~Erin
http://www.misserinmarie.blogspot.com

Thank you.

Donkeys are cool.

Me, I gotta go with, “five DONKEYS?”

Interesting about the no-chapter-breaks in your first draft. While putzing along on my work-in-progress (first draft about 3/4 complete) I suddenly realized I hadn’t made a chapter break in about 60 pages. “Huh,” I thought. “I guess I’ll figure it out later. Maybe I don’t need to think about chapters at all at this point.”

And today I find I’m following in your footsteps. Cool.

Once again this was an inspirational post, and I nodded my head many times while reading your description of your editing process. The methods I’ve employed are similar in some instances, but has some distinct differences as well.

Which is to be expected when you have different people engaging in creative endeavors. No two portraits of the same subject will be alike, nor will two portraits of different subjects ever be the identical.

After my first draft, one of my critique group members said that I had a “fatal flaw” because I left my heroine out of the book for over 100 pages, whilst a subplot took center stage. That because I wanted to finish one sequence of events before embarking upon another sequence of events.

It was a hard criticism to hear, but he confirmed my worst fears. It was an area of my story that I was worried about and he was right, it just didn’t work.

I wound up pouring over my calendar and using sticky notes to move around the plot points, and shuffling chapters as if they were cards in my hand, so that there wasn’t more than about 25 pages where my hero or heroine didn’t make an appearance. That’s the weaving of subplots that you mentioned.

It was a brutal few days as I wrestled with that plot point problem, but ultimately I think it works far better.

As for the comment about poetry, I have a friend of mine who is an incredible non-fiction writer who studies the far right and fascist groups. Subjects that most people wish not to think about, yet he investigates them. His undergraduate degree was in philosophy, and he said that when he writes he tries to make it sound as poetic as possible. His gauge is to see how it sounds aloud.

He has a lyrical writing style, even if the subject matter is horrific.

I’m now on my fourth draft and trying to embroider details of scenery which were spare while I was busy trying to capitalize on my forward momentum of writing.

I am surprised by your admission of not writing chapter breaks in the initial draft. To me, I consciously seek out cliff hangers and think of as many as possible while I’m planning things. I deliberately write to cliffies, and then boom, end the chapter. It’s a good day of writing when I finish a particularly nasty cliffie, for I cackle with fiendish glee knowing that people will say, “I can’t stop here!”

Big dramatic bangs and cliff hangers. I love ‘em.

And don’t think of your mucking in the barn as procrastinating. You’re simply allowing your brain to relax, which will allow your creative ideas to flow when it is not forced. You can allow things to play around in your head when you don’t have pen and paper and you can discard ideas or refine them without pressure. Just be sure to have said pad of paper near the entrance to your house for when you need to hurriedly jot everything down when you come in!

May your muse be treating you well,

Linda