Resurrecting Tell Me Tuesday

I’m resurrecting Tell Me Tuesday for the next few weeks, until I host my next Guest Blogger (Susan Gable, for those interested, who’s visiting February 9th, for those not inclined to check the schedule in the sidebar). So please share your news—good or bad. How’s the writing going? The non-writing? Great, horrible, indifferent?

As my faithful readers know, I took a Blog Holiday for most of December. Because My Liege’s work and the kids’ college/university didn’t start until Jan. 5/6th, the Blog Holiday extended as well. When I returned to my work in progress, I found it difficult to sink back into the characters. So I spent a good week editing from the beginning of the manuscript (I’m about 2/3 – 3/4 of the way through the writing of the whole thing). This gave me the opportunity to tighten and apply comments from The Suzannah contest, which the manuscript finaled in recently (and the finalists are currently being judged by an impressive array of editors and agents—eek). Interesting, I found the first several chapters required the most tightening. Even though I revise as I go, until you’re deeper into the manuscript it’s often not easy to see what can be tightened or deleted in the beginning. It became evident that the more I grew to know my characters and discover the plot, the easier it has become to tighten as I write. This gives me hope for the remainder of the book, but no doubt when I finish I’ll find all sorts of areas in the chapters I’m writing now that can be tightened as well. It’s a can’t-see-the-trees-for-the-forest sort of thing, I guess.

Now I’m back into fast-drafting and revising new scenes, plus revising scenes that I fast-drafted back when I fast-drafted the whole manuscript in chunks. I had a big chunk of novel missing in the middle-to-end part that I’ve been working on writing these past several weeks. It’s interesting that a great number of the previously fast-drafted scenes I’m encountering as I proceed through the book STILL work. Others, I notice I’ve already used the information in new scenes and can delete the old ones. So, a bit of double-writing happening, but not enough to really annoy me.

Okay, that’s me. Who’s next?

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Categorized as Writing

By Cindy

I'm irritated because my posts won't publish.

8 comments

  1. Because of the ATV contest, I keep stopping and starting my book, so my characters weren’t growing in my unconscious. I took a great astrology for writers class, and it helped me find out so much more about my characters.

    I’m nearly halfway done. Like you, I’m going to start back from the beginning and rewrite. Unlike you, I’ll probably add pages.

    It’s all good!

  2. Hi Edie,

    First, congratulations on advancing to Round 3 of the American Title V contest!

    I can totally see how involvement in the contest would make it difficult to sink into your WIP. Great idea to take a class and give your muse a way to regain her excitement. LOL that you’ll add pages. I don’t think I ever add pages. I never add scenes in the inital writing of a book, and I usually don’t take out scenes. Once a scene is written and revised, it’s in the book–unless an editor asks me to take it out. And that hasn’t happened yet, for Cindy or Penny. If I’m revising a book for a different house or edtior, though, then, yes, I add and/or take out scenes. (I’m talking me taking it upon myself to revise the book, not an editor asking for revisions).

    Sounds like you have a good plan. Keep going!

  5. I had to take a break from my last manuscript (which I finished in December but my CP says I’m not finished with yet…). I’ve got two different stories on my mind and then a NEW hero showed up out of the blue. I’ve got some family drama going on, but writing usually makes me feel better so maybe I’ll be getting a bunch done. Congrats on your Suzannah final and I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you!

  6. Thanks, Lexi. The Suzannah final was at least a month ago. I think I forgot to mention it here.

    Sorry about the family drama. Good you can write when there’s havoc. Family drama can have a bad impact on production, that’s for sure.

    I also think taking a break from a manu can be a good thing. It gives your muse time to consider your CP’s comments, so when you go back to it changing or tweaking doesn’t seem so daunting.

  7. Hi Cindy,

    I’m still trying to figure out how to mesh my writing in with my school work and shifts at the library. Hopefully I’ll manage it soon as it’s starting to get frustrating.

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