LauraJUnderwood
Silly Author Person
This is something I actually posted in another newsgroup, but being as this place could use a little something besides me bragging, I thought I would start sharing some of my writing essays here.
I call myself "Knight Writer," and "Lunch Writer" from time to time, and what happened was Knight Writer was in the zone last night (night before--must stop and consider time zones and all), working on an old story I had started a few years ago and forgotten. Well, when I was plucking files from my vast collection of "beginnings" I discovered a tale titled Battle Curse, which was one of the stories set in the same universe as my novel The Hounds of Ardagh.
Said story was a mere 800 words at the time I came across it. Now it is 5,500 words and complete--well in the sense that I came up with a middle and an end to accompany the beginning, and it only took a day of writing to do it (yeah, when I get in the Zone, I am FAST!)
But of course, as far as I am concerned, writing does not stop when the story ends. The act of writing may end, but the real writing begins at that point. The first draft is a "get it out now!" sort of action for me, and then the real work begins...
Thus this essay.
Enjoy.
And be warned. This is not for the weak stomached.
***************
As I was completing Battle Curse last night, several things popped into mind. Most prominant of these was my writing style.
I have always described what I do as "sneezing on the page." Now I am certain you all understand what I mean by that. There are times that writing is a very scatter-shot sort of process. I aim, I shoot, I hit a target. Whether it is the right target is not often learned until I get the time to go peer at it with new eyes.
New eyes are those pairs I keep in the corner. They stay there until I am ready to look over a book, story, etc that has been allowed to "simmer."
Or in my case, the snot has dried on the page, and now it is time to scrape off the unnecessary parts, rework the necessary parts, and make sure it has a captivating, clean look instead of a bunch of dirty yellow gobs tossed hither and yon.
Okay, I know. Disgusting.
But it is true in many respects. I have met writers who claim they get it all in one draft, and I am inclined to smile and say "how nice for you."
In truth, I am not certain they do not rewrite. In fact, most of them rewrite as they go. The only way one can create a perfect draft in one go is if one writes with the editor on the shoulder.
Now the problem with the editor on the shoulder is that the editor is more of a roadblock than an assistant. While I won't name names, there are several authors of my acquaintance (and indeed, one of them is one of my favorite authors to read) who write with the editor on their shoulder. But as a result, they write Very Slowly, and it takes them more than a couple of years to produce a story, let alone a novel.
I won't say that I think it is wrong of them to write this way. The bottom line for all writers is that you must write the way that works best for you.
But that said, rewriting is an important part of the process.
While I am pleased with the story I produced last night--I find it funny and entertaining, but then I find a lot of my own work funny and entertaining--I know for a fact that it Needs Some Work. This is not unusual. As I said before, I sneeze stories out, always eager to rid my brain of the irritating tickle they create in my head.
So of course, it will be set aside and allowed time to vegetate. And in the mean time, I will work on finishing another story and a couple of books that are bugging me, and when I have a free moment, I will start scratching away the annoying and unnecessary parts, smooth out and sand down the plot, and get it into proper shape for submisson.
Because a writer writes, but a professional writer rewrites.
It's just part of the job.
Laura J. Underwood
I call myself "Knight Writer," and "Lunch Writer" from time to time, and what happened was Knight Writer was in the zone last night (night before--must stop and consider time zones and all), working on an old story I had started a few years ago and forgotten. Well, when I was plucking files from my vast collection of "beginnings" I discovered a tale titled Battle Curse, which was one of the stories set in the same universe as my novel The Hounds of Ardagh.
Said story was a mere 800 words at the time I came across it. Now it is 5,500 words and complete--well in the sense that I came up with a middle and an end to accompany the beginning, and it only took a day of writing to do it (yeah, when I get in the Zone, I am FAST!)
But of course, as far as I am concerned, writing does not stop when the story ends. The act of writing may end, but the real writing begins at that point. The first draft is a "get it out now!" sort of action for me, and then the real work begins...
Thus this essay.
Enjoy.
And be warned. This is not for the weak stomached.
***************
As I was completing Battle Curse last night, several things popped into mind. Most prominant of these was my writing style.
I have always described what I do as "sneezing on the page." Now I am certain you all understand what I mean by that. There are times that writing is a very scatter-shot sort of process. I aim, I shoot, I hit a target. Whether it is the right target is not often learned until I get the time to go peer at it with new eyes.
New eyes are those pairs I keep in the corner. They stay there until I am ready to look over a book, story, etc that has been allowed to "simmer."
Or in my case, the snot has dried on the page, and now it is time to scrape off the unnecessary parts, rework the necessary parts, and make sure it has a captivating, clean look instead of a bunch of dirty yellow gobs tossed hither and yon.
Okay, I know. Disgusting.
But it is true in many respects. I have met writers who claim they get it all in one draft, and I am inclined to smile and say "how nice for you."
In truth, I am not certain they do not rewrite. In fact, most of them rewrite as they go. The only way one can create a perfect draft in one go is if one writes with the editor on the shoulder.
Now the problem with the editor on the shoulder is that the editor is more of a roadblock than an assistant. While I won't name names, there are several authors of my acquaintance (and indeed, one of them is one of my favorite authors to read) who write with the editor on their shoulder. But as a result, they write Very Slowly, and it takes them more than a couple of years to produce a story, let alone a novel.
I won't say that I think it is wrong of them to write this way. The bottom line for all writers is that you must write the way that works best for you.
But that said, rewriting is an important part of the process.
While I am pleased with the story I produced last night--I find it funny and entertaining, but then I find a lot of my own work funny and entertaining--I know for a fact that it Needs Some Work. This is not unusual. As I said before, I sneeze stories out, always eager to rid my brain of the irritating tickle they create in my head.
So of course, it will be set aside and allowed time to vegetate. And in the mean time, I will work on finishing another story and a couple of books that are bugging me, and when I have a free moment, I will start scratching away the annoying and unnecessary parts, smooth out and sand down the plot, and get it into proper shape for submisson.
Because a writer writes, but a professional writer rewrites.
It's just part of the job.
Laura J. Underwood
