There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. — W Somerset Maugham
Well, I spent a fruitless weekend trying to get my hero and heroine in bed together! Argh! 1000 words of sheer dreck, nothing forwarded the plot, and it was pedestrian prose at best.
So, today, I spent about 30 seconds cutting out those 1000 words and starting over. It's going much better now. . .
Don't you just hate it when your characters refuse to cooperate with the outline you've written? But the good news is that by the end of the evening, if I have time to finish this chapter, my hero and heroine will have done the dirty! Hurraye!
13 comments:
Outline? You mean with Roman numerals and everything? I have some scraps of paper I can't read but am such a total pantser I never have any idea of what's coming until the fingers touch the keys anyway. It's scary and I swear things will be different next book around.
No Roman numerals LOL! But, I do outline potential scenes -- the problem is that once I start writing them, the characters take over. A few times, I've had to redo the outline a couple of times. But, I'm a planner (even IRL), I gotta know where I'm headed in order to get there~
Ericka,
I'm sure the 1K you replaced will be fabulous. I love your short stories!
And I'm with Maggie...total pantser...Gah, it's bad and it's good all at the same time!
I hate having to delete dreck but it's better to get rid of it than leave it in there! LOL
And yeah I'm a pantster - I plot a bit but not enough to call me a plotter.
Tomorrow is the First Day of Spring....enjoy
My friend alerted me to this website and glad she did. If you edit and re-edit to get the story just right, well, I have to read it ASAP.
Erica, I suggest you just sit those characters down and have a long talk with them. Good Luck
Three rules that nobody knows about? LOL - I have three principles.
1. There are no bad stories only bad delivery.
2. There are no rules only guidelines.
3. When all else fails pray to the publishing Gods for guidance.
T.J.
Pantser here, although I never wear pants, so can I be a skirtser? My new method is called "drink one glass of wine for every four pages of writing" but I'm only averaging about six to eight pages a night, so no need to stage an intervention. If I don't get loose and go for the emotional heart of a chapter, then I end up with 1000 words that has to be cut, just like you. Anyway, I hope your hero and heroine got horizontal, or vertical, or on all fours, or...
I've so been there! Unfortunately there are days when you just have to cut something.
Sometimes it is better to just start over -- glad it's going well for you now!
My characters usually don't want to cooperate with me when it comes to "the dirty" - I've been known to type "Insert Sex Here" and move on. LOL.
Oh, I know. I know...Good luck with that!
Congrats on the book!
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