Mid Draft Revising

[the_gneech]

Weird thing about listening to the characters when I write, is that what I think the characters are going to do at the beginning, and what they actually do when they get there, are often completely different. In the current book, I’ve just hit 34,000 words and finally put into words a scene that I have been writing in my head for three years– a scene which is one of the major touchstones of the book for me. I’m pleased with the scene, and overall quite pleased with the book, but I am also faced with a problem, which is that the plot is off from my outline by about 33°. My intended next chapter… totally doesn’t make sense any more.

So, loathe as I am to do it, I need to stop my forward momentum and go back to the macro-level outlining stage and re-think the back half of the book. I didn’t want to be doing any story surgery on that big a level until I had completed the first draft, because I’m sure I will find more things that need doing on the way, but I also can’t complete the first draft in its current state because I have no idea what’s going to happen.

On the other hand, this can be a great opportunity to come up with a much better ending. If I take the first half plot as it has come out as my starting point and ask the characters, “What do you do now?” instead of trying to figure out a way to wrangle the story back to the outline I already had, hopefully the new ending will be stronger, more satisfying, and truer to the characters.

It’s just, y’know, more work for me. 😛 *shakes his fist at an uncooperative muse*

-The Gneech

Comments

[exatron.livejournal.com]

From what I've seen, a story taking a turn even the author didn't expect at the start is a good sign.

[rowyn]

Someday (probably when the public serial is finished) I am going to post the original outline for A Rational Arrangement, and the outline of what I actually ended up writing. :)

[usagiweaver.livejournal.com]

Better to fix a dropped stitch now than to have to tink back rows and rows of knitting later on. Especially if the pattern is complicated.