Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Writing as Self-abuse

Whenever I write a novel, I just keep writing until the first draft is complete, relying on the momentum I build to carry me through to the end. I don't edit as I go along; I just keep writing the story, getting it down on the page. Utilising this method means that I rapidly begin to doubt that what I've written is any good, culminating in a complete panic attack near the end of the draft, at whic...h point I've usually convinced myself that it's terrible and I can't write for toffee.

Then I start the editing process, and realise that what I've produced isn't that bad at all - in fact, it might be pretty good, if I can manage to get the edits right. That's where I'm at now with the current novel: thinking, "wow, this isn't too bad at all".

It's a painful and unhealthy way to work, and means that I produce a lot of drafts of each book, but I do it every damn time.

I think I might be a masochist.

6 comments:

Serrah said...

Do you mind if I re-post this on my blog?

Luke Walker said...

Sounds familiar, Gary. Got this to look forward to next month and I'm already thinking it's THIS book I'll be wrong about - it actually will be as bad as I think it is pre-edits.

Darren said...

I'm trying this method out myself, Gary. Very hard, though. Leaving iffy paragraph and sentence construction in the knowledge I'll fix it later makes me itch. Gets the numbers down though!

Gary Mc said...

Feel free to do so, Serra.

Thanks for your comments, folks.

:-)

KG Arndell said...

That makes two of us. But I love writing that way. It's a lot more fun to be a pantser than a plotter.

KG Arndell said...

You've won the Versatile Blogger Award, Gary! Congratulations! With great honor comes great responsibility. http://kgarndell.com/?p=664