Took the second to last chapter to writer's group, and though it was an action filled chapter, they didn't feel the suspense. They didn't think the characters were in enough trouble.
Well, that's a problem when the penultimate chapter doesn't pass muster.
So I can hear you saying, quit talking and produce the book already!
Yeah, well that may be a problem. I've decided that it all needs to be completely reworked, from top to bottom. I still think there is a readable book in there, but it is more or less back to the drawing board.
The encouraging thing is, I'm still willing to do the work.
I've got a plan.
It all points to why I quit writing novels 25 years ago. I simply couldn't put this level of commitment into something that may or may not ever see the light of day. So...on one hand, I can see I made the right decision. On the other hand, I sort of lament that I didn't keep trying. But, really, I don't see how I could have wrestled my new business into shape, and adapted to my new family (wife and two new sons, 10 and 11 years old), and so on.
Anyway, I remember now that in those olden days, I had to keep working on the books over and over again, trying to get them into a readable format, and apparently that messy process hasn't changed.
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9 comments:
what the fuck will you talk about when the 'book' is done?
Why...the next book, of course.
Hell, I'll annoy you people so much you'll just HAVE to buy the book in order to check to see how bad it is!
Hmmm. One thing I've learned about working with groups (and believe me, I've done a lot of that) is that people in such a setting feel compelled to say something even if they have nothing much to say. So I wonder if the members of your writing group aren't criticizing the book just so they can have something to say and feel like they're "taking part," if you know what I mean. You need to decide at some point whether their criticism is really helpful or is just wasting time and undermining your confidence.
In the olden days they would say a book "smelled too much of the lamp" when the writer appeared to have labored too much over it -- meaning that he burned the midnight oil. I fear your book, if it's ever finished, will "smell too much of the lamp."
This situation is also starting to remind me of Mr. Casaubon in "Middlemarch" and his never-completed magnum opus.
Some novelist (I forget who) once said that writing a novel was like giving birth to a grand piano. For you it's like giving birth to a whole symphony orchestra.
"...smelled too much of the lamp..."
No, I get that. That isn't what is happening here. It really does need to be improved, and I can improve it.
You know when it's ready.
I probably am going to quit talking about it, but I thought I'd do a little explaining before I drop out of sight...
Meant no offense, Dunc -- it's just that I'm so eager to see the finished product.
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