Tayari's Blog: Back OR Forth?
Posted by TayariJones on July 9, 2008 09:48 AM
Filed under
Writing
As you all know, I have been plugging away at my new novel here at Blue Mountain Center. Progress has been good. I am happy and very grateful. I had been feeling stalled on the novel and being here has allowed me to dive back into that realm.
I sent my three chapters to a friend, just to show her what I was up to. She’s a terrific reader and pointed out some serious issues with the work I have done. Mainly that the voice is sort of off. This is a pretty significant problem. (She also gave praise. I don't want you to think she's a hater. She's not. She rocks.)
It’s not so surprising since I am writing the second half of the novel in a different character’s voice and it takes a while to sort of hit my stride. The question is this: Should I rewrite the first 50 pages in an attempt to solidify the voice now, or should I just keep going and let the voice firm up as I go along? I usually learn toward the second option as my thinking is that I don’t know enough about the character to know her voice yet. But then, there is a part of me that wants to do it right and that part of me wants it right, RIGHT NOW.
(I generally advise students to just KEEP GOING. It is easy to get stuck revising the first chapter for all eternity. I know this, I know this.)
Truth be told, I am hyper aware of my page count. (I was so proud of myself last week!) I have this fantasy of leaving here with 100 pages. But should I let this crazy compulsion to make “progress” motivate me to do rack up pages at any cost?
Oh, I just don’t know what to do. So what I have done for the last two days? I have eaten cookies, taken a hike, photographed a deer, given advice, eaten more cookies.. But written NOTHING.
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There are 9 comments on "Back OR Forth?". If you'd like to leave a comment, click here to jump down to the comments entry form.
Comment #1, by Honoree ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.tayarijones.com/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
KEEP GOING! Remember that you are going to go back and do revisions anyway. You are not going to just turn in what you've done as soon as you've written the last page of the first draft of the novel. So don't start revising now; you are still in a tender place.
That little voice telling you to go back to the fifty pages you've written at Blue Mountain? That's the Devil.:-) Don't listen to that evil little guy! Because if you do, you will analyze and pull to pieces what you've already written and start to doubt your brilliant self.
Now that you have momentum, keep going! In the words of Langston Hughes: "Don't you turn back."
July 9, 2008 11:22 AM
Comment #2, by Judy
Take your own advice -- KEEP GOING! You know that you would only give your students' the best advice you could offer.
July 9, 2008 12:21 PM
Comment #3, by Laraine
This happens to me all the time. I send something to my agent or my first reader or my editor too soon. Then I get all their stuff in my head and I wind up with a crappy draft of crap... :-) I get so excited about how much I've done, or the supposed brilliance of what I did, that I don't honor the birth place. I always tell my students to keep going, and I know it's one of the hardest things to do. I'd never pick apart a newborn -- gee, that ear's a little big, or yike, check out the size of her nose --- we all know babies grow into people. Chapters grow into books too, and until we have the book, we can't know what to discard. You'll find the voice. It takes time to write it to hear it. KEEP GOING!! :-)
July 9, 2008 02:34 PM
Comment #4, by Laraine
This happens to me all the time. I send something to my agent or my first reader or my editor too soon. Then I get all their stuff in my head and I wind up with a crappy draft of crap... :-) I get so excited about how much I've done, or the supposed brilliance of what I did, that I don't honor the birth place. I always tell my students to keep going, and I know it's one of the hardest things to do. I'd never pick apart a newborn -- gee, that ear's a little big, or yike, check out the size of her nose --- we all know babies grow into people. Chapters grow into books too, and until we have the book, we can't know what to discard. You'll find the voice. It takes time to write it to hear it. KEEP GOING!! :-)
July 9, 2008 02:35 PM
Comment #5, by Laraine
This happens to me all the time. I send something to my agent or my first reader or my editor too soon. Then I get all their stuff in my head and I wind up with a crappy draft of crap... :-) I get so excited about how much I've done, or the supposed brilliance of what I did, that I don't honor the birth place. I always tell my students to keep going, and I know it's one of the hardest things to do. I'd never pick apart a newborn -- gee, that ear's a little big, or yike, check out the size of her nose --- we all know babies grow into people. Chapters grow into books too, and until we have the book, we can't know what to discard. You'll find the voice. It takes time to write it to hear it. KEEP GOING!! :-)
July 9, 2008 02:36 PM
Comment #6, by Ravi Howard
Keep going. Otherwise you might end up editing too much in your head, which for me causes problems. I think it's more productive to shift gears on the page.
July 10, 2008 11:47 AM
Comment #7, by Ravi Howard
Keep going. Otherwise you might end up editing too much in your head, which for me causes problems. I think it's more productive to shift gears on the page.
July 10, 2008 11:47 AM
Comment #8, by kgs
You know what the answer is, because you gave it to us: KEEP GOING. You are sorely tempted to go back and fix the earlier stuff. That's related to the stasis you're in (which is o.k.! You needed the break).
Now rock those wheels back and forth in the snow... give 'er a shove, and KEEP GOING.
July 10, 2008 07:46 PM
Comment #9, by Queen Azsa
Keep going... !!!
July 10, 2008 11:58 PM