What a long strange book it's been

Mike Martyn · May 10, 2005

I've been writing my first novel since last Nov and I'm getting toward the end, upwards of 80,000 words. Last night I re read the first part.

I think the first part is reasonably well written for a first draft as is the last part. Unfortunately the first part and the last part seem to be from completely different books! They are different in tone, in the first part there are multiple POV and in the last part, there is a single pov etc, etc.

I may have written my first trunk novel since I'm not too sure what I can salvage from this 80,000 word train wreck. On a more positive note, I may be half way through writing two books!

Any thoughts?

Sarita · May 10, 2005

I've heard a lot of writers saying they have to go back to the first few chapters after they complete. Sometimes to delete them, but definitely to revise. Is it salvageable? I trunked my first novel, working on my second right now. After that first experience, it makes you focus much more on keeping things on track. (at least it has for me.)

Did you do an outline?

azbikergirl · May 10, 2005

Time for draft #2! If you start from scratch and don't cheat (borrow from draft #1), you may find the style and tone staying reasonably consistent throughout. That's what happened to me, anyway. Later, I went back to draft #1 and picked out the parts I liked better than the equivalent parts in draft #2. Today, I have about 3 sentences that managed to survive through all the drafts and revisions.

Mike Martyn · May 10, 2005

Saritams8 said:
I've heard a lot of writers saying they have to go back to the first few chapters after they complete. Sometimes to delete them, but definitely to revise. Is it salvageable? I trunked my first novel, working on my second right now. After that first experience, it makes you focus much more on keeping things on track. (at least it has for me.)

Did you do an outline?

No strictly free form. Perhaps I'll do an outline after the fact and do bio's for all the characters.

black winged fighter · May 10, 2005

The first full length novel that I wrestled my way through also jumped around concerning tone, style, importance, sub plots...It was like a stew with weird thoings rising spontaneously to the top, then submerging again.

Since moving on, I've found that outlining is my friend (not my enemy, as I previously thought) and that my style has matured. It still changes subtly, but now I feel it adds to my WIP.

So the first one got trunked. *shrugs* At least I learned something.

zizban · May 10, 2005

I trunked my first as well but I am thinking of rewriting it because it has some ideas I like and its been a few years.

My current WIP is 25,000 words. Its somewhere between 1/3 and 1/4 done.

LightShadow · May 10, 2005

On my last book the first chapter of the first draft was written with a particular ending in mind. My characters, however, had other ideas, and the ending wound up totally different than I expected. Alas, I wound up re-writing my first few chapters a number of times, and even tweaked the ending a little. In the end, it all came together and became a well told story. Sometimes, you keep the early drafts in mind, keep what you like, and then start all over again. Sometimes I will literally keep only certain paragraphs and can the rest of a chapter. It's almost like I'm cut and pasting, but often that's what it takes.

Marcusthefish · May 11, 2005

As someone who has thrown away more than a couple of unfinished novels, I suggest you try to ignore your misgivings and finish your draft. Don't think in terms of "salvageable" or "unsalvageable."

Once it's complete, decide which part best serves your story, and make a list of the revisions you need to make to bring the other parts into line. It will probably be a long list.

Then sit down and make the changes.

MTF

stranger · May 11, 2005

I think you are being premature talking about a train wreak. It's only a first draft. The things you are talking about are surely allowed to happen in a first draft.

When you are finished you can decide:
which is better: the multiple POV or the single POV.
Do you need to change the start to match the end, or the end to match the start.
Which characters/ ubplots to add/delete
etc.

When you have captured exactly what story you are going to tell and how you are going to tell it, then re-write everything that needs re-writing.

NeuroFizz · May 11, 2005

Hi, Mike

Don't trunk it yet--finish it. Then, let it sit for awhile, maybe a few weeks while you get on with something else. When you go back, if your only problems are tone and POV, they can be straightened out. For the beginning and ending seeming like different books, do a backward series of chapter summaries--just a few sentences on the main thrust of each chapter. Going backwards, look for a linear storyline (excluding subplots etc.). If there are huge gaps of nonlinearity, they'll jump out at you, and I bet a fix or two will come to mind. The idea here is to NOT compare last and first chapters. That may be too big of a jump. By going from chapter to chapter from the back, you may come up with smaller fixes that don't seem so daunting. It's a form of backward outlining.

I'm not a fan of discarding completed drafts. If the idea was strong enough to get you writing to the point of finishing a first draft, it was probably a good enough idea to warrant a second look. It took passion and dedication to get through 80,000 words. They're still in there somewhere.
Good luck with it.

pepperlandgirl · May 11, 2005

I seem to have the opposite problem when it comes to opening chapters. I tend to jump into the story without properly establishing the world or the characters. As a result, I have to go back and either flesh out the chapters, or in one memorable case, write three new, additional chapters.

All my betas agreed the story was much stronger for it.

Mike Martyn · May 11, 2005

Thanks for the encouragement everyone.

And back to his fetid cell goes the ink stained wretch.

Lilybiz · May 11, 2005

Yeah, Mike, finish it! You'll find plenty of useful stuff there for your second draft.

I'm about two-thirds of the way through the second draft of my first novel. I had thought about the first draft so long and in so much detail that it actually came out as a relatively coherent whole. The second draft is much harder work, as I'm determined to make it more than coherent--I want it to be GOOD.

I'm amazed at the difference between my writing then and now. I think every day that I put my butt in my chair I become a better writer, so the time I've put into this second draft has put a huge distance between what I wrote this morning and what I wrote two years ago. I guess that's one reason why I know there'll be a third draft--because I want it to be REALLY good!

One thing that's helped me with both drafts: I have a wall in front of me that's decorated with timelines, pictures of items in my story and, very importantly, a list of scenes in their order--a kind of giant outline, if you will. I can move things around if I need to. It keeps me on track. I know where I'm coming from and where I'm going, and can keep track of how the subplots intertwine. I'm oh, so pleased with mah bad self.

stace001 · May 12, 2005

I haven't 'trunked' my first novel, but i've certainly left it alone for now. after finishing a few drafts, sending it around to a few agents, getting back a few rejections, i decided to rework it and try again, which i did. after getting back a few more rejections, i decided i didn't have anything else to offer the story or characters right then, so i shelved it. that's not to say i won't go back to it after i've completed and sold my current novel (i'm being positive

). I would spend a bit more time your novel before you make a decision about it.

stace001 · May 12, 2005

aertep said:
Yeah, Mike, finish it! You'll find plenty of useful stuff there for your second draft.

I'm about two-thirds of the way through the second draft of my first novel. I had thought about the first draft so long and in so much detail that it actually came out as a relatively coherent whole. The second draft is much harder work, as I'm determined to make it more than coherent--I want it to be GOOD.

I'm amazed at the difference between my writing then and now. I think every day that I put my butt in my chair I become a better writer, so the time I've put into this second draft has put a huge distance between what I wrote this morning and what I wrote two years ago. I guess that's one reason why I know there'll be a third draft--because I want it to be REALLY good!

One thing that's helped me with both drafts: I have a wall in front of me that's decorated with timelines, pictures of items in my story and, very importantly, a list of scenes in their order--a kind of giant outline, if you will. I can move things around if I need to. It keeps me on track. I know where I'm coming from and where I'm going, and can keep track of how the subplots intertwine. I'm oh, so pleased with mah bad self.

Aertep, that timeline idea sounds fabulous! what a brilliant way to keep track of your story. i use notebooks to keep all my stuff in, but when i'm looking for a particular scene or where i've introduced a new character, it can be a real nightmare. Congratulations on a great idea!!

What a long strange book it's been

Mike Martyn

Sarita

carpe noctem

azbikergirl

I really do look like this.

Mike Martyn

black winged fighter

AW Addict

zizban

LightShadow

defender of the blahs!

Marcusthefish

stranger

practical experience, FTW

NeuroFizz

The grad students did it

pepperlandgirl

American Aquarium Drinker

Mike Martyn

Lilybiz

glad to be here

stace001

Look into my eyes

stace001

Look into my eyes