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Writing a Book - First Draft Finished!

I made it to 95% complete and then just couldn’t figure out what else to write about so I stopped there - had already gone through and added a paragraph here, a paragraph there, scattered throughout - even created a new chapter somewhere in the middle. All, just to make it this far - the last 15% can be killer if you run out of story, lemme tell you. (and, of course, I’ll probably be editing out all those final additions in the second draft process)

And the tough part is that I’m not totally happy with the ending. I resisted the urge to add anything like a natural disaster or a fire or killing off somebody’s mother or some other great calamity in the story that would be unlikely to happen in the context of this psuedo-realistic tale. And as a result, I was kinda left with “seconds”, as far as the amount of punch I could give it at the end (in other words, not so much punch).

So there’s the ending, and there’s also a couple of characters that I might not have fully developed as well as I could/should have. But that’s less troubling - that’s second draft stuff at this point - but so is the ending and all the rest! So, plan is to refrain from reading it again until December, at which time I will reread it again and begin editing toward a second draft. (I’ve recently reread Stephen King’s, On Writing, to brush up on his process, which seems so logical, it just might work)

The name of my book is, LEITO THE ARTIST, but that might change - I mean it just kinda sits there on the page, not very dynamic or anything. We’ll see. Meanwhile, I’ve started planning out my next book, believe it or not, which I’m pretty sure will be completely different (think, something like a sprawling space opera with lots of characters and, therefore, plenty of story to keep me busy). More on that real soon!

Writing a Book - AAARGH!

So, here I am. Seven days until my deadline. 7616 words left to write. Eighty-five percent through. And yet, there is a hitch, a small problem I must now figure out. The problem is that the story is basically done. Complete. And, although 7616 words is not a lot, it still makes up around 26 or 27 pages. And so I’m left wondering, do I go thorough the story and try to pad a few scenes here and there, add more details, more dialogue, another subplot (?!) … or do I just continue the lives of the characters as far as those 27 pages will allow … you know, see where they end up. I mean, I feel the need to write a few more pages of “clean up,” beyond where the story is now, so that’s something. For that matter, maybe it will end up going on for 27 pages - but I do not want it to drag on and on without a point to it; that’s the fear I have.

Maybe a combination of both, then: pad the story with “missing scenes,” as well as adding a closing chapter or two, providing a good send-off for the characters. Well, this has truly been a tremendous help - thanks for listening. You rock, blog!

peace out

Writing a Book - On the Downhill Slope

My self-imposed deadline of October 18th, while random and meaningless, is nonetheless fast approaching. That’s the date I intend to finish my modest 175 page (50,000 word) novel - yeah, it’ll be fairly skimpy for a novel, but a novel it will be. This last week has been a return to form for me in terms of my daily writing habit [hesitate calling it a “habit” though].

On the downhill slope: 65% through with it, and on my way to glory … er, 100%, anyway. After that, I’m looking forward to letting a few choice people read this fine mess, giving me some time away from it - time off, to regroup and reflect on life and what it means to be human and maybe catch a movie or two and have a snack (I’m partial to ice cream) - then, some time later, I’ll return to the thing fresh (to what they-in-the-know call the manuscript) and proceed to polish it up, make it better, turn it into something of a second draft, maybe a third, and so on.

But for now, it’s full steam ahead. (choo-choo) Happy writing!

merlin:

The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations

The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations is a descriptive list which was created by Georges Polti to categorize every dramatic situation that might occur in a story or performance. To do this Polti analyzed classical Greek texts, plus classical and contemporaneous French works. He also analyzed a handful of non-French authors. In his introduction, Polti claims to be continuing the work of Carlo Gozzi, who also identified 36 situations.

Georges Polti’s 36 Dramatic Situations

Here are his 36 situation, including a discussion on each one:

1. Supplication
2. Deliverance
3. Vengeance of a crime
4. Vengeance taken for kindred upon kindred
5. Pursuit
6. Disaster
7. Falling prey to cruelty or misfortune
8. Revolt
9. Daring enterprise
10. Abduction
11. Enigma
12. Obtaining
13. Enmity of kinsmen
14. Rivalry of kinsmen
15. Murderous adultery
16. Madness
17. Fatal imprudence
18. Involuntary crimes of love
19. Slaying of a kinsman unrecognized
20. Self-sacrificing for an ideal
21. Self-sacrifice for kindred
22. All sacrificed for a passion
23. Necessity of sacrificing loved ones
24. Rivalry of superior and inferior
25. Adultery
26. Crimes of love
27. Discovery of the dishonor of a loved one
28. Obstacles to love
29. An enemy loved
30. Ambition
31. Conflict with a god
32. Mistaken jealousy
33. Erroneous judgment
34. Remorse
35. Recovery of a lost one
36. Loss of loved ones

Fascinating that someone took the initiative to create this list - I don’t even feel the urge to read through them all and haven’t.