Last weekend, I put in some good time writing on saturday by starting in on what I'd envisioned would be the new starting point for Imperfect Hope. I continued the experiment that concluded my first draft of IH by beginning with Cinda's first person, folksy viewpoint providing a revised frame story for the entire IH series. However, by the time I'd finished writing that night, I began to have second thoughts about the experiment.
Cinda's viewpoint, as a frame story for IH v-1, seemed to work. Her voice brought an immediate sense of some of what was going on, and as the closing scene for IH, part one, felt like a good, emotional cliff hanger. However, as the beginning frame for events taking place 20 years earlier, it lacks impact. Perhaps this is because I wrote the frame story for v-1 after I'd finished the first draft, and this time I was starting with the frame. Perhaps it just isn't the start I needed. Regardless, I was very unsatisfied, and sunday afternoon I deleted the scene and toyed with other ideas.
After tossing around a mental football, I decided I'd write the first draft of Cerryn, Randir, and Remy's tales (they lead in to the old start of IH by showing the main characters as they develop) without building the frame first, and then go back and see if first person Cinda can then frame the story successfully. While I tossed around ideas, I put together a more detailed time line for each of the main characters, and revisited my outline/scenes. IH v-2 is back on the front burner.
One change I'm making to my working habits this time around is that I'm giving my Inner Critic a more active role. The pre-story I'm working on is essentially another first draft that I'm tacking on to IH v-1, but I'm going to let myself revise this time around. I'll also work on first rewrite of IH v-1 on occasion, though I'm going to go slowly, rather than a rewrite, I'm going to tweak some revisions in as I make changes to the storyline in part one. I'm still planning to do a complete rewrite, but that will begin as I finish up part one and have a complete story to do.
Another plan, as I start getting some rewritten scenes finished, I'll be looking for some readers to give me some initial comments. Rather than post my story online (which messes with some aspects of selling first publication rights should I succeed in getting a saleable product), I'll email segments to individuals who are interested. I've gotten a couple of offers for help over the last year, but I'll make an official volunteer solicitation announcement later this fall when I'm ready. In the meantime, I'll toss out excerpts once in a while...
As I mentioned, vacation left my head more clear than it has been in months. It's amazing how much mental clutter I pick up from the day to day routine of being an air traffic controller. I hope Irma and I get a chance to take some weekend mini-vacations in the coming months to keep my head unmuddled. Maybe we'll go visit the Stanley Hotel and see if the ghosts want to come out and play again... ;-)
Anyway, ATC duties call, so time to step away from the keyboard...
TTFN
Jim
Cinda's viewpoint, as a frame story for IH v-1, seemed to work. Her voice brought an immediate sense of some of what was going on, and as the closing scene for IH, part one, felt like a good, emotional cliff hanger. However, as the beginning frame for events taking place 20 years earlier, it lacks impact. Perhaps this is because I wrote the frame story for v-1 after I'd finished the first draft, and this time I was starting with the frame. Perhaps it just isn't the start I needed. Regardless, I was very unsatisfied, and sunday afternoon I deleted the scene and toyed with other ideas.
After tossing around a mental football, I decided I'd write the first draft of Cerryn, Randir, and Remy's tales (they lead in to the old start of IH by showing the main characters as they develop) without building the frame first, and then go back and see if first person Cinda can then frame the story successfully. While I tossed around ideas, I put together a more detailed time line for each of the main characters, and revisited my outline/scenes. IH v-2 is back on the front burner.
One change I'm making to my working habits this time around is that I'm giving my Inner Critic a more active role. The pre-story I'm working on is essentially another first draft that I'm tacking on to IH v-1, but I'm going to let myself revise this time around. I'll also work on first rewrite of IH v-1 on occasion, though I'm going to go slowly, rather than a rewrite, I'm going to tweak some revisions in as I make changes to the storyline in part one. I'm still planning to do a complete rewrite, but that will begin as I finish up part one and have a complete story to do.
Another plan, as I start getting some rewritten scenes finished, I'll be looking for some readers to give me some initial comments. Rather than post my story online (which messes with some aspects of selling first publication rights should I succeed in getting a saleable product), I'll email segments to individuals who are interested. I've gotten a couple of offers for help over the last year, but I'll make an official volunteer solicitation announcement later this fall when I'm ready. In the meantime, I'll toss out excerpts once in a while...
As I mentioned, vacation left my head more clear than it has been in months. It's amazing how much mental clutter I pick up from the day to day routine of being an air traffic controller. I hope Irma and I get a chance to take some weekend mini-vacations in the coming months to keep my head unmuddled. Maybe we'll go visit the Stanley Hotel and see if the ghosts want to come out and play again... ;-)
Anyway, ATC duties call, so time to step away from the keyboard...
TTFN
Jim
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