Welcome readers,
writers, authors, and bloggers!
We're glad you're here!
It's the First Wednesday of the month; when we celebrate IWSG Day in the form of a blog hop featuring members and guests of
the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Founded by author Alex Cavanaugh (Thank
you, Captain!) and fostered by like-minded associates, IWSG is a comfortable
place to share views and literary news from the viewpoint of our writing desks as we
record our journeys. Check out the August newsletter here.
Our awesome co-hosts
this month are: Kate Larkinsdale, Diane Burton, Janet Alcorn, and Shannon
Lawrence! Feel free to hop around and say hello to
everyone!
The Optional
question for this month is: Have you ever
written something that afterwards you felt conflicted about? If so, did you let
it stay how it was, take it out, or rewrite it?
Absolutely. I’ve yet to meet a writer who hasn’t
gone back at least once along the way to revise, rewrite or completely remove
something that just didn’t feel right. Providing it hasn’t already gone to
publication, I have and will always rewrite or delete anything I don’t feel
comfortable with or about. To quote one of our members, Arlee at Tossing it Out, “The story belongs to the author, the book
belongs to the readers.” I think it’s a good thing to keep in mind. Timely
proofreading is also important.
My current WIP is one that had been in my “Someday,
maybe” drawer for quite a while. To be honest, the exile was deflating, yet
necessary. I’m attempting to gain back some of the lost momentum while
struggling to keep the tenses straight. Anyone else ever encountered this?
I did run across a few tips I plan to try in an
article at nownovel.com For now, I’m open to suggestions ;-)
Happy Writing!
Tenses are one thing I am not good at.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't given the subject a thought before now.
DeleteI only have written in close third person so I don't a tense problem. One of my critique partners struggles with tenses so you're not alone in struggling like this.
ReplyDeleteAnd I had to put a project I worked on revising for 10 years in a drawer and start something else. I finished the first draft of the new project and feel good about moving on for now.
You're moving on? Yay you, Natalie! I envy you having critique partners. They are incredibly helpful.
DeleteAlthough it was "exiled", I never stopped thinking about the story. I added notes, ideas to the file - all in present tense. Trouble is, I rather like the flow but still want to stay in third-person omniscient mode. I'll have to see if I can make it happen ;-)
Hi Diedre - I'd be muddled if I wrote a book ... it's bad enough just with blog posts! Cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteHi Hilary! Aw, your posts are always a treat to read. Good to see you, my dear. I'll be by your place soon ;-)
DeleteI find going back to old manuscripts is always tricky. I need to leave a work after I finish it, for at least a few weeks, maybe a couple months, so I can go back in with fresh eyes to revise. Wait too long, however, and it begins to feel like it was written by someone else, and I don't know HOW to get back into it. I've got so many half-finished novels squirrelled away that I know I will likely never finish, because I'm a very different person/writer than when I last worked on them.
ReplyDelete"Tricky" describes the situation well. I don't change much as a person or writer in between long sessions, but the ever-changing times sure do. What was once taboo is now so commonplace it's outdated. And when it comes to structure, I don't know how Grammarly stays in business ;-)
DeleteI appreciate your thoughts, C.D.
Loved Arlee's quote. He's so right. Once that story goes between the covers, the writer needs to move on.
ReplyDeleteAnd your quote is just as eloquent, Lee ;-)
DeleteHope I can get to your place today, my last attempt was not successful. See ya soon!
Writing is torturous for me, as I am compelled to edit, rewrite, remove, ad nauseam! This is one reason I've published nothing except blog posts and lean more towards photography. ☺
ReplyDeleteTorturous? You could have fooled me, I think you write splendidly - especially your poems. And your photography is fantastic!
DeleteThank you for the kind words, diedre! ♥ As someone once said: "I hate writing, but love having written." As a visual person, photography is much more fun. ☺
DeleteI've also gone back to a project after a long time and realized I switched the tenses in the new section. What a pain!
ReplyDeleteIndeed. And deciding which fits better for the story is tough. All part of the journey, I suppose. Thanks for coming by, Shannon. And if I haven't already said it, thanks for co-hosting ;-)
DeleteLove the quote. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
Me too ;-)
DeleteOnce a book is published, it's out there and I don't think you can change it (even though with digital books, you actually can). Time to let it go and move on to your next story.
ReplyDeleteI agree. If something didn't feel right, I wouldn't let it go to publication in the first place. But for those who have decided to revise after publication, one of our members suggested an interesting marketing strategy: "Special Revised Edition"
DeleteThanks for coming by, Kate! And thank you for co-hosting.
Thanks for the attribution. I usually will run a story through my head many times and do my revisions before I even get to writing any of it down. Editing is fine and essential most of the time, but once it's been committed to publication I don't think anything should be changed other than errors that were missed by an original edit.
ReplyDeleteLee
It's amazing that you don't have to at least jot down a couple of notes. Good for you ;-)
Delete