#wipvii

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To be honest, I think the worst part about writing a novel (for me) is that I absolutely have to half-ass it if I want to make any progress at all.

Because the way my process works, there is no point in spending hours editing a scene if, by the time I get to the end of the draft, I realize it is not actually needed for the plot. And I can spend weeks just making the first line pop but how much can I really say with it if I do not know the themes of my own story yet, or know what I need to foreshadow?

Why put it all that work at the beginning and scrap most of it when it would be more efficient to word-vomit something atrocious now and slowly chip away at it like a sculptor revealing a veinous hand in the marble, putting in the effort once I know where effort is actually needed?

At the same time, as a chronic perfectionist, half-assing something is terrifying because I start to fear it might actually be my best work, or that I am "losing it" and out of practice.

Eventually that half-assing will turn into a full-ass, because with each draft I will add back a little more of what I let go of last draft; but GOD is it hard to read something of yours that is riddled with mistakes you can see from a mile away, and that you know how to fix... and just move on without touching them.

You really do just have to trust that your future self has the same standards as you and will put in the effort you are putting off when the time is right; and if the problem is beyond her skill to fix she will research the shit out of it, ask for help, and try until it works. She won't settle for anything less than perfect (or at least, I cannot think of anything that would make this better so it might as well be done), but she can't get there until you do.

#writers of tumblr #writing #novel writing #writeblr #writer things #writer problems #writer stuff #writers on tumblr #writerscommunity #female writers #writerscorner #writerslife #writerblr #writblr #women writers #wipvii

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Since we're talking about second drafts -

"When you get to your second draft do yourself a favour and rewrite it completely. Trust me. You'll hate me now but you'll be thanking me later. Rewrite it. Don't even look at your first draft. If it's important it will stick."

I really tried to follow this advice. It didn't work for me.

By the time I started my second draft (a year after finishing draft 1) I had forgotten so much about the story that if I didn't look at my first draft wouldn't be starting with a draft, I'd be back in the planning/outlining stage.

Staring at a blank document trying to come up with the right words all over again was unnecessary stress and a waste of time. I was happy enough with my first draft. Why fix what ain't broke?

My getting-words-on-the-page process is messy. I word vomit, I ramble, I overwrite. I don't add description unless it's important to the plot. I don't edit unless my writing would be completely incomprehensible to future me otherwise. I type as fast as I can. If I started over I'd have a second draft of the exact same shit quality as my first. Maybe the pacing would be a little better. Maybe there would be less inconsistency. But there's no guarantee of that. How much would I really have to show for all that effort?

Going into my second draft with specific goals for revision is what worked in the end. I wanted to: trim my word count by 32 000 words, fix the plot holes, fix macro pacing issues like scenes where nothing interesting happens, change the ending, and make sure things are properly foreshadowed.

That I could do. It broke it down, made it far less overwhelming than "rewrite everything" and it saved me time. I'm on my third draft now, more than two years after I started my first. My writing has grown a lot in that time but I still stand by my decision not to rewrite. The story didn't need it. I don't see any decisions I could have made different on a rewrite that would have made my story so much better than what I have now.

So find what works for you. If rewriting works all the power to you! But don't feel like you are limiting yourself by not doing it. Rewriting won't magically improve your writing. Any revision needs to be done with intention.

This is your permission to not rewrite. Especially if it's making you avoid touching your draft all together.

#writing advice #novel writing #writeblr #i swore i was going to stay away from writing advice tumblr this time around #wipvii

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Ever since I've started paying attention to how published authors use punctuation, I have stopped caring about sentence fragments, or overusing commas, semicolons, and em-dashes.

You gotta let your sentences flow naturally. Sometimes that means not using three em-dashes in a paragraph because it is distracting. Sometimes that means using three semicolons in a single sentence (*cough* Frank Herbert).

Maybe the rule is, don't use fancy punctuation/fragments if following grammar rules and conventions will do, but sometimes your sentence just sounds better with six commas, an em-dash, and no verbs.

#wipvii #I have stopped trying to force it #and suddenly its like my writing has actual voice and flows naturally #It sounds less like a high school english assignment and more like someone actually telling a story #i swore i was going to stay away from writing advice tumblr this time around

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You know, writing novels really skews your perception of how many words is a lot.

I'm staring at my third draft, 26 559 words, and I'm thinking, wow that's so few words. I cut more words from my first draft than I have written for my third so far.

I'll be writing an essay for uni like, 1000 words? That's it???

And I have to be careful because, no, 26 500 is A LOT of words. It's nearly 50 pages of printer paper.

The very first time I tried to write a novel I got about 28 000 words in before I got permanently stuck. When I told people their reaction was generally, "28 000 is still a lot of words though. Wow."

And now, I am nearly 28 000 words in again... but to a third draft. 215 180 words into this project. And I'm not stuck this time.

#wipvii

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Apparently my mom can tell when I am writing my novel just by my posture???

I have been working on my computer for a few hours now but I only just opened my draft up to start a writing session. Two sentences in my mom goes, "are you working on your novel?" Me: "yes?" Her: "your posture changed."

Help. I can't stop thinking about this.

#wipvii

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It is time to pull out the big guns.

Set font to Comic Sans.

#clearly I am getting desperate #wipvii #yes everyone I am indeed writing rn #have no fear

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My feet are very toasty. Toes by the fireplace. The house is dark. Everybody's asleep.

I shall write!

(Once I refill my water glass. But I have to leave the toasty fireplace. Wish me luck.)

#wipvii

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Don't know if this line is going to get me anywhere but goddamn

I will live, I tell myself through the salt water in my eyes and sting of the south wind on my face.

#wipvii #behold the live blogging

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I'm snowed in. I should write. Maybe I'll do some tag games later if all goes well. I think I finally have enough words to start doing all the Find the Word tags I've been hoarding.

#I was gonna say #“if all goes well” but I feel like that's just tempting Murphy and his dumbass laws so #wipvii

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Holy shit, have I really been away from tumblr since August 29th??? no0oooooooooo

Well anyways, I'm back, I wrote a Whole Page of draft 3 of WIPVII, and uni has yet to completely kick my ass!!

My beloved moots I missed you dearly. How have you all been?

#wipvii

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we shall attempt to write now.

#we as in the royal we #wipvii

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Thank you, second draft me. Real specific.

#wipvii

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another lovely use of square brackets by yours truly, circa 2021.

#wipvii

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But if Henry is first cousins with Philip he would have an esteemed position at court, unless of course he were a bastard. Why did I not think of that possibility before? It makes too much sense.  

Because the author is a dumbass. Sorry Isolde. You can only be as smart as I am.

#wipvii

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800 more words and I can call it a night. you got this, Kate.

#wipvii

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Okay so now that I have officially finished chapter one and will not be touching it again until draft 4, the question of whether or not I am actually able and ready to get on with draft 3 has been answered. No more false starts yeet!

And now that I have spent some time familiarizing myself with the weakest section of draft 2 (or one of them at least) I have a good idea of what draft 3 needs.

Which means, no more unbridled perfectionism!! It is time for me to set some goals for draft 3, and work to those goals and only those goals (or I will get stuck editing one section on loop).

My goals for draft 2 were, 1. cut the draft down to around 80K, 2. fix the ending, 3. fix the plot holes and add in any foreshadowing I didn't put in first draft, 4. any other major structural changes including cutting things that turned to be not needed, and 5. cut out/fix anything that makes me cringe.

In that vein,

My goals for draft 3 shall be, 1. keep the draft as close to 80K as possible (I'm honestly so scared about this), 2. add in all the description I left out of earlier drafts, 3. fill in all the [placeholders] I left for future me, 4. fix the pacing within scenes, and 5. up my average (median and mode) word count per session from 2-3.5k to 3-4.5k (I want to learn how to write fast).

Here goes nothing...

#wipvii