The rewrites stalled a little this week, then today, picked up again. On Tuesday I hit chapter ten, a chapter where I had to do a lot of rewriting. The actual putting words on a page wasn’t what was slowing me down. It was the figuring out which words to put down. The characterization of one of the main characters changed significantly from the first draft. That wasn’t what was stopping me though — it was the change in one of his primary relationships that also had to occur as a result of the characterization change. All his interactions with another of the characters had to be shifted, so it wasn’t just one character that I was changing, but two, and that made it much slower for me. I would run into a section of dialog, have to get up and go do something else for a few hours while my back brain solved the problem, then come back and go, oh! That’s what I need to do! Then do it, in a relatively short amount of time. So instead of finishing chapter ten on Tuesday, I diidn’t finish it until this morning.
I did manage to keep working afterward, so I just finished rewriting chapter eleven. I’m behind schedule significantly — I have seven chapters left (six regular chapters plus a short epilogue) and only three days before I start the new day job. Right now I don’t think there’s a chance in hell that I’m going to finish the rewrites by the end of the month. But I’m telling myself that’s okay — I’ll finish when I finish and it’ll be the best book that I can possibly write. I’m not going to make the mistake of rushing this.
Word count is now at 97905. Over the course of rewriting I’ve already added 4200 words. I anticipate I’ll be adding a lot more. Then taking them away. Isn’t that how it always goes? You put the words, you take the words out, you put the words in and you shake it all about. . .
I’m really glad that there’s been so much time between the earlier chapters and now. I ran into something done by one of the secondary characters and I was just as stunned as the primary character. Why the hell had this character done that? It was so out of character, it didn’t make any sense. I left it though, knowing I could come back and change it later. It wasn’t until a few hours later that I remembered why that character had acted so out of character, that this was a very specific plot point. It pleased me immensely, though, that what I had written had the desired effect, and was completely clear in hindsight. I have great hope that it will be the same way for the readers.
I’ve been doing some changes of font (from Times Roman to Ariel) in order to break the words apart better, trying to literally re-vision, or to see again, all of this text. I know that I’m not catching everything on the first pass, but I also hope that I’m catching most things, and that the second and third pass will take less time and require less changes. I’m really looking forward to printing out the novel and reading it out loud. I always learn so much when I do that.
One other rewrite note — I have a new home beast computer. It’s another ultra-portable. The machine is lighter and the screen is smaller than the old machine, but the keyboard is actually wider. I actually like the keyboard a whole lot more. These keys have a better feel to them. Because the screen is different, it’s also helping me re-see the book. Mind you, I can’t afford a new computer between every novel. Still, it would be fun if I could, eh? (^_^)
What kind is the new computer? 😀
The new home beast is another Dell. It’s called a Latitude D240. I’m really liking it a lot. It has a lot more memory, as well as a lot more speed. Both of these things make me very happy. *G*
But I’m telling myself that’s okay — I’ll finish when I finish and it’ll be the best book that I can possibly write.
Huzzah to that!
There really just isn’t any sense in rushing this, you know? It’s not like I’m under contract or anything. It makes a lot more sense to really do good work on it. I want this one to be big, baby. And sorry you won’t be there tonight!
it’s so nice seeing someone else’s process. thanks for the peek. 🙂
You’re welcome! I find it an endless fascinating process myself, particularly because I can’t seem to tweak it as easily as I can the writing process. It’s so much more of a “well, let’s see what we have today” thing rather than a “Let’s write! Whee!” I am finding joy in this portion of the process, particularly when I think that I’ve finally found the perfect word or turn of phrase. Mind you, that won’t stop me from yanking it out next go round. But it makes me happy for a while. *G*
What kind is the new computer? 😀
The new home beast is another Dell. It’s called a Latitude D240. I’m really liking it a lot. It has a lot more memory, as well as a lot more speed. Both of these things make me very happy. *G*
But I’m telling myself that’s okay — I’ll finish when I finish and it’ll be the best book that I can possibly write.
Huzzah to that!
There really just isn’t any sense in rushing this, you know? It’s not like I’m under contract or anything. It makes a lot more sense to really do good work on it. I want this one to be big, baby. And sorry you won’t be there tonight!
it’s so nice seeing someone else’s process. thanks for the peek. 🙂
You’re welcome! I find it an endless fascinating process myself, particularly because I can’t seem to tweak it as easily as I can the writing process. It’s so much more of a “well, let’s see what we have today” thing rather than a “Let’s write! Whee!” I am finding joy in this portion of the process, particularly when I think that I’ve finally found the perfect word or turn of phrase. Mind you, that won’t stop me from yanking it out next go round. But it makes me happy for a while. *G*