Sunday, January 11, 2009

and i thought i was doing the revising (part two of two)

The second half of my homage to painless revision…

december2008
JENN: {feeling a bit better} That was fabulous! Nanowrimo was ... exhilarating!
NOVEL: Thought you’d like that.
JENN: Now. I’ll spend a month cleaning up the mess I probably made in November—
NOVEL: No.
JENN: No?
NOVEL: No. Go do some research.
JENN: {prepared to tear novel into pieces} I hate (hate) research. What’s the point of creating an alternate fictional world if you still have to research?
NOVEL: {yawns}
JENN: {mutters incoherently while researching}
NOVEL: Pain releases endorphins, Langefeld.
JENN: {grinds her teeth}
NOVEL: And adrenaline.
JENN: At least that might make this go faster.

two weeks later
JENN: There. Done. And now I’ll just apply this research—
NOVEL: Actually, just start Part Four.

january2009
JENN: Okay. What are we doing for Part Four? I hardly remember these chapters—it’s been a while.
NOVEL: Drown yourself in the past year’s worth of notes on Part Four. All the little scraps you jotted down about closing scenes and character climaxes and ending action. Look at it all. Start thinking about an outline.
JENN: Okay.
NOVEL: You’ll be reworking this—all of Part Four.
JENN: Let me guess. From scratch.
NOVEL: Right.

one week later…
JENN: This is fantastic. I feel really good about what I’m doing. I see the story so much clearer! I think I’ll start writing in February—
NOVEL: Put Part Four away for a few months.
JENN: ?!?
NOVEL: Pull out Part One. You know how it’s completely obsolete, after everything else you’ve done? All the revelations and developments this story has had? You’ve said over and over how it doesn’t fit the rest of the book?
JENN: {blank silence}
NOVEL: And how a story’s beginning and ending should sort of match? How they need to tie in? Do you really think you can write Part Four well without a solid Part One?
JENN: {blank silence}
NOVEL: Right. This is its time. Rewrite it. From scratch.
JENN: {blank silence}
NOVEL: Before Part Four. Trust me.
JENN: ... This is why everyone said to start with short stories. Isn’t it.—jl

Posted by Jenn Langefeld on 01/11 at 01:59 PM
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