Nemesis

?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??
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Not nearly as flattering as Alison’s.
In fact, it’s kinda scary. :O

Oh well, if you read the post below you’ll see why this quiz just had to be done. :blush:

Okay.

I’ve seen quite a bit of griping lately about the RWA. Seems dissatisfaction abounds in the ranks of the romance writers. I weighed in here. Hopefully, you’ll add your POV too.

I’ve recently discovered a glaring weakness of mine–avoidance. When I reach a point in the story where I am at a loss, I just avoid the issue. Usually by surfing or messing around with my website (silly, I know. A fab website does not make a writer be.)

One of my cp’s suggested I add a chapter to show some of the happenings that take place during a six week jump in my ms. Now, she said it wasn’t necessary to add it, and I agree, but she pointed out what a marvelous opportunity it would be to show off the intrepidness and strength of the heroine, and I agree with that too. So I sat down to write the chapter.

And stared and grumbled and surfed and cleaned the kitchen and groused and you get the idea. :doze:

By three o’clock I’d accomplished about a page and a half. I realized then that I’d avoiding addressing the six weeks because I couldn’t create that time in my mind and have it flow. The hero and heroine are apart, my strongest skill is in having them interact together (That one’s for you, Cece! )

Could I just scrap the idea of adding the chapter? Certainly, but the reasons for writing it are valid and frankly, I could use the added word count. But added words that are choppy and disjointed distract from the pacing and lose the reader. (I hate when that happens to me in books.) But I was determined and by the end of the day, I’d completed 10 pages I’m reasonably happy with and I still have another chapter to write, so my dogged avoidance turned into two chapters.

But I’m dreading writing the next chapter, hemming and hawing and blogging so that I can put it off as long as possible, until guilt finally forces me to tackle the task. :blush:

Can I just tell you how much I love to get my work critiqued? It’s an absolutely amazing process that I’m in love with. I love hearing (or in my case, reading) “How about adding this…?” “You could cut this…” “Go into more detail here.” “You don’t need so much detail here.” or my personal favorite, “This is excellent, don’t change a thing!”

It’s fascinating and so much fun. I love seeing how other people view my characters and story, I love the suggested word substitutions that I never would have thought of, I love being told that I was longwinded here, and left the reader hanging there. I love the rewording of sentences into more cohesive prose. I love the reaffirmation and the honesty and the friendship required to share your hard work with someone and know that they only have your best interests at heart.

Because when all is said and done, I end up with a much better book and far tighter story. Heartfelt thanks go out to my cp’s!

I wouldn’t say I’m rewriting, because I’m not changing anything inherent to the story. I’m merely substituting words, removing extraneous wording and information, and adding parts that I feel heighten the emotion and the plot.

Cece commented about setting aside a ms and going back to it later with fresh eyes. I do that with all of my mss, but find that every time I go back to them, there is something I would change. I rarely go back to something and think that it’s perfect as is.

How many times should you tweak a ms? What is the magic number that one should reach and say, “Okay. That’s it. No more.” Is there really any excuse to send out a work you are not 100% satisfied with? And how do you know if it’s truly dissatisfaction you feel or just plain fear of rejection?

I’ll read a scene and think it’s great. Then I’ll try to picture the scene through someone else’s eyes and deliberately try to find things wrong with it. Unfortunately, that’s all to easy.

A recent inductee in the critique scene, I am leaning heavily on my cp’s to be my fresh pair of eyes, but what do you do when they wouldn’t change a thing and you still see some room for tweaking? Kill the devil on your shoulder?

At what point do you kill the monster and fling him to the public? (You can comment here or on the message board. )

“Writing is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement. Then it becomes a mistress, then it becomes a master, then it becomes a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling him to the public.” - Winston Churchill

There was an author quoted in the RWR who said that when she sent her mss in to her editor, there was not one word that she would change. (I’ll look it up in the morning, I promise!) *UPDATE* I found it. Barbara Delinsky, who said, “By the time I’m done with a book there’s not one word I would change.“

I don’t see how that’s possible. I always think my work can be better. And better. I will admit there are the moments, far too fleeting and rare, when I’ll get the scene down just perfect. But a whole ms?

One can hope.

But I won’t hold my breath.