Wednesday, July 9, 2014

writing advice and drafts or revisions as the work progresses?

I can stop with linking to online writing advice now - it is all collected here.  I won't of course, but I could.

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Gord Sellar's write-a-thon report:

I managed to keep to my writing pledge: slightly more than 12,000 words added to the main manuscript, plus about a thousand words of planning, character-sketching, and more.
More specifically, for those interested: I performed major surgery on the outline, improving the manuscript in a way that… well, I’m kicking myself for not seeing this solution to the problem previously. Basically, it helps fix not only structural problems, but more philosophical problems with the story.

I think of Gord as the real deal when it comes to writing.  Years ago, he posted a few things about his writing process, including how he edits his work and he seemed to have the business of writing down.  I mean this in the way my brother-in-law has the business of dentistry down.  Although he is indeed skilled as a dentist, he is also minutely aware of the time management aspects of his work and how to combine quality work with throughput.

Uh, yeah, more than I intended to say about my brother-in-law but the whole analogy works.  I've read only three of Sellar's works but I found them excellently researched and written.

The excerpt above is interesting to me for what it shows of his novel-writing process.  He appears to be working towards a minimum number of drafts and rewriting sections as he goes.  This was a big no-no in the Nanowrimo community.

Jo Walton, as interviewed here (MP3 interview), has a similar approach, attempting a 'no-drafts' style.

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