When I write a first draft of a script or story, I tend to throw in everything I can think of to keep the plot moving. Comments. Actions. Details. Directions. You name it, I got it in there. Then during my rewrites I tend to cut back. Trim out the unnecessary stuff and aim for lean and mean. I don't always make it...but that's my goal.
Of course, sometimes everything just falls together...like it did for HTRASG. Curt exploded out of me and I did very little in the way of cutting him back or even trying to rein him in. Fact is, once his story was down on paper, the only thing I was doing on the rewrites was making sure his voice was consistent.
With LD, it was the opposite; I wanted the story to be chaotic, like Daniel's mind. Ace's patois was a deliberate part of that, along with his snide commentary about everything and slow revelations to himself of what's going on, so it took a while to get close to being right, and even now I could rework it. It's not a simple read...even though I honestly thought it was...but it works.
With OT, I seem caught in this never-ending spiral of rewriting and trimming and adding and smoothing and adjusting and clarifying and back to rewriting and trimming and on and on and on...and I have no idea when I'll be done with this round. I got through the second chapter, today. That's all. And tomorrow I'm driving down to DC so won't be able to revisit it till I get to my hotel, which will be late. So I don't know what to think about what's going on with it.
BC took me years to write, but that was a pretty heavy book about a tragedy that I did not want to be a tragedy. But I got the first two sections done. Then it took me years more to figure out how to do the last section, one I knew was needed even though the first two sections seemed fine unto themselves. But it was finally completed...and I use that to remind myself that eventually OT will be, too.
My process is not the same for every book or script I write. Some are born ready to run; others need lots of special care and therapy; others are just a pain in the ass and will never be happy with themselves.
Looks like Jake's story is one of those high-maintenance ones.
Of course, sometimes everything just falls together...like it did for HTRASG. Curt exploded out of me and I did very little in the way of cutting him back or even trying to rein him in. Fact is, once his story was down on paper, the only thing I was doing on the rewrites was making sure his voice was consistent.
With LD, it was the opposite; I wanted the story to be chaotic, like Daniel's mind. Ace's patois was a deliberate part of that, along with his snide commentary about everything and slow revelations to himself of what's going on, so it took a while to get close to being right, and even now I could rework it. It's not a simple read...even though I honestly thought it was...but it works.
With OT, I seem caught in this never-ending spiral of rewriting and trimming and adding and smoothing and adjusting and clarifying and back to rewriting and trimming and on and on and on...and I have no idea when I'll be done with this round. I got through the second chapter, today. That's all. And tomorrow I'm driving down to DC so won't be able to revisit it till I get to my hotel, which will be late. So I don't know what to think about what's going on with it.
BC took me years to write, but that was a pretty heavy book about a tragedy that I did not want to be a tragedy. But I got the first two sections done. Then it took me years more to figure out how to do the last section, one I knew was needed even though the first two sections seemed fine unto themselves. But it was finally completed...and I use that to remind myself that eventually OT will be, too.
My process is not the same for every book or script I write. Some are born ready to run; others need lots of special care and therapy; others are just a pain in the ass and will never be happy with themselves.
Looks like Jake's story is one of those high-maintenance ones.
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