What's Next?
Some people put cream and sugar in their coffee. Others drink it blak.
Wednesday
Tuesday
When to Let Go
Friday night I enjoyed a few drinks with Mr. Nate, his co-worker, and some freelancers. Nate told the co-worker about my novel (perhaps even at last year's holiday party) and he wanted to know if it was published yet.
Hahahahaha.
Imagine Stewie from the Family Guy.
Stewie: "How you uh, how you comin' on that novel you're working on? Huh? Gotta a big, uh, big stack of papers there? Gotta, gotta nice litte story you're working on there? Your big novel you've been working on for 3 years? Huh? Gotta, gotta compelling protaganist? Yeah? Gotta obstacle for him to overcome? Huh? Gotta story brewing there? Working on, working on that for quite some time? Huh? (voice getting higher pitched) Yeah, talking about that 3 years ago. Been working on that the whole time? Nice little narrative? Beginning, middle, and end? Some friends become enemies, some enemies become friends? At the end your main character is richer from the experience? Yeah? Yeah? (voice returns to normal) No, no, you deserve some time off."
Anyway, Nate's co-worker thinks maybe I'm actually done. That maybe I'm having a hard time letting the novel go.
Here's the truth: I'm not done. Right now I still have continuity issues. Places where I read something and think: this sounds like bad television. Or places where things just plain don't make sense. I'm fixing all that. I do not expect perfection (I'm an atheist) but I do expect not to read my own book and groan at something I've written. When that magical day comes, I'll have no problem drop-kicking this novel to the curb. Because I'm anxious to move on and work on other projects.
Miss Snark says:
...
"Finish your novel.
Then, as you let it sit and percolate (cause you DO NOT SEND IT OUT before you've let it sit and percolate) you can work on short stories. Then when you've done all ten drafts of the novel that you need to do (no, I'm not kidding), you query."
...
"And I'm not kidding about drafts. The biggest mistake writers make is sending their work out too soon. It's how you miss the stupid typos, it's how you miss the forest cause you have your nose up a tree...yadda yadda yadda."
I'm on draft number 3. Will I have to do 10? Maybe not. I say that because parts of the novel have been revised more than others, so some sections are probably on something more like draft 15. But the book as a whole still needs a few more passes.
Nice little narrative? Beginning, middle, and end?
Stewie haunts my dreams.
Friday night I enjoyed a few drinks with Mr. Nate, his co-worker, and some freelancers. Nate told the co-worker about my novel (perhaps even at last year's holiday party) and he wanted to know if it was published yet.
Hahahahaha.
Imagine Stewie from the Family Guy.
Stewie: "How you uh, how you comin' on that novel you're working on? Huh? Gotta a big, uh, big stack of papers there? Gotta, gotta nice litte story you're working on there? Your big novel you've been working on for 3 years? Huh? Gotta, gotta compelling protaganist? Yeah? Gotta obstacle for him to overcome? Huh? Gotta story brewing there? Working on, working on that for quite some time? Huh? (voice getting higher pitched) Yeah, talking about that 3 years ago. Been working on that the whole time? Nice little narrative? Beginning, middle, and end? Some friends become enemies, some enemies become friends? At the end your main character is richer from the experience? Yeah? Yeah? (voice returns to normal) No, no, you deserve some time off."
Anyway, Nate's co-worker thinks maybe I'm actually done. That maybe I'm having a hard time letting the novel go.
Here's the truth: I'm not done. Right now I still have continuity issues. Places where I read something and think: this sounds like bad television. Or places where things just plain don't make sense. I'm fixing all that. I do not expect perfection (I'm an atheist) but I do expect not to read my own book and groan at something I've written. When that magical day comes, I'll have no problem drop-kicking this novel to the curb. Because I'm anxious to move on and work on other projects.
Miss Snark says:
...
"Finish your novel.
Then, as you let it sit and percolate (cause you DO NOT SEND IT OUT before you've let it sit and percolate) you can work on short stories. Then when you've done all ten drafts of the novel that you need to do (no, I'm not kidding), you query."
...
"And I'm not kidding about drafts. The biggest mistake writers make is sending their work out too soon. It's how you miss the stupid typos, it's how you miss the forest cause you have your nose up a tree...yadda yadda yadda."
I'm on draft number 3. Will I have to do 10? Maybe not. I say that because parts of the novel have been revised more than others, so some sections are probably on something more like draft 15. But the book as a whole still needs a few more passes.
Nice little narrative? Beginning, middle, and end?
Stewie haunts my dreams.
Friday
The Hall, the Novel, the Agony
If you want to check out our new hall colors, Nate has posted a new gallery on his site. It's the Dec. 2 entry.
In novel news, I'm still revising. Revising, revising, revising. I'm as tired of writing it as you are of reading it. When I'm done, I plan to send the book out to three friends who are careful readers for feedback. One of them is a short story writer, one is a newspaper reporter, and one is a novelist. All three are published. (And I plan to let three family members read it, although I don't expect feedback from them, necessarily. They just want to read the novel after hearing me talk about it so much.)
The draft I'm working on now has been to fix all the plot and clarity problems. I think that's going pretty well. And I thought I should do one more draft focusing on voice before sending it out to readers . You see, a friend of mine who works in publishing (he's a designer but he has read tons of books in manuscript and has also written two or three books and several plays himself) said his concern was that my narrator sounded too much like the characters. Since the narrator is pretty much the same throughout the book, I started worrying that they all sounded the same.
Should I do a voice draft? I wasn't sure. So I asked Maria, one of the future readers, to look at the first two chapters. In her opinion, they sound distinct. So now I'm not sure about that extra draft or not. Oh well. I'm sure I'll figure it out.
Maria, by the way, is the same person who is about to have her story "Red" published. I met her at Bread Loaf in 2004. She and I were placed in the same dorm and had lots of great chats about writing. We've stayed in touch through e-mail, giving each other feedback on stories, chapters, and whatnot. And commiserating about writing.
One of the things that we bonded over: we were both in fiction workshops (different ones) and were both told our work was the strongest in the group. Being the doubting Thomas I am, I, of course thought my workshop leader said that to everyone. I was so doubtful (but also so excited it might be true) that I confided what my workshop leader said to Maria. She told me her workshop leader had said the same thing to her! And I absolutely agreed with that assessment. But then, doubting writers that we are, we wondered if workshop leaders told everyone that.
In retrospect, that is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever had (now knowing our workshops leaders a little better, they are not the kind of people to give false encouragement). But it makes sense to me that I doubted. Maria and I have also talked about the weird mix of arrogance and doubt all writers have.
For me, I feel the arrogance during the heat of writing. While I'm writing I think I am great. Talented. You better step back, bitches, ' cause there ain't no shame in my game. When I'm revising, I think it the book really and truly sucks. Stanks to high heaven, oh lord!
Welcome to writing. And revising.
If you want to check out our new hall colors, Nate has posted a new gallery on his site. It's the Dec. 2 entry.
In novel news, I'm still revising. Revising, revising, revising. I'm as tired of writing it as you are of reading it. When I'm done, I plan to send the book out to three friends who are careful readers for feedback. One of them is a short story writer, one is a newspaper reporter, and one is a novelist. All three are published. (And I plan to let three family members read it, although I don't expect feedback from them, necessarily. They just want to read the novel after hearing me talk about it so much.)
The draft I'm working on now has been to fix all the plot and clarity problems. I think that's going pretty well. And I thought I should do one more draft focusing on voice before sending it out to readers . You see, a friend of mine who works in publishing (he's a designer but he has read tons of books in manuscript and has also written two or three books and several plays himself) said his concern was that my narrator sounded too much like the characters. Since the narrator is pretty much the same throughout the book, I started worrying that they all sounded the same.
Should I do a voice draft? I wasn't sure. So I asked Maria, one of the future readers, to look at the first two chapters. In her opinion, they sound distinct. So now I'm not sure about that extra draft or not. Oh well. I'm sure I'll figure it out.
Maria, by the way, is the same person who is about to have her story "Red" published. I met her at Bread Loaf in 2004. She and I were placed in the same dorm and had lots of great chats about writing. We've stayed in touch through e-mail, giving each other feedback on stories, chapters, and whatnot. And commiserating about writing.
One of the things that we bonded over: we were both in fiction workshops (different ones) and were both told our work was the strongest in the group. Being the doubting Thomas I am, I, of course thought my workshop leader said that to everyone. I was so doubtful (but also so excited it might be true) that I confided what my workshop leader said to Maria. She told me her workshop leader had said the same thing to her! And I absolutely agreed with that assessment. But then, doubting writers that we are, we wondered if workshop leaders told everyone that.
In retrospect, that is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever had (now knowing our workshops leaders a little better, they are not the kind of people to give false encouragement). But it makes sense to me that I doubted. Maria and I have also talked about the weird mix of arrogance and doubt all writers have.
For me, I feel the arrogance during the heat of writing. While I'm writing I think I am great. Talented. You better step back, bitches, ' cause there ain't no shame in my game. When I'm revising, I think it the book really and truly sucks. Stanks to high heaven, oh lord!
Welcome to writing. And revising.
Thursday
Go, Illinois!
Here's an idea. If you're morally opposed to dispensing certain medications, perhaps you shouldn't be a pharmacist.
Do you think these pharmacists have a moral opposition to filling Viagra perscriptions?
Here's an idea. If you're morally opposed to dispensing certain medications, perhaps you shouldn't be a pharmacist.
Do you think these pharmacists have a moral opposition to filling Viagra perscriptions?