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Paula sometimes feels like tearing her hair out.
I’ve recently spent what seems like an inordinate amount of
time on a short conversation in my ‘work in progress’. It’s less than 500
words, but I’ve written and re-written those words at least a dozen times until
I felt like I was tearing my hair out. Each time, I thought I had got it right i.e.
the balance between what the heroine actually said, and what she left out of
her explanation. When I looked at it again, I decided there was either too much
– or not enough.
Sometimes I can whip through 2 or 3 pages of dialogue with
no problem. Other times, like with this conversation, I agonise, and go
back and forth with it forever! There’s a ‘fine line’ somewhere, and I’m not
sure I have found it yet.
I can recall having similar struggles with some of my other
novels, usually with short but highly significant parts of the story. Often it can
involve an explanation of something, where you don’t want to give everything
away to the readers, but at the same time need to give enough to arouse their
interest or curiosity.
Other times, I struggle with how to get my characters from
Event A to Event B without saying, ‘Three weeks later…’ or ‘padding’ the story
with unnecessary detail about what happened (if anything!) during those three
weeks.
I’m sure most readers have no idea of how much we struggle
at times to get things right, so that the story flows. It’s only we authors who
know we have to paddle like mad through the white water to get to the smooth
flowing waters!
What part of writing makes you feel like tearing your hair
out?
The first chapter My plot outline looks good but knowing how and where to start stops me dead in my tracks.
ReplyDeleteI know it's best to write everything and then trim, but I still panic.
One writer (can't remember who) suggested writing the whole story - and then deleting the original first chapter - presumably on the basis that many writers start their stories at the wrong place or time.
DeleteFirst one or two, for me. Can you leave this scene for now and go on? Let the next ones define it better for you?
ReplyDeleteThat's what I did, Ana, but when I looked back at it, I could see it wasn't right, and tried revising it - several times!
DeleteEr...with all of it? It's good to know that experienced writers have the same problems.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who says writing is easy is lying! Carving marble with a plastic knife is the best analogy I've found!
DeleteI don't think there's a particular aspect that makes me want to tear my hair out. Like you, I tend to get 'stuck' at certain places/scenes and it drives me crazy. And there's no rhyme or reason for what will cause a hang up for me.
ReplyDeleteIt varies for me, too, Debra, but the two examples I've quoted are the my worst ones.
DeleteAnytime I get stuck, I want to tear out my hair. It usually is getting from point A to point B, but not always. That's actually why I work on more than one at a time, so I can switch between them and think about my problem while working on something else.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes skip to Point B and then go back to 'fill in' because by that time I usually know what's happened in the meantime. Don't think I could switch to another story, though, as I need to stay focused on my characters.
Delete