on your part.
Are you up to it?
How's your writing going? Any revising going on? What makes you think?
Normally, blocking changes didn't freak us out so much. But this one had the effect of somehow altering the feel of the entire moment. At the end of the fight, instead of just staring at his wife until the lights dimmed, he just walked off. So, instead of their ending as some sort of truce, it looked like it had ended with his pretty much fed up.
This got me thinking. Somehow, with one change, it seemed like the actor had entirely changed the emotions of that one scene, which changed the manner in which he went into the following scene. So, in theory, with a single sentence, one could change a character's motivations, actions, and emotions.
When editing, consider every change, every new avenue to alter and shift the situation. It doesn't take much, not a whole scene, not a whole rewrite to alter the course of a character or plot arc. Just an action. Just a sentence. Just a single revision on your part.
Are you up to it?
How's your writing going? Any revising going on? What makes you think?
Friday, October 15, 2010
Revisions, Revisions
Sadly -- or happily, I can never make up my mind -- I'm not doing revisions right now. However, I recently agreed to move chairs and things for a local show. (It's a nice gig, actually. Great people, light work, and I get to see the one-acts several times for nothing. Have I mentioned lately I really like theater?) I worked the dress rehearsal, and thus heard the script for the first time. One of cast members said, "You're going to see a completely different show tomorrow." I didn't know if that could be as different as she made it sound, but with a challenge like that, you better believe I paid attention the next night.
Massively different show.
The second night, about two pages of script I hadn't heard before suddenly appeared. (Hey, things happen at dress rehearsal. And if I didn't notice it missing, it means they must have carried it off well. They're quite good.) Changed so much. Suddenly, the relationship between two characters became radically different. This effected the relationship these characters had with a mutual friend, also a part of the show. And a how lot about one of the character's back story became apparent. Totally changed the way I looked at him.
What does this have to do with revisions?
Well, the differences between the versions I saw made me think of different drafts of a book. Between version one and version two, character motivations may change, you might become aware of back story you hadn't previously known, or minor -- maybe even major -- characters might meet with a sudden, untimely death by way of a red pen. Things happen. Things change.
I remember writing the Thief Book. Between versions one and three, nine characters fled into the night never to be seen again, at least in that MS. One new bloke appeared on the screen, and one girl's part grew to subplot sized.
The long and short of it is, in between drafts, things change. Lots of things. Sometimes big things. Huge, colossal, size of a small town with mid-sized populous things. We must accept this. Our stories are not carved in stone. No, they are forged in metal. Thus, they can be taken apart, melted down, reforged, remade, cut off, reaffixed, and otherwise altered. Nothing's perfect, and nothing's permanent.
Things change. Life happens. Roll with it.
How's your writing coming? Revisions? Things changing? Big changes? Small changes? What's the biggest change you've ever made to an MS in between drafts?
Massively different show.
The second night, about two pages of script I hadn't heard before suddenly appeared. (Hey, things happen at dress rehearsal. And if I didn't notice it missing, it means they must have carried it off well. They're quite good.) Changed so much. Suddenly, the relationship between two characters became radically different. This effected the relationship these characters had with a mutual friend, also a part of the show. And a how lot about one of the character's back story became apparent. Totally changed the way I looked at him.
What does this have to do with revisions?
Well, the differences between the versions I saw made me think of different drafts of a book. Between version one and version two, character motivations may change, you might become aware of back story you hadn't previously known, or minor -- maybe even major -- characters might meet with a sudden, untimely death by way of a red pen. Things happen. Things change.
I remember writing the Thief Book. Between versions one and three, nine characters fled into the night never to be seen again, at least in that MS. One new bloke appeared on the screen, and one girl's part grew to subplot sized.
The long and short of it is, in between drafts, things change. Lots of things. Sometimes big things. Huge, colossal, size of a small town with mid-sized populous things. We must accept this. Our stories are not carved in stone. No, they are forged in metal. Thus, they can be taken apart, melted down, reforged, remade, cut off, reaffixed, and otherwise altered. Nothing's perfect, and nothing's permanent.
Things change. Life happens. Roll with it.
How's your writing coming? Revisions? Things changing? Big changes? Small changes? What's the biggest change you've ever made to an MS in between drafts?
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Faith in Equal Powers
Okay, everyone, repeat after me: My reader is not an idiot.
The readers of books are intelligent, rational beings (you know, in general. I'm allowing for a certain degree of wingnuttery in counting as rational). They aren't idiots. And we shouldn't treat them like they are.
Since reader's are a clever bunch, they get what the writer is telling them. Often the first time around. Sometimes, it bears repeating, especially if it's a complex point or one that's been building up over multiple scenes, or is really important. But, by the third time, the reader's pretty much got it.
We've got to trust our reader's to know what we're saying. If we don't trust them, they'll be able to tell, and they'll just upset, chuck the book on the floor, and read something else that treats them with a little more respect. The repetition makes a reader want to say, "Yep, got it. Not an idiot over here. Move it along." It's not nice to treat people like they aren't smart enough to understand.
I'm super-guilty of this. I'm looking back over the Thief Book, and I think I repeated the basic point (not a very important one, mind you. Just a bit of info I intend to reference later) about 9 times in the first 5 chapters. Even I wanted to say, "People aren't stupid. They get it." So there's plenty of crossings out on those marks.
I'm not claiming that every reader is a rocket scientist/neurosurgeon/creator of literary masterpieces the likes of which I cannot fathom capable of comprehending incredibly complicated schemes the first time through with only minor explanations. But, I am saying that you should treat the reader like your intellectual equal. Have faith that they can grasp things as well as you can.
Things should be explained in relationship to their level of complexity (at least once, most of the time), repeated often as necessary (one rinse and repeat often doesn't hurt), and summed up neatly if the occasion warrants it (which, if you're schemes been put together over several scenes, might bed the case).
For more discussion on trusting your reader, click here.
Do you trust your reader? Do you feel you sometimes don't put enough faith in the reader? Do you put too much faith in them?
The readers of books are intelligent, rational beings (you know, in general. I'm allowing for a certain degree of wingnuttery in counting as rational). They aren't idiots. And we shouldn't treat them like they are.
Since reader's are a clever bunch, they get what the writer is telling them. Often the first time around. Sometimes, it bears repeating, especially if it's a complex point or one that's been building up over multiple scenes, or is really important. But, by the third time, the reader's pretty much got it.
We've got to trust our reader's to know what we're saying. If we don't trust them, they'll be able to tell, and they'll just upset, chuck the book on the floor, and read something else that treats them with a little more respect. The repetition makes a reader want to say, "Yep, got it. Not an idiot over here. Move it along." It's not nice to treat people like they aren't smart enough to understand.
I'm super-guilty of this. I'm looking back over the Thief Book, and I think I repeated the basic point (not a very important one, mind you. Just a bit of info I intend to reference later) about 9 times in the first 5 chapters. Even I wanted to say, "People aren't stupid. They get it." So there's plenty of crossings out on those marks.
I'm not claiming that every reader is a rocket scientist/neurosurgeon/creator of literary masterpieces the likes of which I cannot fathom capable of comprehending incredibly complicated schemes the first time through with only minor explanations. But, I am saying that you should treat the reader like your intellectual equal. Have faith that they can grasp things as well as you can.
Things should be explained in relationship to their level of complexity (at least once, most of the time), repeated often as necessary (one rinse and repeat often doesn't hurt), and summed up neatly if the occasion warrants it (which, if you're schemes been put together over several scenes, might bed the case).
For more discussion on trusting your reader, click here.
Do you trust your reader? Do you feel you sometimes don't put enough faith in the reader? Do you put too much faith in them?
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Nibble, Nibble Like A Mouse
Right now, I'm nibbling away at my MS for The Thief Book. I'm dusting this one off from the shelf and trying to see what I could do with it to make it better.
Remember a while ago when I said I thought I knew what it needed? Not to be confused with the while before that when I said I didn't have the foggiest clue what to do with it. Well, I do plan to rewrite the whole ending. I just needed to remember the beginning a little more clearly before I could figure that out. So I'm rereading it.
I broke the somewhat chubby (70k -- eek!) manuscript into two chunks to handle as their desperate qualities demanded.
Part A: The first 37K or so, a.k.a. the part that I can still use -- I made some big changes that I already knew needed to be made and made notes where I plan to reread some stuff here. Plus, well, I couldn't resist the urge to made notes about things that bugged me as I went. I cannot deny that some pages look like they're bleeding blue (my preferred editing color), but plenty look in decent shape.
Part B: The remaining 33K, a.k.a. the stuff I'm cutting. Well, I'm rereading this to note parts that I like and would like to save for later use, either in this project or another. Plus, some things still need to follow a similar arc, so I want to make note of how I organized a lot of that before hand so I can profit from the work I did in August and September.
Happy me, I've already made it all the way through Part A. Now, time for Part B. That should go much faster, since I won't be stopping for line-edit-esque notes.
Since I'm goal oriented-ish, I feel like I can set a reasonable goal for the second part and make it through by the end of next Saturday. The goal: 6 pages a day. That should be quite feasible. I'll let you know how it goes.
How is everyone else's revising going? I hope you're all having a good weekend so far. :D
Remember a while ago when I said I thought I knew what it needed? Not to be confused with the while before that when I said I didn't have the foggiest clue what to do with it. Well, I do plan to rewrite the whole ending. I just needed to remember the beginning a little more clearly before I could figure that out. So I'm rereading it.
I broke the somewhat chubby (70k -- eek!) manuscript into two chunks to handle as their desperate qualities demanded.
Part A: The first 37K or so, a.k.a. the part that I can still use -- I made some big changes that I already knew needed to be made and made notes where I plan to reread some stuff here. Plus, well, I couldn't resist the urge to made notes about things that bugged me as I went. I cannot deny that some pages look like they're bleeding blue (my preferred editing color), but plenty look in decent shape.
Part B: The remaining 33K, a.k.a. the stuff I'm cutting. Well, I'm rereading this to note parts that I like and would like to save for later use, either in this project or another. Plus, some things still need to follow a similar arc, so I want to make note of how I organized a lot of that before hand so I can profit from the work I did in August and September.
Happy me, I've already made it all the way through Part A. Now, time for Part B. That should go much faster, since I won't be stopping for line-edit-esque notes.
Since I'm goal oriented-ish, I feel like I can set a reasonable goal for the second part and make it through by the end of next Saturday. The goal: 6 pages a day. That should be quite feasible. I'll let you know how it goes.
How is everyone else's revising going? I hope you're all having a good weekend so far. :D
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Done!
I have officially completed the process of writing what I am now thinking of as version4.0 of my formerly shelved MS. This makes me very happy, even if doing all of my changes made me want to beat my head against the wall.
I realized something I'd forgotten. Writing this story was cool, wonderful, crazy, and stressful. I inserted a subplot into the story, so I was writing something that I hadn't written in a good long time. I'd almost forgot the happy feeling I get I write a really cute scene or the stress of finding the right way of describing something I've only previously imagined.
'Wait' hisses the voice in my brain. 'You're writing right now, aren't you? You're in the middle of something else, too. Two something elses.' I discovered on this that writing in a notebook and typing are two very different feelings for me. But that's a discussion for another time.
I realized something I'd forgotten. Writing this story was cool, wonderful, crazy, and stressful. I inserted a subplot into the story, so I was writing something that I hadn't written in a good long time. I'd almost forgot the happy feeling I get I write a really cute scene or the stress of finding the right way of describing something I've only previously imagined.
'Wait' hisses the voice in my brain. 'You're writing right now, aren't you? You're in the middle of something else, too. Two something elses.' I discovered on this that writing in a notebook and typing are two very different feelings for me. But that's a discussion for another time.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Machete Revisions
Okay, I did it. I have officially read through the entirety of my previously shelved MS **performs ridiculous dance of victory and joy**. God reading it took a while. I haven't actually done the whole rewriting bit -- and that'll take a it, because I'm adding a previously undreamed of subplot -- but hopefully it'll be a better story because of it. Most of what I did reading through was seek and destroy the redundant bits and the overused adverbs. And I marked off where I'm inserting my scenes of my subplot. Yay!
I noticed something interesting. Some pages suffered brutally from my blue pen (yes, that's right, I use blue) whereas others were only minimally scathed. And I can't tell which I preferred. I always felt that the passage had been very much improved after I hacked it up, so sometimes an almost untouched section made me feel like I might be missing the flaws. I've been trying to comfort myself that maybe those passages are just good parts, but I'm not so sure.
Well, anyway, simple joys, I am now ready to begin rewriting. So, this are about to get better. Happiness. :-)
I noticed something interesting. Some pages suffered brutally from my blue pen (yes, that's right, I use blue) whereas others were only minimally scathed. And I can't tell which I preferred. I always felt that the passage had been very much improved after I hacked it up, so sometimes an almost untouched section made me feel like I might be missing the flaws. I've been trying to comfort myself that maybe those passages are just good parts, but I'm not so sure.
Well, anyway, simple joys, I am now ready to begin rewriting. So, this are about to get better. Happiness. :-)
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Massive Revisions
Okay, I never thought I'd have to say this about my writing, but I'm scared of it. Right now, I'm actually fricking petrified at the thought of touching my MS.
Why?
A few months back, I shelved a project. It was very, very troubled, and I didn't know how to help it. So, I decided to run away to other things.
Except, now, I know how to fix it. I think I've found what it needs to be significantly better. And I still running away, far and fast.
Why?
I'm scared. It's still really troubled -- and will remain so until I finally unpack my machete -- and that's really daunting. I guess I'll have to do it eventually. I'm just really wimping out right now. Oh, the shame.
Why?
A few months back, I shelved a project. It was very, very troubled, and I didn't know how to help it. So, I decided to run away to other things.
Except, now, I know how to fix it. I think I've found what it needs to be significantly better. And I still running away, far and fast.
Why?
I'm scared. It's still really troubled -- and will remain so until I finally unpack my machete -- and that's really daunting. I guess I'll have to do it eventually. I'm just really wimping out right now. Oh, the shame.
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