#46013 - 06/14/10 07:41 AM
When is it done? How do you know when to post?
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Sextified
enthusiast
Registered: 08/18/08
Posts: 367
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Guys,
I'm trying to gear up for the ending of the second book. This has been a longer, harder and more involved process than I had ever thought it would be.
I feel I've learned so much about the process of writing a large project and how it affects me. The work itself is getting much closer on page to what I can easily 'see' in my head.
Still suck as a typist . . . but why be faster than the words scrolling out of my imagination?
For me, I hate sloppy writing. Either here on ES, Literotica, or in printed books.
I am not strictly talking about technical perfection. Soulless crap is still soulless crap. If it would get an A+ in school, but be instantly rejected by a content editor, what's the point?
I make 15 very predictable kinds of mistakes. [maybe more - maybe less]
I spell check and the same nine words show up every chapter. I look for missing words my fingers forgot to type. I have 'sounds like' words that my brain types instead of what should be there. I forget to put xxxxn't on a critical word, and it totally changes the meaning of whole paragraphs. I go on and on for half a page and forget to put an 'Ident' reminder in the dialogue. I have so much story prewritten, in only my head, that I have to stop and go back and read whole chapters just to verify what my reader's have actually had before them.
Keeping straight what was stated, versus what was implied, is a constant battle on something this large.
After letting a draft sit for a few days, I go back in and fix all of this crap, and I'm slowly getting better at it. Both in reducing their frequency in the raw work, and how many slip by me to be seen by my audience.
If this was the 'final-final' version of this project, I would and should be sweating bullets over every single syllable.
I want to ask how do the other writers here balance their sanity versus their need to create.
What inner voice tells you when to post something, and when to hold it back for another day or three?
Recently, I actually reposted a complete change/update of an entire chapter. I was under a deadline, and some personal tasks I couldn't get out of, and I pulled the trigger TOO soon.
Bugged me, and the moment I could reread the entire thing in one sitting I really helped it a bunch. That is NOT something I want to go thru again.
The correct answer is that I need an editor, but this project can't logistically or financially afford one yet.
I have three very talented and interested pre-reader's who thankfully keep me going down the road with at least two wheels on firm ground. When I go back and reread the stuff they had the most influence on, its better than I thought because of them.
I 'think' I have a handle on the correct balance, especially for a novel draft in progress, but I'd love to hear your opinions and learn any tricks I've missed doing this the hard way.
It's the only way I really learn . . . and can expect the lessons to stick . . . and the only reason why I think I have something to write about in the first place!
Sextified
Edited by Sextified (06/14/10 07:49 AM)
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#46127 - 06/22/10 05:47 PM
Re: When is it done? How do you know when to post?
[Re: Sextified]
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Hunterguy
member
Registered: 01/21/09
Posts: 166
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Guys,
I want to ask how do the other writers here balance their sanity versus their need to create.
I have spoke to a number of other authors on this site about that very thing, and there does not seem to be a consensus. Large projects can be consuming, and I have wrote a couple, and posted one. But in comparison to yours, mine was a short story of sixty thousand words or so. 
I find balance by starting something new, maybe getting the idea on paper, which is an outline only. When I come back to it later it will jog my memory and my creativity kicks in. Other times I will write the entire story before returning to the one that is challengin me.
I have one story that has just over 40,000 words, that has been sitting for over a year, because I am not sure how I want it to end, or if I do. I have wrote quite a few other stories since then, from time to time I go back to it and polish it a little, but never really add to it.
That one remains unpublished on my hard drive for now.
My point, what works for me, may not for you.
What inner voice tells you when to post something, and when to hold it back for another day or three?
I have learnt to always hold it back, not just for a day or three but for a week or two. If I try to edit a story that is still fresh in my mind, I inevitably miss things that might not make sense etc.
After two weeks I can read it like it is new to me, and look at my work with a much more critical eye. Some times I repeat the process, leaving it sit for another couple fo weeks, something just tells me the story needs more work.
When I can read from start to finish, even if it is the fourth time that I read it, and get through it without finding myself bored or making corretions then its ready.
Recently, I actually reposted a complete change/update of an entire chapter. I was under a deadline, and some personal tasks I couldn't get out of, and I pulled the trigger TOO soon.
Bugged me, and the moment I could reread the entire thing in one sitting I really helped it a bunch. That is NOT something I want to go thru again.
Sextified
Pulling the tirgger too soon, yep been there done that. In fact I have pulled a story that I fully intended to repost within a week or so, but then life got in the way, and 9 months later I still have not fixed it up. On that one, I had solicited feedback from a number of fans that had cast a lower vote, and I was amazed at how many inconsistancies were pointed out to me. I even went as far as keeping the comments so that when I do get a chance to edit, that I make sure that I get it right. On that particular story I had steppped out of my comfort zone, and wrote something that I was unfamiliar with and it showed.
I can appreciate that the process for a long novel requires focus, and taking long breaks may not be practical.
Regards,
HG
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#46139 - 06/24/10 09:53 AM
Re: When is it done? How do you know when to post?
[Re: Girlie1980]
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Hunterguy
member
Registered: 01/21/09
Posts: 166
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"I have learnt to always hold it back, not just for a day or three but for a week or two."
That would be fine for an independent story, but not really for Sextified's. If he waits too long between chapters, he could lose followers. Or his followers could forget too much of what was going on.
Good point Girlie,
As you know I have a multi part story in the works, and have nearly completed chapter three, and I believe I will wrap it up with Chapter four. Although each of the chapters could stand alone, I have chose to withhold all until I have the last one started. And the reason is exactly as you stated, if the next chapter takes too long to be released you risk loosing your following.
My plan is to release one chapter at a time, perhaps with a week's separation. That way by the time Chapter 3 has been out there, for the week, I should have the conclusion finished. It may be too late for Sextified to adopt this for his current project, maybe for future reference then, if at all.
HG
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