Wednesday, September 19, 2007

something rewritten this way comes

No language stands still.—Chicago Manual of Style

By the end of last week, my draft stood at 26,631 words—roughly a fourth of the book. ...And then on Monday, I lopped off a few thousand words—over two chapters!—and am rewriting yet again. I feel like this goes against all the writing advice I’ve received: aren’t you supposed to press on, get to the end, and then turn around and rework it?

Probably. And so I’m torn in half with advice and also with my writing. I’ve settled for an in-between answer: at the same time that I’m working on Chapter Eleven, I’m also rewriting Chapter One, and this makes me feel a little schizophrenic. My character is at home and setting the stage for the action in Chapter One; in Chapter Eleven, she’s in the middle of a long trip and her life is falling apart.

Writing both at once is confusing, to say the least. But I had gotten to Chapter Eleven and felt lost, knowing that those first ten chapters were incomplete, that some information that had been there had been cut out again, knowing that I was splicing in new characters, new scenes, and new information. So I went back and reread the whole thing at the end of last week, and made a list of everything that felt wrong or needed adjusting—from as minor as a name change, to several chapters that needed a humane death. My list was 181 points long, spread over ninety-one pages of drafted work.

And Chapter One had to go, completely. It was my third version of Chapter One, I think, and each one gets better, but this last one had some major, major flaws.

Two days ago, I worked on outlining the newest incarnation of Chapter One, and suddenly I had a new character sitting opposite me—a welcome surprise for a Monday! When he stood up, I realized he had a slight limp. When he turned around, I saw that his hair was thin and grey. And he had a surprisingly deep voice, and suddenly he started talking… and the things he said made my heroine furious. Always. Come to think of it, he reminds me of one of my teachers from years ago. Who also made me furious. Now this is getting cathartic! Maybe too cathartic. I went back and made him sound a little nicer. But then he was too nice… And as he limped around the early chapters, I started to realize where he came from, and why he’s so arrogant, and who he works for…

At the same time that the new Chapter One began to move, Chapter Eleven started taking off as well, with a few more new characters, and a couple of intriguing twists in the action. (At least I hope they’re intriguing!) My poor heroine. She’s going to have a rotten time of it before the end.

And this is why I love my job! Not the torturing of fictional people part, but the discovery and the challenge of it all…

Granted, there are still huge holes in Chapter One, and I can’t see much farther than Chapter Eleven. (Though the climax and resolution are glimmering faintly at the end.) Losing so many words on Monday felt like a big setback, but if this first chapter is stronger, clearer, and more memorable, it’s worth it.

I feel like I’m regaining my work rhythm, after all the joy and chaos of the summer and early September. I’m reacquainted with my story, and the words are still coming, however slowly. After slicing the draft back to 24,000 words, I’ve built it back up to 27,500, with more on the way.

The big question: Can I have the story far enough along that I can send a synopsis and three chapters to editors in December? It’s truly a semester’s-worth of work… But will I make it?—jl

Posted by Jenn Langefeld on 09/19 at 10:46 PM
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