Band-Aids
I am often accused of being many things: eccentric, weird, evil (that's my mother-in-law's impression of me), a terrible mother (mother-in-law again), funny, winsome (best friend gets to call me that--inside joke), frenetic, brainy, utterly lacking in fashion sense (Oldest Daughter chimes in there), and so on. But no one . . . and I mean not even my mother-in-law (and that's saying a lot) would ever call me lazy.
For me to produce consistently . . . I have to write volumes of pages. I don't ever take a few weeks off. If anything, this blog makes sure I wrap my head around writing each and every day.
But last night, I had a long conversation with my best friend, also a writer, about a problem I am having in a beta read of my work in progress. Everyone, so far, "really likes it." But they also really LOVE the male main lead . . . and the female . . . well, they like her, but they don't LOVE her. This is a thriller, not a romance, so you know . . . on the one hand that's okay. But it's not quite the feeling I am going for. My friend suggested a "simple" fix (relatively speaking). But it's a Page One fix. As in . . . I would have to go ALL the way back to page one and pretty much fix every scene AND add new ones.
Inside I cringed. But I know it's at least one plausible (and very smart) solution to my problem. I would gain a great deal with her solution, but I would LOSE one very important element (having to do with wealth and access). I am weighing it. I wrote two writers today to ask their advice (hello Lurker!).
But I will tell you something.
The solution will not be rejected because it's a Page One fix. It will not be avoided because it is again deconstructing the same damn novel for the third time. Laziness will not be part of it.
I have met a lot of writers over the years and have been asked a lot of opinions. And very often I suggest Page One fixes. Of any random ten writers, maybe a single one will be open to that. The other nine will think there must be some way to do it with a Band-Aid.
I firmly believe sometimes you can't. And if you SEARCH for the Band-Aid, you're shortchanging the novel that COULD be.
Thoughts?
22 comments:
A page-one fix, I think, is the best and worse kind combined. Some writers can't past the bad part to get to the good - some don't even try. I think the evolution of a novel tricks us - the well-written books are completed in their own time frame, with their rules, not ours. I believe things happen for a reason, mostly - and that the nudges from the universe (even if they are page one fixes) are important to heed.
Even (maybe especially) if it means a lot more work.
Amy:
Wise words!!!!
I love the idea that they have their own time frame.
E
That's a cringe-worthy thing, to have to go back to page one... sigh... but when that large revision will make a better novel, there's really not much choice, is there? Does anyone really want to write a 'meh' novel?
I've critiqued a few times and given feedback that would mean lengthy revisions. That's never an easy crit to send out there, I'm mentally hiding under the desk until I hear back, because I know it's not an easy thing to hear when you think you're close to the finish line.
Merry:
I am always empathetic to it. I really am. But you are right . . . ignore your gut when something like that occurs and you risk a meh,
E
As in all advice, you have to weigh it. It might be worthwhile.
Funny. Guess where I started my revisions this morning?
Page one.
That was some meeting ...
Mark:
I know . . . you weigh the pros and the cons . . . a Page One fix is never the knee-jerk answer, but I wouldn't discount it out of the sheer level of work required if it really would make the book so much better.
E
Lurker:
LOL! Join the club.
:-)
P.S. VERY good meeting.
I am sooo happy to see you feel this way about a page one fix. I've had to do this this with one of my earlier manuscripts and learned a lot about writing novels in the process--what works. And I have no doubt I'll have to do a page one fix again...Whatever it takes. :)
I have a couple of 'finished' drafts that require rewriting the whole novel, I think. So they sit and wait until I'm ready to tackle that kind of project. They're also waiting to see if it's worth the effort - if there's really enough story there to slog through an entire rewrite.
I think I also need to grow a bit more as a writer before I can totally disengage what was and rewrite what needs to be.
Michele:
You know, I have shared on this blog that there is ANOTHER book of mine--women's fiction--that needs a page one fix. And I can DO it, but I know the process is so difficult and then SO filled with learning.
E
Sarah:
I have two REALLY old unfinished novels. One would be "worth" the fix. One . . . not. I agree with you that you need to determine which are worth that energy.
E
I listen to advice and then to my gut. Going out on a limb here, but only the writer knows what will truly work, as well as what advice will. I guess what I'm saying is that for me, too much advice is a bad thing. But then, I'm easily confused. :)
Kath:
I totally agree. I just think when it comes down to it--the "easy" way out should be taken off the table.
E
I've covered the first half of Nameless in band-aids, the second half still looks like a train wreck. I really should have seen it coming truth be told. Nameless was a very spir of the moment story that became a book. No plot, no ouline, just aimless writing. It taught me a lot of things, but it needs to be left alone for a while before I decide what to do with it. You can't fix a broken leg with band-aids.
-J.T
JT:
Wise words.
I have more than one train wreck on my computer. LOL!
E
I had to do a Page One fix on my current wip, then I went back and did ANOTHER Page One fix. Chapter one is a helluva a chapter, lol. I think I've got the fixes all taken care of (oddly, one involved a bandage -- nice analogy) and I'm halfway through my line edits.
I had to sit on a couple of the suggestions for about a month before I finally decided they were the best thing for my story. One of my betas suggested adding a subplot and I knew immediately it was the right thing to do. Seven chapters later, some of my favorite scenes are in the new parts.
Band-Aids always read like band-aids for me. Sometimes, I imagine I can spot the editing. Like... I read something and think, "Oh! They did that, I bet, because editor said X."
On the other hand, (well, I am a Libra) I think Chapter One fixes are a separate skill that takes time and experience to develop, otherwise even they will read like bandaids. Especially with the first few, sometimes you just gotta patch them up, move on, and apply what you've learned to the next story. I think back to my earlier stories, even some of my middle ones, and there really is no fixing them at all, unless I started over with a blank page and a new story. A cost/benefit analysis must be done. ;-)
Erica, now you're talkin'! Easy is right up there with "too good to be true." (Hard's always best.)
Melanie:
I think my best rewrites have been a year or more after first drafts, really letting them sit.
E
spy:
Love that . . . cost/benefit analysis.
E
kath:
As a New Yawker, I think I grew up suspicious of "too good to be true."
E
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