I know I've been kinda quiet about my writing lately. I feel like a huge toad because, ya know, this is The Writing Spectacle - not a 'my kid got into college and I have cats, so I don't have time to write' blog. Yeah, sure, writers don't have to blog about writing every single day, but every once in a while, I should probably write about like ya know WRITING.
Anyway, sorry if you came here expecting more writerly type posts. As I feel more writerly again, I'll get back to that. Which leads me to what I've been up to - other than college and cats.
I'm smack in the middle of re-typing my whole damn 2010 NaNo manuscript. (Okay, not quite in the middle, since I just finished Chapter Three last night.)
WHY? you cry.
Because I wanted to try something different with this manuscript. My usual process is write the first draft, print it out, make it bleed red ink, and then type in the edits. This time, though, the edits are sufficiently massive that I figured if I just fixed those things in red, I'd miss a whole bunch of other things along the way. Hence, the re-typing. I'm catching all sorts of things that need clarifying or that are way out there, or the places where I strayed off the path of the story.
It's a pain, but it's working well. I'm falling in love with the story all over again. So, I've got up to Chapter 26 printed, through chapter 13 red-inked up and I just finished typing Chapter 3 back into the computer.
It still needs work, but at least now I can see the individual trees in the damned forest.
What are you up to these days?
What an excellent way of reworking something. I might have to give that a try.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your on to a good thing doing it this way. I may try it myself.
ReplyDeleteI've done this with a novel that I had edited until I could no longer stand it. I found, as you did, that retyping it allowed me to see it fresh. It was a true revision. I corrected the obvious but also found scenes that I needed to expand, delete, or totally rewrite. I had great fun and, like you, fell in love with the story all over again.
ReplyDeleteHOWEVER, I also discovered that I would fall into a trance and just retype the same text. I believe that when one retypes a manuscript, she or he must take frequent breaks: work on new material, read, or whatever will distance you from the numbness of retyping. Btw, be sure to take pity on your body, also.