Another day of revisions

[jpskewedthrone]

So after the gym (and the what sports car are you quiz) I managed to get busy with revisions. Today's music was "A Thin Red Line" and yesterday's was "Smilla's Sense of Snow", for those interested in what writer's listen to while working. I write first drafts to these as well. I have about 5 CDs that have music that soothes me and doesn't distract me with words while I write. At this point, they serve as triggers that put me in the right mindset for writing, although as I discovered yesterday, they only seem to work if I use the earbuds.

Anyway, I reread chapter 1 and checked the minor revisions I made to it yesterday. All good. Then I started in on the major revisions I'd done to chapter 2 to see if they worked. Surprisingly, they worked rather well. I had to fix a few sentences to make things smoother, but other than that. Oh, and I had to fix the end of the second new scene, since I pretty much ended it mid-sentence yesterday when I realized what time it was and that I'd miss my cycling class (and since I TEACH the class, that would not have been good). I think chapter 2 is now alot more active.

In the end, chapter 1 and 2 are done. I won't go back and revise them anymore, unless something I add later forces a change earlier on. And I don't expect that to happen. I really like the new scene between Westen and Varis. It really brings Westen to the fore, and since I use him later on in the book . . . I realize that none of you know who Westen is. I keep mentioning him just to annoy you. *grin*

I also read through chapter 3, mainly to look for possible places to make it more active and to make some minor changes. There's an obvious spot to make it more active, so tomorrow's goal is to write that scene. I'm not entirely certain how the scene will go yet, but hopefully I'll figure it out in my sleep tonight. I know how it starts, but I can't just do that, it wouldn't be interesting. So I'm trying to figure out how to tie the scene into something else, either something my editor suggested I add, or something that comes up later in the novel. No clue what that will be.

But in the end, I should have chapter 3 revised by the end of the day tomorrow. Which means I'm still on schedule. In fact, I may even get to look at chapter 4 tomorrow. At least a first re-through.

Comments

[makoiyi.livejournal.com]

Music does very much influence the pace of what i write, and sometimes the mood. I go from celtic folk music to Linkin Park. Sometimes I find it distracting, so I like stuff that I know really well, and sometimes I just write in silence. I also, when I hit a speed bump, tend to play spider solitaire or jewel quest or something fairly mindless that lets my brain relax. Sometimes that is distracting but sometimes my brain runs too fast and I have to stop and think.

I find rewrites much harder than writing the original when all the ideas are fresh etc. Weaving in new storyline sometimes overwhelms me even when I have a map of events. I do it but then find out I've cut something vital so have to go all the way back again. In Rivers I had two characters captured by aliens. I took one of the characters out so it focused on the one left. But all those important conversations and itneractions had to go, and then I had to develop a new thread for the character who left. It does work but the new threads are very much first draft and will need alot more work yet.

You seem to be able to focus down much more tightly on what you want. I wish I could do that. There again, I suppose if an editor said to me, this is what I want, and you agree it does make something better, then you already have a template for it.

[jpsorrow.livejournal.com]

Hmm . . . that's interesting. I find the revisions usually work out better than when I'm writing the first draft. Possibly for the reasons you point out: that my editor has more or less explained what she would like to see and so I know what I need to focus on. When I'm writing the first draft it takes forever because I don't know where everything is going yet and so I sit and write, then stare out the window and think, then scribble down notes, etc. Alot more time is spent (or wasted) during the first draft than during revisions. I KNOW the plot during revisions. And most of what my editor asks me to revise does not pertain to plot or plot changes. Usually its expanding the history or the world view. That's stuff that can be inserted rather easily into the existing story.

This revision is a little more intense. I've had to add entire scenes that will affect the plot later on. Not in significant ways, but as you point out, I'll have to remove characters from some scenes, change conversations, etc. Once I get through the first half of the book, where all the new scenes are being added, I should zip through the rest.

[makoiyi.livejournal.com]

Well, I think every writer does things in a different way to reach a similar conclusion, and, whatever works... but i do find the process one uses to be interesting, and, if something doesn't appear to be working in one way, if some guy says, well, I do this, it can be helpful. Sometimes I do get overwhelmed. That never means I am going to stop doing it, just that maybe I can learn a different way of doin something.

[tryslora]

I'm really enjoying reading about the revisions. They're one of my HUGE weak spots, so it's great to read how someone else attacks them and what sorts of things are changing.

I'm also interested in the music. Have you ever found that different books/characters call for different music? I've been finding that what I'm writing seriously influences what I listen to while writing (and I can't write without anything... that dead silence is just *shudders* ew!)

[jpsorrow.livejournal.com]

To some extent, different books require different music. But not all that much. Mostly I can only write to certain kinds of music. Always soundtracks, and orchetrations at that. I can't have someone singing words while writing. And some soundtracks that you'd think would be obvious choices don't work for me, like LOTR and Gladiator. They're too . . . active. I need something relatively calm. I end up humming along to the music while I'm thinking or trying to figure something out . . . or trying to figure out what to write next in the middle of a scene (do I go for the dagger or does someone talk next, etc).

But occasionally what I'm writing won't allow me to use a particular soundtrack that I've used before. The two soundtracks I've mentioned in LJ already seem to work for everything.

Glad you're enjoying the postings on the revisions. I intend to keep it up, although there will be a lag during the regular work week.