What is your favorite part of the writing process?
When a story hits out of the blue, the entire thing from start to finish in a matter of seconds, that's a rush...
A story takes an unexpected twist or development.
Typing the last few pages of a full length novel.
What do you do when you know you've done something wrong and haven't yet figured out what the source of that wrongness?
If the wrongness is very bad, sit the story on a back burner, simmer and stir from time to time.
If the writing of a story / concept is in a groove keep plugging away. The wrongness will sort itself, then if needed go back and correct. Often a wrongness feeling will fade, and or what was wrong was not wrong. As the story progressed what felt wrong made perfect sense.
In "Bristol" there are stories within the story, one of which was a serial killer bashing whores with a hammer. Made no sense at the time and felt wrong, it just popped into the story. There were other issues as well. Backburner, let it simmer, stirred, still did not make sense.
Added spices, placed back onto a front burner and cooked. Those who read the draft liked it. The Hammer Killer was something going on in the background of San Francisco's nightlife and gave an edge of reality to it. One of the heroes Lt. Crisp was courting a lady doctor who turned out to be the Hammer Killer! Crisp has the worse luck with women. Historical novel, taking place in the weeks prior to the American Civil War. The number of wrong feelings were not justified. That said, pausing to simmer and stir did help with direction for the story.
What happened with Bristol is not always the case, sometimes wrongness is wrongness.
Since I am not on deadlines, backburner and simmering is okay. I do not like to have a lot of stories on backburners. At some point, I'll grab a story, focus and punch it out in short period of time. A story on a backburner does not mean a wrongness and simply in line waiting for me to finish another story.
long answer
Date: 2007-09-13 06:14 am (UTC)When a story hits out of the blue, the entire thing from start to finish in a matter of seconds, that's a rush...
A story takes an unexpected twist or development.
Typing the last few pages of a full length novel.
What do you do when you know you've done something wrong and haven't yet figured out what the source of that wrongness?
If the wrongness is very bad, sit the story on a back burner, simmer and stir from time to time.
If the writing of a story / concept is in a groove keep plugging away. The wrongness will sort itself, then if needed go back and correct. Often a wrongness feeling will fade, and or what was wrong was not wrong. As the story progressed what felt wrong made perfect sense.
In "Bristol" there are stories within the story, one of which was a serial killer bashing whores with a hammer. Made no sense at the time and felt wrong, it just popped into the story. There were other issues as well. Backburner, let it simmer, stirred, still did not make sense.
Added spices, placed back onto a front burner and cooked. Those who read the draft liked it. The Hammer Killer was something going on in the background of San Francisco's nightlife and gave an edge of reality to it. One of the heroes Lt. Crisp was courting a lady doctor who turned out to be the Hammer Killer! Crisp has the worse luck with women. Historical novel, taking place in the weeks prior to the American Civil War. The number of wrong feelings were not justified. That said, pausing to simmer and stir did help with direction for the story.
What happened with Bristol is not always the case, sometimes wrongness is wrongness.
Since I am not on deadlines, backburner and simmering is okay. I do not like to have a lot of stories on backburners. At some point, I'll grab a story, focus and punch it out in short period of time. A story on a backburner does not mean a wrongness and simply in line waiting for me to finish another story.