I just finished cleaning up my CWC submission for February AND the one for April! I am officially ahead for once
How groovy am I? Pretty damn groovy, I'm thinking.
aaaah.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
And Now For The Rest Of The Story
My post of yesterday was an attempt at humor in the face of a crushing realization. Like Jenny, I realized that my rewrite wasn't quite where I wanted it to be. As I told her, if she was depressed over not finishing in a week, I should be on the point of suicide. How long has this been going on? [And to make matters worse, that damn song is now stuck in my head.]
Anyway, yesterday afternoon was a bit of a rough one, until I hit the fuck it moment. Not as in throw in the towel and take up botany, but as in it's taken this long so why not take a little longer and really get it right. Once that sank in, lots of great ideas for improvement of said tome flooded in. Not sure I even got them all down, they were coming so fast. And ideas for other works in progress, henceforth referred to as WIP.
This shouldn't take months to fix. Weeks, maybe. Today is take a breather, make more plans for what to do and clean up Vesta for CWC next week. Then back at it tomorrow for the last 40 pages of MMG just like nothing happened. Saturday will start the new rewrites. So we're still looking at March for sending queries. Not bad.
Note to self: Don't ever title anything The Last Rewrite.
Anyway, yesterday afternoon was a bit of a rough one, until I hit the fuck it moment. Not as in throw in the towel and take up botany, but as in it's taken this long so why not take a little longer and really get it right. Once that sank in, lots of great ideas for improvement of said tome flooded in. Not sure I even got them all down, they were coming so fast. And ideas for other works in progress, henceforth referred to as WIP.
This shouldn't take months to fix. Weeks, maybe. Today is take a breather, make more plans for what to do and clean up Vesta for CWC next week. Then back at it tomorrow for the last 40 pages of MMG just like nothing happened. Saturday will start the new rewrites. So we're still looking at March for sending queries. Not bad.
Note to self: Don't ever title anything The Last Rewrite.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Respectfully Disagree
I've been pondering this post for a while now. Partly because I've been busy at work--a good thing in these times. Partly because I've also been busy with rewrites on MMG--an extremely good thing. And partly because I wasn't sure how to put it without maybe stepping on toes.
But I think have the time and a way of doing it.
Jenny posted about King's interview where he says that JK Rowling = good writing while Stephanie Meyer = bad writing. She questions who gets to make those decisions. Then Fleur posted about talking with her students about the same thing. Her final conclusion for them was that if they like it, it's good.
I have to disagree with that. There is a reason that in a previous time--not that long ago, really--critics were a rarefied breed. There just weren't that many around for books, art, music or movies. Why was that? Burly, hairy men standing guard at the gates to keep out the riff-raff? Well, in a way. The bodyguards however were education. A specific kind of education. These critics knew about movies or books or music or art or whatever else they were critiquing. It took time to learn about each art form and what the structures and standards were. And, also, to learn what was new and cutting edge. What broke the rules in an interesting and deliberate way and what just didn't have a clue.
Now anyone with a blog and the inclination can post a review of anything they want. See previous posts for examples from this author. Doesn't matter if you don't know a comma from a coma or a landscape from a landing strip. You have an opinion? It's call a critique.
Now, I can say whether or not I like something. And I have every right to that opinion and to post it wherever I want as long as it doesn't stray into libel. But liking something and knowing if it's "good" or not are too different things.
Case in point: I may love Big Macs. (I'm so-so on them, but do get the occasional craving). Does that mean they are an example of good cooking? Absolutely not. They fill one up. Can be tasty with enough tartar--I mean special sauce to cover up the cardboardy beef and wilted shreds of iceberg lettuce. But no one needs to study for years to figure out how to put one together.
There are movies that are not acted, written or filmed particularly well (The Cutting Edge comes to mind) that I watch every time they're on television. I can chew through some pretty horribly written mysteries when I've read too many heavier, and much better written, books in a row and just need to chill out for a bit. So there are examples of things I like that I know aren't particularly good.
Then take Dante's Inferno. As stated previously, I struggled with it. Called it 17th Century Burn Book. But I recognize why it's lasted all these centuries. Well, partly because of the religious aspect, BUT the structure, the artistry, the attention to detail are all amazing. I get it. I just didn't like it. My not liking it doesn't make it any less than what it is.
I think a better way to put it is: "If you like it, that's okay. It's sometimes enough just to like it. That doesn't necessarily mean it's well-executed. And just because you didn't enjoy something, doesn't necessarily make it bad. You may just need to learn a bit more so you understand why it's considered great. May not make you like it any better, but it just might."
But I think have the time and a way of doing it.
Jenny posted about King's interview where he says that JK Rowling = good writing while Stephanie Meyer = bad writing. She questions who gets to make those decisions. Then Fleur posted about talking with her students about the same thing. Her final conclusion for them was that if they like it, it's good.
I have to disagree with that. There is a reason that in a previous time--not that long ago, really--critics were a rarefied breed. There just weren't that many around for books, art, music or movies. Why was that? Burly, hairy men standing guard at the gates to keep out the riff-raff? Well, in a way. The bodyguards however were education. A specific kind of education. These critics knew about movies or books or music or art or whatever else they were critiquing. It took time to learn about each art form and what the structures and standards were. And, also, to learn what was new and cutting edge. What broke the rules in an interesting and deliberate way and what just didn't have a clue.
Now anyone with a blog and the inclination can post a review of anything they want. See previous posts for examples from this author. Doesn't matter if you don't know a comma from a coma or a landscape from a landing strip. You have an opinion? It's call a critique.
Now, I can say whether or not I like something. And I have every right to that opinion and to post it wherever I want as long as it doesn't stray into libel. But liking something and knowing if it's "good" or not are too different things.
Case in point: I may love Big Macs. (I'm so-so on them, but do get the occasional craving). Does that mean they are an example of good cooking? Absolutely not. They fill one up. Can be tasty with enough tartar--I mean special sauce to cover up the cardboardy beef and wilted shreds of iceberg lettuce. But no one needs to study for years to figure out how to put one together.
There are movies that are not acted, written or filmed particularly well (The Cutting Edge comes to mind) that I watch every time they're on television. I can chew through some pretty horribly written mysteries when I've read too many heavier, and much better written, books in a row and just need to chill out for a bit. So there are examples of things I like that I know aren't particularly good.
Then take Dante's Inferno. As stated previously, I struggled with it. Called it 17th Century Burn Book. But I recognize why it's lasted all these centuries. Well, partly because of the religious aspect, BUT the structure, the artistry, the attention to detail are all amazing. I get it. I just didn't like it. My not liking it doesn't make it any less than what it is.
I think a better way to put it is: "If you like it, that's okay. It's sometimes enough just to like it. That doesn't necessarily mean it's well-executed. And just because you didn't enjoy something, doesn't necessarily make it bad. You may just need to learn a bit more so you understand why it's considered great. May not make you like it any better, but it just might."
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
We Got Fleur!
Just a quick one to say that Fleur is now blogging. Check her out at:
http://yasleuth.blogspot.com/
heh
http://yasleuth.blogspot.com/
heh
Monday, February 2, 2009
Ack! Goals, Again.
It feels like I've just written the goals for one month before it's time to do it all over again.
How'd I do for January?
--Finish really really rough draft of TNN (DONE)
--Rewrite MMG (About 1/3)
--Write flash piece for anthology (Did 2)
--Read first book in Divine Comedy (DONE)
--Do CWC critique (1/1)
--UGWP critiques (3/3)
For February?
--FINISH rewrite of MMG
--Clean up enough of Vesta from NaNo to submit to CWC this month (added)
--Complete CWC critique
--UGWP critique
It's a short month, what can I say?
How'd I do for January?
--Finish really really rough draft of TNN (DONE)
--Rewrite MMG (About 1/3)
--Write flash piece for anthology (Did 2)
--Read first book in Divine Comedy (DONE)
--Do CWC critique (1/1)
--UGWP critiques (3/3)
For February?
--FINISH rewrite of MMG
--Clean up enough of Vesta from NaNo to submit to CWC this month (added)
--Complete CWC critique
--UGWP critique
It's a short month, what can I say?
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Frustrating and Fascinating
This is one of those days when we all cannibalize each other's blogs. But it's a good topic.
Revision. Or as Jenny says, re-vision. Looking at your work in a new way. It sucks. It revitalizes. It hurts. It inspires. It's both frustrating and fascinating.
Another Jenny comment was that we have to write the stuff that needs to be cut later. I found that helpful now that I'm about a third of the way through MMG rewrites. I'm slashing and hacking, and adding and tweaking. And all the while thinking "Why didn't I realize that I didn't need this crap?" But I did need it. I needed to write those words because they were what led to the words that I'm keeping. If it hadn't been for the 15-page funeral scene that was cut, I wouldn't have the cleaning out the house scene which stayed. If I hadn't written Thanksgiving (cut), I wouldn't have done Christmas (stays).
The good part of a critique group, especially one as thorough, talented and honest as CWC, is that you find out what didn't work and what did. The bad part is that you tend to hear the same things 4-5 times. And it starts to feel like water torture. Just that drip drip drip of what was wrong--because none of us are egotists so we tend to gloss over the what worked part. Which can turn into the feeling that nothing worked. But in Ali's case--as in all the stories that have been submitted so far--only a tiny portion of the whole didn't work.
What I'm going to take away from this discussion is the re-visioning of revision. Look at MMG with new eyes (because, frankly, the old ones were getting pretty tired of the story and that can be death to the process).
And, Ali, do ignore Juan.
Revision. Or as Jenny says, re-vision. Looking at your work in a new way. It sucks. It revitalizes. It hurts. It inspires. It's both frustrating and fascinating.
Another Jenny comment was that we have to write the stuff that needs to be cut later. I found that helpful now that I'm about a third of the way through MMG rewrites. I'm slashing and hacking, and adding and tweaking. And all the while thinking "Why didn't I realize that I didn't need this crap?" But I did need it. I needed to write those words because they were what led to the words that I'm keeping. If it hadn't been for the 15-page funeral scene that was cut, I wouldn't have the cleaning out the house scene which stayed. If I hadn't written Thanksgiving (cut), I wouldn't have done Christmas (stays).
The good part of a critique group, especially one as thorough, talented and honest as CWC, is that you find out what didn't work and what did. The bad part is that you tend to hear the same things 4-5 times. And it starts to feel like water torture. Just that drip drip drip of what was wrong--because none of us are egotists so we tend to gloss over the what worked part. Which can turn into the feeling that nothing worked. But in Ali's case--as in all the stories that have been submitted so far--only a tiny portion of the whole didn't work.
What I'm going to take away from this discussion is the re-visioning of revision. Look at MMG with new eyes (because, frankly, the old ones were getting pretty tired of the story and that can be death to the process).
And, Ali, do ignore Juan.
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