My Monstrous Book...
...is now 579 pages and 160,000 words long. No matter how much I write there always seems to be eight more chapters to go. Or is that nine...?
posted by Clare Dudman at 9:54 pm
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
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6 Comments:
Uh oh. So what do you do? Write it all then cut mercilessly? Let it stand and then let your editor suggest cuts? Can it be that long? Obviously, wondering about your process with this. Thanks.
I've got to the stage now where I feel I've started so I might as well finish. I'll cut at the end, I suppose. Sometimes I think about this quietly growing monster and feel quite depressed. It is like a fat fungus growing in the basement. Sometimes I think it's not so big, but gradually, as it starts to block my way, I have to admit how truly enormous it is. I should start to hack away at it but I think it will growl back, 'I know I'm big but what will you take first - my right hip? a piece of my calf?''
Gosh and golly, Clare. You've got 160,000 WORDS!!!! (If I could bold 160,000, I would.) That's an amazing feat in and of itself. Of course, as you have pointed out, now you have a monster on your hands. Isn't there a challenge no matter where you are in the writing process?
Congrats on your output. :)
Thanks Mary :-) I am thinking that my best bet is to stuff it away in a drawer and forget about it - once I've finished it of course. Then, next time, be a lot more disciplined.
Maybe if you finish, then have a bit of time away from it, then come back you will see a way to pare it back to its essence?
Not sure if that's how these things work in reality. I'm only just working on my first extended piece and am learning so much in the process. I never realised I would need to cut as much, if not more, than I put in. A minor mourning for each discarded sentence.
Yes, good idea, Jem.
I think with a little time away I'll be able to see what's essential. Yes, cutting is really important. It seems like I can keep paring away indefinitely. I suppose knowing when to stop is important too.
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