Yesterday, I finished up the first rewrite of the current novel. As is my standard practice, this is a page-one rewrite of the first draft. That, of course, means typing out the 100K+ words a second time–not so much fun when you have chronic RSI problems. The lack of entries on this blog for the past couple of weeks are testament to my having devoted most of my energy to that one task.
Now what?
It’s tough. You get used to focusing on a task for a couple of months, and it becomes part of your life. With it gone, there’s a bit of a hole in my day (though I will admit that my hands have enjoyed the break). Now, with four copies out to various readers, my job on this particular story is to wait a few weeks for the reports to come back. Seems like the perfect time to take a break.
Unfortunately, looming ahead of the numerous rewrites to come is the fact that I need a new story to work on just as soon as this one gets sent of to the agent-type-person. That’s going to be my February–story development (and Olympics watching…I can’t not).
See, this is the one area the new writers I work with (or have worked with in the past) are lacking…the ability to both be able to finish and then to move to the next project. Yeah, it’s great to finish that first draft, but that’s just the start. Many more rewrites are to follow–and newbies don’t quite understand that “many more” means more than one. Yes, there are new stories to have to work on…but only after you’ve finished what you’ve already started.
I think one of the tricks to writing is to not distract yourself prematurely. Yes, you can work on several overlapping projects, but you have to know when and where to do the overlap. Waiting for readers’ reports, for example, is a marvelous time to work on the story for the next novel. I also think its OK to write some shorts while working on rewrites provided that the rewrite gets its time every day. Much of rewriting is craft, not creativity. The writer has basically switched hats and has become an editor. Doing that, it’s not really a distraction to work on a short story on the side.
The important thing is not to lose sight of the goal: finishing the book. Writing is, first and foremost, an exercise in patience–even if you write TV-writer hour-long-script-overnight fast. It requires good time management, but mostly it requires self-discipline. If you keep your eyes on the prize, it’s not too difficult to get stories finished.
