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One Third & Counting
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Yay, I'm more than a third of the way through! I guess that means I'm heading for the traditionally saggy part, though. Hmmm... not so good.

Actually, I can feel it happening. I'm going to have to chop some of yesterday's dialogue because a lot of it was really just two people sitting around talking about stuff that the reader probably wouldn't give two hoots about. No, that's not true - she would want to know, but it should have been a lot tighter.

But that's fair enough; that's how I work. I write a load one day and then spend part of the next day editing it. Better that than having to stop the whole time to think "can I write this" and "can I write that". No, just chuck it all down while I have the story flowing and decide later whether or not I should or shouldn't have written it that way or this way.

The big problem now is: what next? I know what the next major event has to be but I have to work out how to get my couple from the point they're at now, to the point they need to be then without just throwing them into bed.

Time to bring out the thinking cap.

~~+~~
Posted by Sharon J on 1:29 PM   

2 Comments:
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sympathies on the sagging bits. I too suffer from saggy middles (in the book as well as in the flesh). I've found the best way to prune is to be really harsh: does it move the plot forward? Does it shed light on characters that can't be done in any other way? If not, cut. Trust me: it will make your book tighter and better.

10:32 PM   


Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for the advice, Kate. I did do some pretty hard pruning, as well as moved some bits about and was much happier with the end result. It'll probably be pruned even harder when I go back for the second time. The "does it shed a light..." thought was particularly useful.

11:23 PM   


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