Too many false trails

lfraser · Jul 16, 2007

At 50,000 words, I've just written one of two chapters that are the critical turning point in the story -- about half way through, I'd say.

I'd love to get going, but in several of my earlier scenes (I hesistate to call them chapters yet) there are false trails and little plot twists that I'm not absolutely sure I'll use. None of these are absolutely critical to the overall story arc, although they would certainly affect what happens later in the story to a small degree.

Should I just keep on going, or tie these down first? Any opinions would be most welcome.

Bartholomew · Jul 16, 2007

Add as much as you can now and fill in every crack, and then prune anything that you don't feel good about in the first edit.

maestrowork · Jul 16, 2007

Keep writing. Make some notes. Go back to fix them in your second draft.

lfraser · Jul 16, 2007

Bartholomew said:
Add as much as you can now and fill in every crack, and then prune anything that you don't feel good about in the first edit.

I already feel compelled to do that, as I tend to procrastinate by editing and re-editing. And there are, admittedly, chunks of the first half of the story that aren't written yet. But I'm afraid I'll end up tinkering forever if I don't move on. On the other hand, I'm also afraid that one of those little false trails might derail the whole story later on.

Argh.

Edit: And my creativity is definitely flagging on the first half of the story because I've been fooling around with it for so long.

Simon Woodhouse · Jul 16, 2007

My goal (or impossible dream) is to try and write something that doesn't need masses of re-writing. As such, I'm determined to have no loose ends when I start the novel I'm currently planning. I want to concentrate on the writing, and not be distracted by worrying about pesky little things like plot and character development. If I can nail it all down before I start, I'm think I'll enjoy the writing process a lot more.

However, it's all horses for courses. Lots of people are quite happy to almost make it up as they go along, and if that works, then why not.

Qelenhn · Jul 16, 2007

I've taken to making notes any time I think of ideas for parts of the book that I've already written. Unless I'm hit with inspiration for a specific scene out of order, I keep pushing forward with the narrative. If I decide something from earlier in the book needs to change to fit where I'm going, or needs to be more fully developed or dropped completely, I try to make detailed notes about what I need to change in a specific notebook for that purpose. My first novel was never finished because I kept rewriting the beginning, so I find this works better for me.

lfraser · Jul 16, 2007

What's bothering me is that I know most of the story arc, but I'm getting teribly bogged down, changing things back and forth. Obviously that's the hallmark of an amateur writer . Unfortunately, it often makes me want to delete the whole dang thing and start again.

Chasing the Horizon · Jul 16, 2007

Considering I'm still finding places where things are inconsistent in the third draft of my novel (which was written with the 'I'll fix it later' mentality), I'm going to say not to do that. For my next book every single thing is getting changed as soon as I decide to change it. It's hard to predict what a seemingly small change may result in (like, say, three extra chapters), and then you have to go through the manuscript very carefully and make sure you've changed every reference to that event that no longer happened, or added references to the new events. Ugh. Never again.

Novelhistorian · Jul 16, 2007

Don't worry about how you look, as in your fear that you're amateurish. Press on, get as much down as you can without looking back. Later, you can tie up (or cut) the loose threads.

By the way, I don't think having loose ends is the mark of an amateur. It means you've experimented by including certain scenes or characters, and the experiment may not have worked. (But you may not know exactly until you finish; what if you wind up keeping something in different form?) But if things don't work, so what? Who's watching besides you? And wouldn't it be better to try things that don't work than to refuse to test your ideas?

Zoombie · Jul 16, 2007

As who's his face said, a long time ago: You can't revise a blank page.

So just finish it. Then go back and make it better by whacking it with a 2 by 4.

Also, I always have loose ends becuase I write stories by throwing a thousand ideas up in the air, then seeing how they connect. I find that only very few get left out of the loop. Those I hunt down and execute mercilessly.

lfraser · Jul 16, 2007

Thanks, all.

I suppose I just want this to be good. I know it won't be, but I still cling to the hope that it might be, if I work hard enough and actually finish it.

But I also don't want to wake up two years from now and understand that if I sat at my computer for a hundred years this would never be done; that I'm one of those people who just can't write. I don't mean someone who just isn't very good; I'm talking about being one of those people who pretend to be a writer, however amateur, and yet never actually write anything. That's the deepest fear. Not just being bad, or average, or only okay -- but being a pretender.

And now that I've had my little angsty moment, I'll see if I can get one more page written tonight.

JoNightshade · Jul 16, 2007

You can go either way. But if you're particularly afraid of not finishing, I suggest just pushing through. If you get to "the end," you'll likely feel much better and much more confident about going back to revise. Just make some notes and move on.

lfraser · Jul 16, 2007

Righto, then. Forward it is, loose ends and all. Time to scatter my main characters to the four winds and see what they get up to over the next 30,00 words or so.

Zoombie · Jul 16, 2007

There is no greater emotional boost then writing the words: The End and realizing that, yet, you can finish. Believe me, it's worth to take a moment after you write those words and just float, smiling.

Then...say, about three and a half seconds later, start thinking about how you can make it even better.

scarletpeaches · Jul 17, 2007

Don't get it right, get it written.

Anthony Ravenscroft · Jul 17, 2007

I'd say you should either sit down & outline it so that you can control the extraneous stuff, or go on with the "natural" method & enjoy the moment-by-moment thrill of discovery.

Madison · Jul 17, 2007

Definitely keep going. I find that if I go back to much, I never get anywhere.

Too many false trails

lfraser

Bored and Frantic

Bartholomew

Comic guy

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

lfraser

Bored and Frantic

Simon Woodhouse

Qelenhn

lfraser

Bored and Frantic

Chasing the Horizon

Blowing in the Wind

Novelhistorian

Zoombie

Dragon of the Multiverse

lfraser

Bored and Frantic

JoNightshade

has finally arrived

lfraser

Bored and Frantic

Zoombie

Dragon of the Multiverse

scarletpeaches

Anthony Ravenscroft

Scribble, scribble, scribble

Madison

summertime...