Q & A - #15 - "What are your best and worst writing-related experiences?" ~ ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
bostonerin
BEST
I can say without a doubt in my mind that finishing my second novel, NORMAL FOR ONCE, has been my best writing-related experience so far. Finishing my first novel comes a close second.
There's something about finishing a draft of a novel that feels like the biggest accomplishment in the world. Any non-writer who on a whim says, "I want to write a novel," doesn't know what they're talking about. A lot of hard work goes into the words on those pages, the lives of those characters, and knowing that everything has wrapped up in some cohesive way brings great satisfaction. Even knowing you're going to have to tear them all to pieces in future revisions.
WORST
Tearing my novel all to pieces. Throwing away words. Amputating my plot. Trashing great scenes.
I could talk about writer's block and all that goes along with that, but I'm firmly convinced that writer's block simply means not wanting to sit down at the keyboard.
The hardest, worst experience I've survived was the gruesome revision of NORMAL FOR ONCE. The swirling cloud of advice from good writing friends started to form into certain pictures (you know that game with the clouds?), so I decided to face my fears and take the knife to my novel. Going into it, I just knew I was going to botch things, deleting necessary or unforgettable scenes and ending up with incomplete character and story arcs. That was terrifying.
On this side of the terror, I can say that I learned more about myself as a writer and about the craft of writing from that revision than from any other single event in my writing life. I guess that's how bad experiences are, though -- a piece of sand in the oyster of my brain -- one more set of reps at the bench press -- callouses on guitar-playing fingers -- the tough stuff makes us stronger.
______________
All the questions are officially answered, but I'd love to answer more. So if you've got anything you wish you could know about me, ASK IT HERE.
bostonerin BEST
I can say without a doubt in my mind that finishing my second novel, NORMAL FOR ONCE, has been my best writing-related experience so far. Finishing my first novel comes a close second.
There's something about finishing a draft of a novel that feels like the biggest accomplishment in the world. Any non-writer who on a whim says, "I want to write a novel," doesn't know what they're talking about. A lot of hard work goes into the words on those pages, the lives of those characters, and knowing that everything has wrapped up in some cohesive way brings great satisfaction. Even knowing you're going to have to tear them all to pieces in future revisions.
WORST
Tearing my novel all to pieces. Throwing away words. Amputating my plot. Trashing great scenes.I could talk about writer's block and all that goes along with that, but I'm firmly convinced that writer's block simply means not wanting to sit down at the keyboard.
The hardest, worst experience I've survived was the gruesome revision of NORMAL FOR ONCE. The swirling cloud of advice from good writing friends started to form into certain pictures (you know that game with the clouds?), so I decided to face my fears and take the knife to my novel. Going into it, I just knew I was going to botch things, deleting necessary or unforgettable scenes and ending up with incomplete character and story arcs. That was terrifying. On this side of the terror, I can say that I learned more about myself as a writer and about the craft of writing from that revision than from any other single event in my writing life. I guess that's how bad experiences are, though -- a piece of sand in the oyster of my brain -- one more set of reps at the bench press -- callouses on guitar-playing fingers -- the tough stuff makes us stronger.
______________
All the questions are officially answered, but I'd love to answer more. So if you've got anything you wish you could know about me, ASK IT HERE.
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