Yes, I added a new category of posts - writing problems. It seems I come up with more and more of them as I continue to revise my novel. This new category is not to bring you down, it's to tell you about my experiences and give you some advice. Also, I'd love some advice from our readers on ways I might be able to solve my problems.
So, without further ado......bad chapters. As I revise my manuscript, bad chapters continuously plague me. Often, I can't pinpoint why a particular chapter seems 'bad', but all I know is that I don't want it in my book. Sometimes, it is the language that causes me to make lengthy revisions when I find these chapters. I may find cliches, or words and statements that don't fit with my style, or with the personalities of my characters.
What gives me some hope as I read through my novel, is that many of these chapters occur at the beginning of my novel, and, although the bad chapters are plentiful, there are some scenes that I know will be part of the final product. Considering that I did start my novel about three years ago, it's to be expected that my writing has improved. It gives me hope that I will continue to improve as I work through the revision process.
As I go through my first round of revisions, I try not to worry about language. During my read-throughs, I focus on whether a particular scene or chapter advances my story. If it does, no matter how abominable the writing is, I leave it and move on.
Revising is a very comforting process, if you think about it. Each time you revise, you make your work a little better, and you know that no matter how terrible the writing is, you can come back and change it. Think about revising like this: say you have a conversation with someone, and maybe you say the wrong thing, or you aren't attentive enough, or maybe you're distracted. The moment the conversation ends, you realize this, and come up with the perfect thing you could have said. I don't know how many others do this, but I certainly analyze my conversations. In real life, you can't go back and correct what you have said. But, when you revise, you can. You can correct it over and over until you say the perfect thing.
So, think of these bad chapters as opportunities to say the right thing. You don't have to worry about them now, but you have the power to go back and find the best thing to say when you are ready to do so.
Happy revising!
-M
So, without further ado......bad chapters. As I revise my manuscript, bad chapters continuously plague me. Often, I can't pinpoint why a particular chapter seems 'bad', but all I know is that I don't want it in my book. Sometimes, it is the language that causes me to make lengthy revisions when I find these chapters. I may find cliches, or words and statements that don't fit with my style, or with the personalities of my characters.
What gives me some hope as I read through my novel, is that many of these chapters occur at the beginning of my novel, and, although the bad chapters are plentiful, there are some scenes that I know will be part of the final product. Considering that I did start my novel about three years ago, it's to be expected that my writing has improved. It gives me hope that I will continue to improve as I work through the revision process.
As I go through my first round of revisions, I try not to worry about language. During my read-throughs, I focus on whether a particular scene or chapter advances my story. If it does, no matter how abominable the writing is, I leave it and move on.
Revising is a very comforting process, if you think about it. Each time you revise, you make your work a little better, and you know that no matter how terrible the writing is, you can come back and change it. Think about revising like this: say you have a conversation with someone, and maybe you say the wrong thing, or you aren't attentive enough, or maybe you're distracted. The moment the conversation ends, you realize this, and come up with the perfect thing you could have said. I don't know how many others do this, but I certainly analyze my conversations. In real life, you can't go back and correct what you have said. But, when you revise, you can. You can correct it over and over until you say the perfect thing.
So, think of these bad chapters as opportunities to say the right thing. You don't have to worry about them now, but you have the power to go back and find the best thing to say when you are ready to do so.
Happy revising!
-M
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