Overwhelmed

BellaSignora · Jan 15, 2006

Hi.
I started my novel during NaNoWriMo and finished it in december. First draft is 60.000 words. Yesterday I printed a copy.
I'm sitting in front of it, overwhelmed. I found out that:
1 - there are BIG holes in the plot
2 - the focus of the story changed during the writing
3 - characters changed, too
4 - the tone or voice or whatever is called is uneven
5 - I don't know how to subplot (is it a verb? my english sucks.)
I need your advice. Please, help!

blacbird · Jan 15, 2006

Hey, you wrote it in a month. Me, it takes two or three years to get to the same stage.

caw.

SpookyWriter · Jan 15, 2006

I don't know, but sounds like starting over with the material you have and trying to straighten it out. I've had to do something similar with book I and believe me, it wasn't fun. I'm still picking out and fixing pieces of incomplete or faulty storyline.

Good luck,

Jon

Vomaxx · Jan 15, 2006

BellaSignora said:
1 - there are BIG holes in the plot
2 - the focus of the story changed during the writing
3 - characters changed, too
4 - the tone or voice or whatever is called is uneven
5 - I don't know how to subplot (is it a verb? my english sucks.)
I need your advice. Please, help!

Maybe the NaNoWri Mo was just not a good idea. Can you salvage a chapter or a few plot ideas for a new novel?

Andrew Jameson · Jan 15, 2006

1 - So? That's what revision is for.
2 - So? That's what revision is for.
3 - So? That's what revision is for.
4 - So? That's what revision is for.
5 - When you revise, add some things in that seem interesting and see what sticks.

Point is, writing is all about revising, and it's completely normal to have a rough draft that looks like crap. Sit down, read it through. Decide what you like; keep that. Decide what you hate; discard that. The things you really like, emphasize and tie together. Add, subtract, rearrange, and combine characters, chapters, scenes, and plotlines.

Then do it a couple more times.

veinglory · Jan 15, 2006

I leanrt a bit from writing a Nano book but since them I have written 3 new novellas and still not got the nano book anywhere near presentable and it may not be worth the trouble.

Jamesaritchie · Jan 15, 2006

Andrew Jameson said:
1 - So? That's what revision is for.
2 - So? That's what revision is for.
3 - So? That's what revision is for.
4 - So? That's what revision is for.
5 - When you revise, add some things in that seem interesting and see what sticks.

Point is, writing is all about revising, and it's completely normal to have a rough draft that looks like crap. Sit down, read it through. Decide what you like; keep that. Decide what you hate; discard that. The things you really like, emphasize and tie together. Add, subtract, rearrange, and combine characters, chapters, scenes, and plotlines.

Then do it a couple more times.

Not for me. For me, recivision is for fixing something that isn't total crap. Some people may be able to make a silk final draft from a sow's ear first draft, but it's way, way, way more work than I want to do.

scarletpeaches · Jan 15, 2006

I'd advise laying it to one side for a bit longer. If you come back to it and it still stinks, you might want to work on something else. If it's slightly less stinky, try revising.

AdamH · Jan 15, 2006

Look at what inspired you to write the story in the beginning. Now look at the ending. Is it far off what you were aiming for when you started? Or were you writing to reach a certain word quota and hoping everything else fell together?

A few years ago I took part in a 3-day novel writing contest to see what I could come up with. It turned out to be pure drivel. But what I took away from it is that to pull off something like that again I'd need a clear idea where I want to end up when it's done. The story I wrote from that contest was completely unsalvagable but some of the ideas within it I've incorporated into other stories.

So, is there anything salvagable?

However, if you think the novel you wrote is worth the effort of plugging those plot holes, refocusing the story, keeping characters from changing, adjusting to one even tone, and learn how to incorporate a subplot then I say go for it. Fix'er up!

If you're not willing to commit to fixing what's wrong then find what's right. And use what's right in something new.

Hope this helps!

Flapdoodle · Jan 15, 2006

BellaSignora said:
Hi.
I started my novel during NaNoWriMo and finished it in december. First draft is 60.000 words. Yesterday I printed a copy.
I'm sitting in front of it, overwhelmed. I found out that:
1 - there are BIG holes in the plot
2 - the focus of the story changed during the writing
3 - characters changed, too
4 - the tone or voice or whatever is called is uneven
5 - I don't know how to subplot (is it a verb? my english sucks.)
I need your advice. Please, help!

I used to do this - so what I do now is start with my beginning, a couple of main characters, and KNOW exactly where I want them to be at the end. I also have a set of "scenes" or "events" that will guide me to that point. I plot them using VISIO and link the boxes, and built it up until it's a bit more detailed.

It's not FULLY detailed though, so I can still deviate from it, and change characters that take part in events. However, it seems to work a treat, and I never get "lost". I tend to go back and revise every 20,000 words, to make sure that "new" ideas don't contradict what's happened.

Sharon Mock · Jan 15, 2006

BellaSignora said:
Hi.
I started my novel during NaNoWriMo and finished it in december. First draft is 60.000 words. Yesterday I printed a copy.
I'm sitting in front of it, overwhelmed. I found out that:
1 - there are BIG holes in the plot
2 - the focus of the story changed during the writing
3 - characters changed, too
4 - the tone or voice or whatever is called is uneven
5 - I don't know how to subplot (is it a verb? my english sucks.)
I need your advice. Please, help!

I know all about messy first drafts. What I'd recommend is to start with the big stuff -- plot and subplot. Here's what I did to generate a draft I could work with:

Get a multi-colored pack of index cards. Make an outline of your draft, one card per scene. Green means the scene is okay for the moment. Yellow means you think you can salvage it, but it needs major surgery. Make a note of the necessary surgery on the card. Red means it needs to be rewritten from scratch. (Obviously, you can use another color scheme if you prefer.)

Lay the cards out on a table and start arranging them. Where there are gaps in the story, use more red cards to fill them.

Write the red-card scenes. Revise the yellow-card scenes. Assemble into a new draft. With luck and work, you'll have a draft that goes a long way toward fixing problems 1, 2, and 5. Then you can start addressing the finer problems.

This is a lot of work -- you'll definitely spend more time revising than you spent writing the first draft. But you say you're "overwhelmed" and not "despairing," so I assume you still think there's a story worth salvaging in there.

Can it be done? I can't say -- I won't know for certain what I've managed to turn my own personal sow's ear into until it's either trunked or sold. But even the current WIP goes unsold, the lessons I've learned from the revision process have been more than worth it.

unthoughtknown · Jan 15, 2006

Sharon Mock said:
Get a multi-colored pack of index cards. Make an outline of your draft, one card per scene. Green means the scene is okay for the moment. Yellow means you think you can salvage it, but it needs major surgery. Make a note of the necessary surgery on the card. Red means it needs to be rewritten from scratch. (Obviously, you can use another color scheme if you prefer.)

Lay the cards out on a table and start arranging them. Where there are gaps in the story, use more red cards to fill them.

Write the red-card scenes. Revise the yellow-card scenes. Assemble into a new draft. With luck and work, you'll have a draft that goes a long way toward fixing problems 1, 2, and 5. Then you can start addressing the finer problems.

Well, this is interesting. How popular is this method? Does anyone else here do it? I reckon I might try it.

L M Ashton · Jan 15, 2006

I'm a mind-mapping gal myself, which really amounts to pretty much the same thing Sharon Mack suggested, but in computer form. And yes, I color-code as well. Helps my overly visual mind create order out of chaos. And yes, I would advise following Sharon's suggestion.

Well, I don't do that anymore after I've written a draft - I do it before I ever start writing. I plot in huge amount of details before I even start writing and solve all the problems first (my husband is a great help with this - he's fantastic at plotting, logic, and such), and then write. That's far easier for the way my brain works.

Graham · Jan 15, 2006

Hey bella. One novice to another.

I don't have the knowledge and experience of many on this forum but I do have considerable planning knowledge and experience. When I began writing, I planned everything out, from individual characters to plots, subplots, resolutions, catharsis and wrap up. The card idea is good but my training comes from whitebeards and I am extremely comfortable using them. That’s how I plan. The various colours allow me to link making sure there are no loose ends. Once I have planned out the characters, I use the character chart to record their characteristics.

Then I use the whiteboard again to break the story up into chapters, bunching the first five into the introduction, the last five into the wrap up and the intervening number into the main body.

I don't think it matters what system you use (mine is based on Aristotle’s Incline) as long as you use a system and plan. Planning protects you from character creep (characters losing their place in your story), straying from the storyline and from varying your style and tone.

I am learning that writing is work. Nothing worthwhile comes free, so your need to rewrite is paramount in building your story. Recovery is probably feasible but I'd suggest you need a rescue plan. No plan, no guidelines.

In all sincerity, I say these things from extreme and significant first hand experience, not last week, last month or last year, but today, now, as I work through my own WIP. Your work is your child and you wouldn't dump your child if it threw a tantrum. You'd plan on how to prevent it throwing a tantrum again.

Probably overstepped the mark here and stepped on a toe or two, but writing is an individual creation and every word should be treasured, revised and rearranged. If you don't treasure your work, why are you a writer? I want to be a writer so badly I have helped four other people become published. That way I have learnt my lessons the hard way, seen the mistakes and the work burst into the sunlight. It is a magical feeling to see your name in the acknowledgements.

Regards

Graham

Jamesaritchie · Jan 16, 2006

jen.nifer said:
Well, this is interesting. How popular is this method? Does anyone else here do it? I reckon I might try it.

There are many methods, and depending on the writer, they can all be made to work. Do what feels right to you.

I hate planning, outlining, plotting and anything that resembles them. I don't need them, and have no problems not using them, so I don't. I tend not to like planned, plotted, outlined novels, and only one of my dozen favorite writers plans, plots, or outlines. They're all very good, highly successful writers, and I always thought that if they could work this way, so could I.

But some writers need to plan and plot, so they should do so. Which method to use depends entirely on what feels right to you.

My personal view is that process does affect product, and what might well work best for a given writer is to look into how your two or three favorite writers work, and try whatever method they use. If you really like the novels they write, you might also do very well using the same methods they use.

zeprosnepsid · Jan 16, 2006

At the very least, you have recognized these problems with your novel and that is a huge step. Many people are not able to recognize any problems in their own work.

People have given you great suggestions here so I don't have much to add to them, but whatever you do -- good luck!

Sharon Mock · Jan 16, 2006

jen.nifer said:
Well, this is interesting. How popular is this method? Does anyone else here do it? I reckon I might try it.

I had to make it up as I went along. I'd seen reference to "outlining using note cards," but no explanation on how to do it. Perhaps just as well, since that meant I ended up with a process that fit my mindset, since I came up with it.

britlitfantw · Jan 16, 2006

You’re not alone in this predicament; I didn’t do NaNoWri Mo but recently, I did write 65,000 words in three months, off and on. I sort of edited it, was convinced that it was ready to send out and, much to my chagrin, I realized after sending out 2 queries that I’d made a huge mistake. My manuscript still needed (still does, as I’m still working on it) more editing and actual re-writing.

The system that I use is looser in a sense, and may not agree with some people (I’m tempted to try that green card-yellow card-red card method) but so far, it’s worked for me. As I’m editing the manuscript with my red pen, if I find a scene that needs surgery (as Sharon put it) then I put a note in capitals on the side citing the major problem. (I inject humour in there, too, to make myself laugh – at one point, I had an entire scene that had dialogue and description but nothing else. Up at the top, I put, “NO THOUGHTS! CALL 1-800-MISSING”) If, however, I find a scene that needs to be completely re-written, I go to the start of the scene and put a number inside a circle, then go on and continue this process. After that, I open my notebook and check to see which number I’m on (i.e. 6) and write down 6, and then re-write that section.

Clear as mud, right? Well, anyway, one thing that I have already gained from this thread is to tackle the big problems first. That way, you won’t lose momentum. Good luck!

unthoughtknown · Jan 16, 2006

Jamesaritchie said:
There are many methods, and depending on the writer, they can all be made to work. Do what feels right to you.

I hate planning, outlining, plotting and anything that resembles them. I don't need them, and have no problems not using them, so I don't. I tend not to like planned, plotted, outlined novels, and only one of my dozen favorite writers plans, plots, or outlines. They're all very good, highly successful writers, and I always thought that if they could work this way, so could I.

But some writers need to plan and plot, so they should do so. Which method to use depends entirely on what feels right to you.

My personal view is that process does affect product, and what might well work best for a given writer is to look into how your two or three favorite writers work, and try whatever method they use. If you really like the novels they write, you might also do very well using the same methods they use.

Because this is my first attempt, and it has made me no stranger to ANGUISH at times, I am going to try it. When I get more confident in my novel-writing ability, I'll try to avoid such processes...

Carmy · Jan 16, 2006

Usually I have the whole thing plotted in my head before I start writing, but it might be that a report-writing tool I've used at work would help you.

On a sheet of paper, or a whiteboard, place the main character's name in the centre with a circle around it. Now draw lines outward and enter the points or scenes you want to show or write. Now you have the main items and from them you should be able to write a coherent synopsis of the important things. From there, you can flesh those out and - hey-presto! - you have your story.

I've never tried this with fiction, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

Good luck!

aruna · Jan 17, 2006

Graham said:
The card idea is good but my training comes from whitebeards and I am extremely comfortable using them.

I was very excited when I read this. I imagined a circle of white-bearded, very wise old men who knew everything about writing - wizards, Gandalfs. They shared all their secrets with you, gave you your training. I was going to ask you where I can find them wonderful whitebeards.... maybe they would accept me as an apprentice!

Then I read this:

Then I use the whiteboard again to break the story up into chapters, bunching the first five into the introduction, the last five into the wrap up and the intervening number into the main body.

SO disappointing! :e2cry:

Graham · Jan 17, 2006

OH BOY!!! How embarrassment!! Oh woe is me. Ten lashes with a wet boot lace. Damn, and I thought I was doing so well aruna. Wasted my time shaving off the damn white/grey beard too!

Wear the hat, Graham. In the corner, for at least one hour. Then two thousand words before bed.

Regards

teraflop · Jan 17, 2006

Still searching for the wise mandarins in white beards...

I wrote something in 20 days, about 55,000 words. It was a recompilation of many earlier efforts. In 1.5 months I edited one single chapter of it to a degree I felt comfortable in submitting to publishers. So I concur that a significant phase awaits you, the editing process likely will never finish but remember, you must eventually stop.

crosseyed reader · Jan 17, 2006

Wow, the only way I could write that much in that little time is if I pulled the same move as Jamesaritchie is planning. My brain moves far faster than my fingers. No matter how much planning I do in my head, I take my time when getting it down on paper.

I love the idea of the color-coded cards. I have this Stephen King vision of my being chased by shocking pink cards while the little green ones try to trip me up.

Yesterday I printed a copy.

To me, this is a vital factor. What looks good on the screen looks entirely different on printed paper. Mistakes that hide themselves neatly on the screen stand out like sore thumbs. I think you learned a valuable lesson - always print your work out.

BellaSignora · Jan 19, 2006

Thank you everybody for your advice.
Yes, it's a lot of work, but I believe in this story. I'm starting with plot and subplots, as suggested.

Overwhelmed

BellaSignora

blacbird

SpookyWriter

Vomaxx

Andrew Jameson

(not his real name)

veinglory

volitare nequeo

Jamesaritchie

scarletpeaches

AdamH

Pumped Up Kicks

Flapdoodle

Sharon Mock

Wing nut

unthoughtknown

practical experience, FTW

L M Ashton

crazy spec fic writer

Graham

Jamesaritchie

zeprosnepsid

Sharon Mock

Wing nut

britlitfantw

unthoughtknown

practical experience, FTW

Carmy

aruna

On a wing and a prayer

Graham

teraflop

crosseyed reader

BellaSignora