Wednesday, March 11, 2009

does anyone really know what time it is?

I’m a little disappointed with spring—yesterday it was 82 degrees, and today it’s 34. What? We’re rocketing between summer and winter, and I was hoping for a string of days in the sixties…

The birds are undaunted, though, and they’ve set about filling up their dance cards. I watch them as I make my coffee. The males are all strutting around, their beaks in the air, and then they pause and puff themselves up. I bust out laughing every time—inflatable birds!

And I can’t help thinking: wouldn’t that have saved us ladies some trouble back in the dining halls? It would take some of the guesswork out of social interactions…

“Hey, hey I think that guy is trying to get your attention.” “Yeah? How do you know?” “Well, his face just went to twice its usual size.”

Oh, what could have been.

Which brings me to my book… though it’s completely lacking in facial swellings, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it could be.

I survived my rereading of Part Two, excruciating for several reasons. The worst thing? How good it was. How so many scenes led beautifully into the next ones, how the conflicts deepened, how the characters said and did brilliant things.

So when is good writing utterly painful?

When it no longer fits the story. And you have to throw it out, even though it’s good.

I argued with myself for a long time, but there’s really no point. My protagonist is so completely different now—a new history, new motivation, new mindset. She’s going to encounter every paragraph in a different way; she’s going to describe everything with new words. The characters around her have been changing as well…

No help for it, then. 188 pages… Flushhhhh. We’re starting over. The new outline for the new Part Two is due on March 28, and then to rewriting, rewriting again.

I knew this wouldn’t be easy, but goodness. Sometimes it’s hard to catch my breath.—jl

Posted by Jenn Langefeld on 03/11 at 11:17 AM
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