[stylist] when you know you're done with the book/story?

Tue Apr 14 21:16:18 UTC 2009

Helene,
your post raises another thorny question: how to know when you're 
done with a text!  with the story I submitted for the division's 
contest, I knew everything I wanted to do with it would add to its 
length and it was hard to get it under the 3000-word limit.  of 
course I read it through two or three times before I decided it was 
done, each time focusing on different issues for each readthrough.

but we can tinker with our texts until the cows have come home, the 
moon has risen and the milk is cold in the pail!
jc
Jim Canaday M.A.
Lawrence, KS

At 03:35 PM 4/14/2009, you wrote:
>Thanks Jim,
>
>In this case I think I did the right thing. My problem is that I keep
>creating too many sub plots. I hope some writers like a bit of comlex
>story lines. But then everything gets in a tangle. The chapter I
>omitted just didn't work any more. It had to go. I think the new
>chapter that I wrote to replace it is better.
>
>Someone said to me that easy writing made difficult reading.  Also
>that being a writer was 10 percent asperation and 90 per cent
>persperation.
>
>This is the hardest bit for me. To make it all fit in. I want people
>to really WANT to read this book.  Soon I'll be wanting people to read
>chapters to tell me what you think of it. Since I think (fingers
>crossed) that I am at lasta nearly finished. Although I can't be 100
>percent sure since 'nearly' for me as been going on since before
>christmas. I keep giving my work a final read through and I'm still
>finding bits that I feel aren't good enough although I'm satisfied
>with most of it.
>
>Helene.
>
>On 14/04/2009, James Canaday M.A.  N6YR <n6yr at sunflower.com> wrote:
> > well,
> > Helene, it depends on your image of the work and the goals you
> > have.  you may wish to have chapters that jangle the reader, come as
> > surprises, throw the reader off, or lead down the proverbial rat
> > hole.  sometimes the work you write is intended and imagined in your
> > head is a boat floating calmly under sail, much harmony at many
> > levels.  other times, your story might be running the rapids, dashed
> > about by a racing stream.  or, it may have a motor and beat the water
> > with a rhythmic drive and beat up river against the flow with each
> > inch of progress, spray flying!
> >
> > as I said, I have trouble pruning, sometimes it feels like it would
> > be easier to remove a finger, or certainly one of those expendable toes.
> > jc
> >
> > Jim Canaday M.A.
> > Lawrence, KS
> >
> > At 07:57 PM 4/12/2009, you wrote:
> >>Thanks Tamara,
> >>I find I'm having to rewrite the whole of chapter 29 since it just
> >>doesn't make any sense now I've edited stuff out, but on rereading it
> >>the ideas had flaws in them anyway. It seemed a good idea at the time
> >>but now seems a little silly and out of place. I think the new chapter
> >>29 will be an improved version when I can rewrite it.
> >>
> >>Do other writers get that, idea's that seemed good at first then you
> >>go over it and think "Na, that doesn't work at all?"
> >>
> >>Helene
> >>
> >>On 12/04/2009, Tamara Smith-Kinney <tamara.8024 at comcast.net> wrote:
> >> > Helene,
> >> >
> >> > Oh, yeah!  And I have also found that I will cut something, then forget
> >> > to
> >> > remove a reference to it in the dialog of another plotline, then, which
> >> > I
> >> > suddenly realize will make no sense to the reader...  One of the dangers
> >> > of
> >> > a long piece of fiction, I guess.  A time or two, I've caught instances
> >> > of
> >> > that happening in a book I'm reading, which is very confusing until it
> >> > suddenly dawns on me what happened.  /smile/  Usually it's when a
> >> > commercially popular sequel got rushed through editing.  So I guess we
> >> > all
> >> > do it.
> >> >
> >> > Good luck!
> >> >
> >> > Tami Smith-Kinney
> >> >
> >> > -----Original Message-----
> >> > From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> >> > Behalf Of helene ryles
> >> > Sent: Monday, April 06, 2009 10:06 PM
> >> > To: Writer's Division Mailing List
> >> > Subject: Re: [stylist] When pruning leaves gaps
> >> >
> >> > I am still pruning away any unneccessary clutter from my novel. Some
> >> > subplots can very neatly be cut out. At other times it seems that when
> >> > you try pruning it leaves gaps.
> >> >
> >> > Has anyone else found that to be the case?
> >> >
> >> > Helene
> >> >
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