Pensieves and Post-its

‘It is called a Pensieve’ said Dumbledore, ‘I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind.’

‘Er.’ Said Harry, who couldn’t truthfully say that he had ever felt anything of the sort.

I’m with Dumbledore on this one. Far too many thoughts…

For some months now I have been ignoring an increasing large problem in my writing. I was ignoring it for several reasons. Firstly, I had a hard choice to make, and secondly whichever way I chose would result in the need for a drastic re-write… boo L

What started out as a novel for 9-11 year olds was now twice the length it should be for a book in that range, and far heavier too (theme wise, not weight wise! Although actually…) So clearly the book was heading into YA territory. Which would have been fine except that my main character was all of twelve years old and acting every year of it. Which just doesn’t work (no matter how much you stick your head in the sand and pretend it will all be okay!)

After something  of a stern telling off, and some subsequent words of advice over at my favourite writers' stomping ground, I was faced with this choice: age up or simplify down.

I could either cut down the story and simplify it for the intended 9-11 year old age group, or go with the flow and bump up the age of my main characters.

So how to decide? Did I embark on a reading spree and study more books of the same genre? Share my writing and ask for advice? Borrow Dumbledore’s Pensieve? Ah, I wish.

I did the next best thing – spent my bus money on some Rowntrees Randoms and walked home. Which was a good three miles.  Which meant a good 50 minutes thinking time. Luckily it’s not a very busy route so I don’t think more than three people witnessed me arguing with myself. 

By the time I got home I’d figured out where the story was really heading, and it wasn’t a place for 9 year old readers. Or 12 year old characters. No matter how much I love them.

I think I finally understand the pain of killing your darlings. It sucks.

I am dreading re-writing the first four chapters, mostly because that was the one section I thought was pretty much complete! Now they’re lining the cat’s litter tray.

Oh well. You live and learn.

So back to Dumbledore and his Pensieve and how to tackle the re-write. I may not be able to pour my thoughts out into a bowl, but I do have the next best thing.

Yep, you guesses it.

Post it notes!!!

A few months back I had the slight mishap of losing a character, so I mapped out my plot in multi-coloured post-its on the wall.

As you do.

It turned out to be quite handy, so there they have stayed. As I started rewriting, things have started changing. Turns out my 15 year old is far more impatient than she was at 13, so things are moving at a quicker pace, and occasionally in a different order. God bless re-adhesive sticky notes.

Well that's all from me this week, as I now have a couple of newly unruly teenagers to tend to!

Enjoy the sunshine while it lasts everyone!

bye for now,

Laura

Editing Sea-Witch style?

This week, I have mostly been deleting.

As is inevitable with a rewrite, things have changed.

Things have changed to the extent that in my previous version of Chapter 14, my two MCs were bumbling along together. Only now I have decided to split them up for a bit (reckon they can cover far more ground on their own, besides the time apart will do them good!)

Only it does mean I am having something of a difficulty with my re-write.

My current method is to take the previous version, sit in the garden/living room/bath/bus and doodle all over it, crossing out the rubbish, tweaking here and there – any extra scenes or other big changes are made by post it notes (preferably in a wide variety of colour – I like the green best) But now I have hit a problem not even my trusty post-its can solve.

My current editing style is not working! I have been tweaking and pruning only to find the wrong characters popping up where they no longer should be!

It has got to the stage where it is actually more of an effort to patch up what is already there, than it would be to wipe the slate clean and start again.

Which is a little nerve racking!

The main reason I wok so closely against the previous version is that I am worried I will miss something – forget some key fact, or lose a really good line…

The truth is, I won’t. If there really was some gold in there somewhere, I’m sure it’ll resurface at some point. And anything that stays forgotten? Well, it can’t have been worth remembering in the first place.

So I hit delete. Erased the whole chapter!

I then got a little drunk on the power of it all and had to restrain myself from deleting the entire thing and cackling wildly like a demented Disney villain (I’m thinking Ursula in The Little Mermaid when she grows all big and turns the sea into a giant whirlpool! Mwah-ha-ha!!!)

Um… where was I?

Once again it’s about finding some kind of balance – don’t be too precious about every little word you’ve written, but don’t get too trigger happy on the delete button either!

Well I’m off to do some more work (although oddly feeling like watching a bunch of Disney films now…)

Have a good weekend – see you next week!

Laura  

Friday on a Monday

I posted this on Friday, a day when the internet was not my friend! Fingers crossed I have better luck today...

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Last Sunday I finally unearthed the computer from beneath a mountain of boxes, and managed to clear a tiny corner of the room fit for writing. And boy did I write! Even Dancing on Ice had to wait so determined was I to finish that blasted chapter!

It had been three weeks since I moved, and three weeks since I’d written, funny how typing away for half an hour made me feel more at home than three weeks worth of cleaning and decorating. Even amid a fortress of boxes I felt more settled than I have all month!

So not surprisingly I managed a fairly epic writing spree, and spruced up was previously a fairly lack-lustre chapter.

Only now I have created more problems for myself. 

As is often the case when I take a break and come back to a piece, I notice glaring mistakes and huge leaps in logic that I swear were not there before!

Right now I have a rather important sub-plot that I am aware is full of holes. I think, think I have now patched them up. In my head that is – what I need to do now is go back several chapter and weave it back in.

Question is, do I go back and do that now, or push on with this draft and leave the weaving to the next re-write? Part of me can’t face going back to chapter nine when I really want to crack on and move forward! The other part of me now resents working on what is now a pretty duff draft!

What’s a girl to do in troubled times as these?  Well I only have one answer.

Post-it notes.

Blessed, blessed post-it notes. I shall go back and insert my various notes and new scenes in glorious multi-coloured sticker-dom leaving me free to carry on as before and tackle the re-write another day!

All hail the post-it note, saviour of the scatterbrained writer!

Have a good weekend folks!