Too many books on writing, I mean. And also “too many in a certain length of time.”
I have friends who never read writing books for fear it will muck up their process. They’re afraid that they’ll spend too much time trying to make the writing fit what the book says it should be, and they’ll never get anywhere.
Myself, I used to think that no book (and no class, lecture, novelist, et cetera) could teach ME how to write MY books.
I know better now. I’m more likely to fall into the other tiger-pit these days. You know, the one where I don’t get anywhere?
The next book is due out in April. It doesn’t have a title yet. It’s a complete manuscript, with some awesome bits, and I think with a good edit all the parts will live up to the other parts.
But I’ve spent five days trying to get going on that edit and getting not far fairly fast. Part of it is the usual “augh dunwanna edit don’t make me I’ll diieeeeeee” flail. That’s going to happen with me. I know because it always does. Every book, every edit, KD spends at least the first three days going “Ugh it’s AWFUL ohmyGOD why did I even write this I’m a terrible writer and–”
Well, you get the idea.
This time, though, there’s a bit more. There’s the day I spent trying to fit the manuscript into the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet (remember, the BS2?) and the two days I spent sulking thinking about how it didn’t fit.
For two days I dithered between Holly Lisle’s advice to always edit on paper, and my own desire to just dive into the damn thing onscreen because holy mother of lork, there’s so much that needs fixing. Holly Lisle says she makes the paper bleed when she edits, but I’d have so much red ink spattered about that someone would call CSI.
Today, of course, I avoided everything edit-related so hard that I cleaned out six months worth of junk mail and old bills needing shredding. Tossed expired coupons, found some Christmas cards, discovered a fact sheet that proved my point in an old argument with my kid…yeah. It was exciting times in KD’s writing space tonight!
Finally I just started. I began putting what little editing I’d done in the computer, just to be doing SOMETHING towards the edit. And I realized a few things.
- I was procrastinating because the very first scene is wrong. Right now it’s a bit of a triumph for Donte, and it needs to not be. This is not a story about bringing someone down. He needs to start down, so he can go up.
- I don’t need to know the opening of the manuscript yet. I can fix it after I edit the ending.
- Yes, I can write a good book without following exactly the Flavor of the Week†writing advice. I’ve already done it several times, after all.
Duh, KD.
So, umm…onward?
In the morning, anyway.
If I don’t edit tomorrow, dear people, please to be pelting me with whatever marine life you have at hand.
§
†This should in no wise be read as a criticism of following good writing advice. I’m just saying I need to stop letting writing advice paralyze me. I still heartily recommend Save the Cat! Just don’t use it to stop yourself from writing.
Or editing. >_>