Day two hundred twenty-two of my 365 Day Writing Project.
Since I completed my first draft and have been in the rewriting/revising mode, I haven’t been posting here as much. Revising just isn’t interesting to blog about. When there were daily word counts to report and I was going through the process of writing my book chapter by chapter, I had more to discuss. The struggles, the excitement, the challenges I never even anticipated. It was more interesting, at least it was for me. But now, not so much. I’m merely tweaking and reworking what’s already done. It isn’t sexy, not that this blog ever was.
It turns out, revising is downright boring, really. So it’s only natural that I have been pulled away from the rewrite to write other things. Because I have been doing other writing, keeping steady progress of the rewrite has been difficult. Like I posted here last week, it’s okay to get sidetracked. Especially if there is enjoyment in writing to be had. And there is! The new piece I have started is totally different from the first. I’m writing it in the first person instead of the third, which I have always found to be a fun experience. Plus, this new piece is a much more raw and emotional story. Although I am still getting in some sporadic time on the first book, it feels much less fulfilling than writing the new piece. At the moment, anyway. So I’m just going to go with it for a while. I’m still writing, and still happy to be doing so.
Editing your own work is a lot like eating the same meal again (and again and again) – you know it so well that you’re too familiar with it. Giving yourself a gap and working on something else is a great idea.
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That is exactly what it feels like! I thought I would enjoy it more but really, it’s dull. Maybe a little more distance will prove to be healthy. Writing more of something else certainly will be.
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I’m in revisions now too, and I find it not so much boring as brainracking. Of course my manuscript is from national novel writing month, so it’s in need of a great deal of organization, but I do miss writing terribly and I’m starting to get grouchy. I’m thinking I’ll just write a few new scenes to keep my writing buzz going.
I recommend just keeping the revising to about two hours a day, and then do something else to keep your brain happy. What’s the point of crafting a novel if you’re not going to enjoy the process, right?
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