Friday, October 16, 2009

Triple Bypass

 So here's a question, what happens when what your writing needs major surgery? I'm not talkin' an appendectomy. I'm talkin' triple bypass. Total lobotomy.

I woke up this morning completely distressed. As I near the end of my first draft, I realize that that the math I so proudly spoke of isn't exactly adding up. I want to write more words, but I'm completely lost. Things that happened earlier should be happening now. Things I have yet to write should have happened ages ago. Character arcs have nasty right angles in them, some of them fall off like an undecided rainbow. Relationships are not making sense. Ways I thought this novel should end suddenly make zero sense with all that's come before.

I'm not happy about this. I like to write with a linear path in mind. But I woke up this morning with the realization that this simply may not be possible. And it nearly sent me running for the hills.

I wanted to do something unthinkable: not finish. [gasp]

I can think of a thousand reasons why that would be a good idea. I'm not going to throw in the towel but, seriously, it would be a lot easier that way.

So, I'm asking you: What do you do when your novel needs to go in for surgery?
I need action verbs, people. I need strategery.

Why do I feel like I should do something with flashcards? Is there a flashcard method to this? Should I be going to the library and pulling an all-nighter? Echinacea? I've never done anything like this before. What happens when you enter crisis mode?

2 comments:

  1. What happens when you enter crisis mode?
    To answer your question...nothing. The world isn't going to end. Give your brain a rest and it will pick up where it left off. Sometime those little neurons need a little break from jumping back and forth from brain cell to brain cell. If that doesn’t work alcohol has been know to kill off the useless ones.

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  2. Thanks scribe! I hope a few glasses of wine at dinner will kill them off ;-)

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