Wednesday 5 November 2014

IWSG - Waiting for the right words

It's the November installment of the Insecure Writer's Support Group where us writers get together to share our insecurities and give advise to others. Check out the sign up/visiting list here!

I'm a bit late with this today. I've not had much time at my laptop this week - shopping (necessary rather than exciting), working and spending most of Monday in bed with some kind of lurgy.

This month I am trying to re-write my latest novel. It should have been an easy task, but then I hit a chapter that just doesn't flow. I need that chapter, but it needs to be completely scratched and re-started and I have no idea how to do it. I can't move on until I've got this bit sorted because the bit that comes next will highly depend on what happens in this bit.

I'm not expecting help with this - it's probably a wait and find inspiration in a random place, kind of deal - but a box of chocolates and a glass of wine wouldn't go wasted...


~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

On a slightly different note,



Goodreads Book Giveaway

Our Beautiful Child by Annalisa Crawford

Our Beautiful Child

by Annalisa Crawford

Giveaway ends November 12, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter to win

54 comments:

  1. I hear you about sometimes having to wait for that jolt of inspiration for the pieces to fall into place. Wine and chocolates would probably help with that.... :)

    Madeline @ The Shellshank Redemption

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  2. Maybe if you go back and read up until that point, something will hit?

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    1. exactly! Find the place where you still like what you've got and start from there.

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    2. I've been physically re-writing the whole book, so I've been reading up to this point already changing things as I've gone along, but this just seems a little harder.

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  3. I don't think a box of chocolates and a box of wine could EVER be wasted! They always help :) Good luck with that chapter - I do hate that. I like Alex's suggestion of going back and reading and trying from there.

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    1. I've been doing that while I've been typing it up again...

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  4. With all the Halloween loot around, my problem is halting the chocolate binge. As for the non-flowing chapter, that's a tough one. I'd probably take a hard look at what essential information the chapter offers and try to build around that.

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    1. I think the problem is my MC wants to mope and linger in self-pity, and I need him to get back to his egotistic best! It's a bridging chapter - the next ones push the story on, but this one gets everyone to that point.

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  5. something will strike you and the lurgy will evaporate, the chapter will decide to flow, and all will be good. I have faith in your writing skills. Good luck

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    1. Ah, Joanne, thank you. It's easy to lose faith in your own skills, so I'm happy to hear yours. I'm brainstorming sentences at the moment in a bid to get things moving. Today is all about this one chapter - luckily it's my day off the day-job!

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  6. I like Alex's suggestion too - I'm currently doing rewrites too, and I know that whenever I've gone back over my novel so far, I've started t get excited about the story again, and eventually the inspiration starts to flow :). Hope you feel better soon!

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    1. I'm excited about this story - just everything has come to a cartoon-style sudden stop at the edge of a cliff! Good luck with your rewrites :-)

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  7. I feel your pain. I feel like I know everything that's wrong with my novel, but I have no idea how to fix any of it. Good luck with your rewrite.

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    1. Well, that's the first step - knowing what's wrong - the answer will come to you. The problem is when you don't know what's wrong. Luckily, I think I know, now :-)

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  8. Ugh! I hope you find your breakthrough soon!

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  9. Good luck with re-writing your novel and that pesky chapter. Re-writes are hard. I rewrote a whole series! But the finished product is always worth it. Keep at it!

    And thanks the giveaway! :)

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    1. I've been half-heartedly trying to figure the problem all week, but today is THE day that I'm going to do it, no matter what. I can't leave it any longer, I'm on a submission deadline (as from last night).

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  10. Nothing worse than a necessary chapter that just doesn't seem to work. You can't just throw it away. You just have to pound away at it until it does fit. Usually not much fun. Good luck with it.

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    1. No, I can't throw it away, it needs to be there. I'm determined to nail it today though!

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  11. I'm sure you will work through the problems, maybe inspiration will strike when you least expect it. I prescribe wine and chocolate! Hope you are feeling better now :)

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    1. A long walk with the dog is my last-ditch attempt at finding inspiration. Exercise can help a lot.

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  12. Ain't it awful when that happens? You plan just to skim through tweaking things and a whole chunk suddenly looks wrong. Been there, am in the process of doing that myself.

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    1. This wasn't a tweak - this was a full-on, open a blank doc and rewrite the darn thing, thing.

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  13. I tore out a chapter in my current WIP and rewrote a bunch of scenes to make the story work. I hated doing it but felt relieved after I fixed it.

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    1. Being happy with the words and direction of the story is very important - a lot of work at the time, but very important!

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  14. Rewriting is tough but well worth the effort. Wine and chocolate will definitely help. :)

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    1. Unfortunately, it's 9am at the moment - too early for either ;-)

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  15. Hi Annalisa - getting stuck is one of the worst things a writer can go through. You find yourself doubting the creative genius that lies within you. What I've figured out: if you're stuck, it's probably because you're going in the wrong direction. When it's working, it flows and the pieces naturally fall into place. If you've hit a wall, back up to the part you still feel confident with and try again. If that doesn't work, let it sit for a bit and come back to it. But don't give up! Never give up! :)

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    1. It's a bridging chapter, so the direction is right, I'm just letting the MC meander - and he really needs to be more animated. I won't be giving up, though.

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  16. It's so frustrating, isn't it? Hopefully I won't put on too much weight, or get too drunk... ;-)

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  17. Hi Annalisa ... words, words, words ... so troublesome to budding authors ... but those ideas will find their creative out - and you'll sort the story out ..

    Glass of wine and chocolates never do anyone any harm .. though 10.00 am probably not a good idea!! .. cheers Hilary

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    1. I've got the house to myself tonight, so wine, chocolate, writing and Lewis are on the agenda... for creative purposes only, you understand :-)

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  18. I know you'll come up with the solution. I like shopping less and less every year. Even the fun stuff doesn't excite that much.

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    1. I did, and it was great... and now I've moved on to the next disaster :-)

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  19. I've gotten stuck in chapters (paragraphs and sentences too). I give myself permission to keep writing, knowing it's likely I might go back and edit later.

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    1. Unfortunately this is the go-back-and-edit-later part of that deal :-/

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  20. Oh, I hate when books don't cooperate with the rewriting thing. It's such a pain. And worse, they always seem to have that one crucial chapter that makes the story go, but the words are just terrible. I feel for you. Good luck. Rewriting appears to be my bane.

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    1. I usually relish the rewriting stage, but this section is being a complete pain. I think I rushed it to get to the next part, thinking I'd be able to go back and magically figure everything out later. Now it's later, and I'm struggling.

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  21. You're absolutely right about waiting until the inspiration strikes you. If you're stuck, there's probably a reason, so examine it from all different angles and hopefully, the answer will present itself. Good luck! :)

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    1. I got through the first problem, I now have a different one.

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  22. I've hit a spot like that too recently and it's still sitting there waiting for me. Might have to jump start most of the story to fix it.

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    1. Hope you find a way past yours soon. I've moved on to the next sticking point... argh!

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  23. The words will come. Whatever you don't get discouraged and give up.

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    1. No worries on that score - I always find a way through :-)

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  24. Hi Annalisa!! I hope you are lurgy-free soon! Have a wonderful weekend!!

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    1. Lurgy-free at the moment, fingers crossed it stays that way. Have a great weekend too, Keith :-)

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  25. In my experience, when a chapter doesn't flow, it needs a very important change, like mixing it in with another chapter, changing the viewpoint, putting it much later or earlier in the story, or eliminating it completely.

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    1. I actually moved it around a little bit. Now I'm stuck on another part - this might be a little harder to figure out.

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  26. Hmm I can relate Annalisa. When that happened to me, I did something out of the ordinary in order to empty my mind. I actually went go-karting at the nearby Michael Schumacher driving circuit. It was fab. I went with my hubby and daughter and came last in our race but the adrenaline kick was just what I needed. I came back and the words flew onto the page. I actually drove faster on the Autobahn than I did in the go-cart - just to get home quick.

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  27. I'll share some chocolates with you. I'm struggling with my latest WIP and I have revisions from another looming over me. Somewhere, something is going to inspire me, but I haven't found it yet. Hope you've been struck with inspiration this week!

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  28. Wine and chocolate sounds good.

    I'll feel stuck for awhile, and then that ah-ha moment of getting unstuck is amazing.

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  29. Chocolates and Wine sound good right about now. I think I'll join you! :) Hoping things look up for you soon! I think I'm about ready to take a break from my project and come back to it after the holiday's are over.

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