Harnessing the obsessive/compulsive.

When I started writing fiction again about two and a half years ago, I had two goals.

One was to write, of course.

The other though, equally important, was to figure out a Work Process that would be effective.

Writing is a compulsive/obsessive activity, so if you have compulsive/obsessive tendencies you might be in trouble.  My job was to find a way to harness that compulsive/obsessive behavior.

I knew from the past that I tended to go back and change things in a manuscript over and over again and to make a mess of it and to finally get to a point of "word jumble" where I couldn't see the story at all.  I also tended to set off blindly writing and finding myself in corners or being forced to use cliche story elements to finish the book.

So I wanted to avoid those things.

What I first did was write Nearly Human all the way through.  I got stuck.  I forced on an ending on it that ended up being a problem but unable to change it.  I rewrote it a number of times.  Trying to rediscover what I had once known about writing.

In return for this, the writing is a little more polished on this manuscript, the plot a much more  messy and static, and there is probably slightly more texture but less flow.  The tone was changed a number of times.  The emotional life of the manuscript was constructed rather than felt.  It is dangerously close to word jumble.

In other words, Nearly Human became my practice manuscript.  When it came time to write the next book, I had learned enough that it came easier -- but still a little messy.  By Freedy Filkins, I got into a groove and it's been pretty much clear sailing ever since.

Something clicked -- the joy of telling a story.

I learned to do more plotting and planning, both before the book starts and before each chapter.  I learned to pace myself.  

So all that is good.

I am still emotionally connected to my stories (they aren't a word jumble.)  I feel like they flow, that they are quick and easy and fun.  I think they're pretty good.  I'm afraid heavy rewriting will take away more than it would add.

But --

 I'd still like to find a way to add a bit more depth and texture to my stories.  I've mentioned before that I hate rewriting.  I force myself to do it when I feel it is necessary (and don't get me wrong, I rewrite all the time, just not tearing down the entire book and redoing it kind of rewriting.)

Anyway, I've decided that I need to perhaps refine the work process, frontload it if you will, but try not to mess with the joy of creating.  The joy of creating has been very productive and I have to think I've gotten better through the doing -- (not the redoing).

So I think the next book I start I will continue the process of trying to think it through before I start and to plot the books and chapters as much as possible.

So the extra step is this.  When I've finished the day's new writing, I set it aside and sleep on it.  Then I wake up the next morning and work on trying to add depth and texture.  Then take a break and write the next section.

I'll still hold to the rule of not allowing myself to make massive changes, or to obsess over previously written material.  Just that one extra step.

I don't know if this will work -- I don't know if the critical part of the brain will interfere too much with the creative part of the brain.  Maybe the two things need to be reversed -- do the original material first, take a break, and then rewrite in the evening.  (But I'm a great believer in sleeping on problems which is why I want to try the other way first.)

I want to do one more refinement.  Do a rewrite.  Just flat out force myself to do a real top to bottom rewrite.  Just once -- enough to improve but not word jumble.

I kind of liked the way I did a Nearly Human rewrite one time.  (I've done at least 4 top to bottom rewrites of this book -- the old problems.)   I put all the numbers of chapters in a hat and did them randomly.  It gave me the feeling of instead of starting from scratch at the bottom of the mountain again that I was halfway up, or three quarters way up, then at the bottom, then at the top.  It was random enough to keep my interest.

So I'll try that.

So the refinements I've come up with.

1.) Even more thinking and planning and plotting before I start the book than I'm already doing.

2.) Give myself one shot at rewriting each chapter within a day of writing them.

3.) Force myself to do a final rewrite.

Most of all though I get a sense that I'll get better at this by continuing doing.  Write away -- have fun doing it, try to improve, and just keep writing.