Most of the time I love the way my brain works. The twists and turns, the way random conversations in my head will make me laugh for no reason. It's what makes me, me. It's why I create the stories I do. It's why I'm rarely bored. There's always some bad guy to thwart or battle to win in the stories I tell myself.
It's not so fun when my brain offers up a brilliant stroke of inspiration that if followed would require me to scrap a good portion of the work I've already crafted in Aileen 5. Nearly all of it, in fact.
I'm early enough in the process that this is doable. On the other hand, the last two books where I've tried to "fix" a beginning, I've screwed the book up more. It's left me in a bit of a quandary. I'm frozen in place until I make a decision one way or another.
Some people think writing a book is a straight shot from A to B. It can be. For most of my books, it largely is--but not always. Sometimes, it takes a few false starts and an odd tangent or two to find my way.
Decisions both large and small, especially at this stage, set the scene for the rest of the book. There's a reason my writing is slower at this stage; why I don't achieve the high word count I'm used to. I haven't built enough momentum for the story to carry itself forward. Making a wrong decision will make the middle and back half of the book torturous to write and lead to more extensive rewrites when it comes time to edit.
I don't quite know which direction I will go yet. Perhaps what I've already written can be re-purposed into a short story. Perhaps my brilliant idea only seems brilliant because I haven't started working with it yet. Only time will tell.
It's not so fun when my brain offers up a brilliant stroke of inspiration that if followed would require me to scrap a good portion of the work I've already crafted in Aileen 5. Nearly all of it, in fact.
I'm early enough in the process that this is doable. On the other hand, the last two books where I've tried to "fix" a beginning, I've screwed the book up more. It's left me in a bit of a quandary. I'm frozen in place until I make a decision one way or another.
Some people think writing a book is a straight shot from A to B. It can be. For most of my books, it largely is--but not always. Sometimes, it takes a few false starts and an odd tangent or two to find my way.
Decisions both large and small, especially at this stage, set the scene for the rest of the book. There's a reason my writing is slower at this stage; why I don't achieve the high word count I'm used to. I haven't built enough momentum for the story to carry itself forward. Making a wrong decision will make the middle and back half of the book torturous to write and lead to more extensive rewrites when it comes time to edit.
I don't quite know which direction I will go yet. Perhaps what I've already written can be re-purposed into a short story. Perhaps my brilliant idea only seems brilliant because I haven't started working with it yet. Only time will tell.
Either way I am sure it will be amazing! You never let me down!
ReplyDeleteRecently found your books and the Messenger Aileen Travers series. Devoured them and I must say I think each book got a little better. I found myself laughing out loud at Caroline and Aileen drunk night out. Reread that section of book to make sure I didn't miss any of the fun!! Waiting now to see what the two get into in #5. So much fun...thanks! GMNW
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