How much is too much?

kaitie · Nov 20, 2009

fov said:
I like this. I might need to start repeating it to myself like a mantra.

That is a good one.

As for the first version being best...a lot of times my first version is "This is good at the time" but it's still a draft and I know things need to change in it. When I read through one of my early chapters again, I was appalled at how awful it was and the fact that I had initially thought it was okay. And there are a lot of things that I do initially thinking, "Oh this works really well" but look back on the work as a whole and realize, "Huh...this doesn't really make sense."

Some people are incredibly picky with their first drafts and put out really good work that doesn't need much tweaking, but I personally have found that just because I originally wrote it a certain way doesn't necessarily mean that was the best way for it to be done.

fov · Nov 21, 2009

I'm so far removed from my first version at this point I can't remember what it was like. I was thinking the other day that the words in a novel are like the atoms in the human body - completely regenerating every seven years. At least that's been the case for me. The story is the same but I don't think I have one scene in my finished version that's exactly like it was in the beginning. (In fact, the scenes that haven't changed much over the years are the ones that are bugging me now!)

I'm participating in NaNoWriMo and am interested to see how my process on that novel (if I choose to continue it after November) will be different from this one. I hope it doesn't take too long. But I don't have any illusions that the draft I'm crapping out over the course of a month will strongly resemble the final product.

How much is too much?

kaitie

With great power comes

fov

Rattenmonster