The Reduction of the Steaming Pile of Words

In a flurry of activity, the second draft began: powering through thepages; words culled left, right and centre; word count dropping fast.

Or not.

Since I completed the first draft to my novel, not a lot has happened. I managed to detail all my chapters on index cards, allowing me to see the whole picture and easily make changes here and there. I'm finding it very useful, but unfortunately, it's not a lot to show for almost a month's work.

Why the slow down in productivity, especially with late July fast approaching? Work. The full time paid variety. Yes, that old chestnut. Yesterday was the first day in a fortnight I've actually sat down at my computer. My day job has become my night job as well. Not ideal, but not the end of the world either. Things have quietened down now, so I will be taking a week off in mid-May to play catch up - a game I've mastered over the years.

The first task for Draft Numero Deux is to reduce that big steaming pile of words you see there on your right under "Noise Reduction." Two hundred and seventy words is just too much (you think?!). So a culling we shall go. Watch with intense concentration and wild glee as that figure reduces over the next month - bottoming out, hopefully, at 160,000 words.

If I can't get the word count down, I will instead release two books - Steaming Pile of Words - Part One and Steaming Pile of Words - Part Two. If it worked for Steven Soderbergh, it can work for . . . oh wait.

I Feel A Draft

I announced it a few weeks ago on Facebook: I've finished the first draft of my book.

It was a great feeling, typing "The End" into my manuscript; a feeling of achievement and satisfaction. Two and a half years ago I began writing this behemoth of a novel; two and a half years of intermittent writing, frustration with mediocre volumes of output, and moments of brilliance and clarity. From a germ of an idea formed in the early morning hours to typing those two words: it has been a long journey.

It's never just been about proving to myself that I can do it though, my ambitions extend beyond that, but completing the first draft has always been a major goal, appearing insurmountable at times, but, deep down, always achievable.

And I've done it. And I'm happy with the result.

My goal is still to have a finished product (fit for submission to agencies) by the Harrogate Festival in late July; a deadline fast approaching. The achievement of completing the first draft is already a distant memory, but as I wade through the second draft, it's still a memory that energises me each day I sit down at my computer.

I'm not naive enough, though, to not know that completing the first draft is only the half of it: draft after draft, alteration after alteration, the dreaded first read by someone other than yourself, and the mountain to climb towards publication, constitutes the hard work ahead of me. Hard work ahead and the continuing rollercoaster ride of emotion that every writer goes through.

Ultimately, there will be a great feeling of satisfaction and jubilation when the final draft is done and sent off to my chosen agents, but it will never match the pure joy and feeling of accomplishment, devoid of the anxiety of failure or critique, that is felt when those two words are written for the first time.

Something to savour for a long time.

Sins Of The Novelist

I can't remember where I have read this or who may have told me, but there are two sins that I've always believed should not be committed when writing the final chapters of a novel:

1. Introduce new characters.
   
2. Change narrative perspective.

The first one I believe is so as not to cheat the reader - for example: "I've been leading you along about Francis being the murderer; it was actually Johnny from down the road, a character who I haven't mentioned once before in my entire novel, but hell, he's as good as anyone to pin this confusing convoluted plot of a murder on and it fills those nasty plot holes I've managed to dig for myself."

It's a cop out and it's not fair. It's lazy, it's mean and it makes for a wholly unsatisfactory ending for the reader.

The second sin is less of a deal breaker, although it isn't necessarily good form and it stinks of poor writing and it is still kind of a cop out. You've written four fifths of the novel from Gary's perspective (third person, first person, whatever) and then you switch to Rodney's perspective in the last three chapters. Not only is it confusing for the reader, but it's also a bit disorientating and it messes with the flow. The readers have invested time with Gary, read about his thoughts and feelings, been there with him through the good and bad times, taken a journey with him. Now Rodney turns up, talking in your head, giving you his opinion. Who does this Rodney joker think he is, hijacking the narrative?

Grumpiness, followed by disconnection, followed by book in bin.

Hmmm, very sinful . . . .

Well, forgive me Father, for I have sinned. But hell, I think it works! I've committed the sins above but nowhere near the two-fingers-up-to-the-reader atrocities of the examples above. I definitely haven't cheated the reader. I still think the novel flows. But hey, time will tell.

And that time is fast approaching. As I type this, I only have four more scenes to write in the first draft of my novel. Exciting times and about time too. Saturday will be dedicated to those four scenes; Saturday night will be dedicated to celebrating.

I might just pop open some bubbly to celebrate or at least have one or two beers at the pub. I might let the hair down, go a bit wild. That's the exciting thing about sins, you never know which one you'll commit next. And there's loads of fun in the committing.

Victorian Bushfires

My heart and support goes out to those who have lost those things that they hold dear - family, friends, homes, communities. My thanks goes out to the members of the CFA and any other brave souls that have risked their lives to help and aid others during this natural disaster.

With many fires still out of control throughout country Victoria, winds still blowing hard and temperatures set to rise again, the fight still goes on. My best wishes go out to all those affected.

The excellent website The Big Picture at Boston.com never fails to deliver beautiful photos of current events, always breathtaking - these are heartbreaking and devastating.

If you wish to donate to the Victoria Bushfire Appeal, please do so at the address below:

http://www.redcross.org.au/vic/services_emergencyservices_victorian-bushfires-appeal-2009.htm

Our thoughts are with you: Kinglake, Kinglake West, St Andrews, Humevale, Wandong, Strathewen, Callignee, Upper Callignee, Hazelwood, Jeeralang, Flowerdale, Hazeldene, Taggerty, Marysville, Arthurs Creek, Eaglehawk, Steels Creek, Mudgegonga, Koornalla, Yarra Glen, Narbethong, Clonbinane, Heathcote Junction.

Reality Gets In The Way

Despite the ear screeching, teeth chattering, finger numbing cold, I went out on a research mission yesterday, a location visit. There are a number of places in London that feature in my novel and it was time to go out there and check the layout of the land.

A novel normally contains a number of locations: cities, suburbs, streets, establishments. Although keeping to the reality of the chosen location is not necessarily key (a certain degree of artistic licence is allowed and sometimes required), you can avoid glaring mistakes by embarking on a field trip.

This field trip can be performed before (advised) or after (lazy) writing about the location. My novel is set in London, so obviously, as I live there, I have a fair degree of knowledge about the area, allowing me to write reasonably freely about it, especially in my first draft. However, there are certain areas, boroughs, tube stops, used throughout the book that I do not frequent and until yesterday, their detail has been guessed at. Sure, not bothering to check the locations before commencing the novel is a bit lazy, but sometimes its better to keep writing then to wait until you can find time to visit a location to confirm the detail. Finishing that first draft is key.

That said, heading off on my field trip after the fact created a few problems, most notably, discovering that a number of key scenes in my novel had been scuppered by the reality of the landscape. The position of buildings, the frequency of traffic, the layout of roads - all these things created holes the size of the O2 centre in these scenes.

It's not a deal breaker and it shouldn't change a thing, except that I will be required to insert a bit more ambiguity into the location - again, the use of artistic licence means that the detail of a location only needs to be seen as possible, it doesn't have to be reality (although, there will always be someone out there who will pick you up on the differences). At first I was disheartened by the discovery of inconsistencies in my novel, but then later, I decided to change the location slightly, move it further inland, shift a few buildings around and bang! things are back on track. As I said, it's not a deal breaker, but it always pays to know that the differences exist.

Checking out your chosen location can send you back to the drawing board, but in the end, you are the master of your fictional world, and knowing the detail of the location allows you to make changes within the realms of possibility, reality be damned.

On the flip side, checking out your location can also allow you to add texture to your prose and give you confidence in your writing, giving you comfort in the knowledge that you know the detail of your location and can tweak it as you see fit, within the blurred borders of reality. Field trips are definitely advised and remember, they are tax deductible!

Yesterday's itinerary: Shoreditch, Bow Common, Limehouse and Hoxton.