Novel stats

Managed 500 words of rewrite today. Didn’t actually write more than a sentence or two beyond the end of where I’d been, but at least I managed something.

I actually have been writing the last few days, but it’s all been rewriting.

One of the things I’ve said more than once is that I’m a rewriter, not a writer. But the amount of rewriting that I’m doing on the first four chapters of this novel is ridiculous.

When I write, I tend to get to the point, then fill in. I was talking with badger2305 last weekend about this — I feel that before this novel, when I wrote, the first draft would be like drawing a sketch of a tree — the trunk would be there, as well as most of the branches, some of the twigs and leaves, a hint of bark, etc. When I rewrote, it would be like filling in the rest of the branches, as well as really focusing in on the twigs and leaves, doing the veins running through everything, and so on.

For this novel, it feels like the first draft is a hint of the trunk and maybe one or two branches. I’m having to go back and fill in far too much. I should be picking more of this stuff up during the first go. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong for the longest time. But I think I’ve finally diagnosed the problem.

The process I used for outlining this book was completely different than the process I’d had for any of my other books (the novel I’m working on is my fourth, for those of you keeping track.) I was very concerned about the plot of this novel. I wanted a really strong plot, stronger than any of my other books. I sat down with a friend and we plotted out what was going to happen, chapter by chapter. So now, working off that outline, I find that I’m aiming toward that plot point, and dropping everything else.

Like, for example, character arcs.

See — looking back at the outlines for my other novels, I find that while I covered plot points, the chapters turned on the character arc. And while I have character arcs in this novel, they aren’t explicitly defined. And that’s what interests me in a novel — exploring the characters.

What I’ve done this week is sit down and re-outline some chapters, keeping the plot points, but adding in the character arcs, making sure that I’m going to hit those points as well. I am hoping that this will let me work more productively on the novel, more consistently.

I know these characters — I hear their voices very clearly. (I know I’ve pimped this before, but I figure it won’t hurt to do it again — I generally fill out a modified version of this form for every major character.) I know what’s supposed to happen to these characters, but I was dropping a lot of the nuances while I was driving for only the plot points.

I really need to get going on this novel, really need to start churning out the words. However, this novel is still going to be hell to write, emotionally. I outlined and pitched this novel more than a year ago. My mom died last fall. The main character’s mate is killed in the first chapter, and she’s in grief for much of the novel. It really is hell going into her head sometimes. (Okay, most of the time.) This is another reason why I keep starting and stopping on the novel. I can’t distance myself from her grief, from my own. I think this novel is going to really pack a strong punch when I finally finish it. But it isn’t going to be easy. I’m not feeling sorry for myself BTW — I’m just acknowledging that it’s work. And it’s good work, good processing. But slow.

So — that’s what’s happening with my process and the writing and what not. I know that my process is my own, how I write a novel is different than how anyone else does it. But I still find it interesting to hear about other people’s process, and thinking about process is always good, for me, at any rate.