Day 60 since starting this project. Page 54.
Days outlining:15
Days drafting:14
Total days writing: 29
Days not writing: 31
Today I went back and rewrote four pages or so around the fifty-page mark. As the last couple of days' work felt flat, that something was wrong... I consulted my Oracle (hope he'll like that description) and his sage advice was that the fella on page fifty had to die. Well, actually, on consideration, couldn't agree more. I had a car chase that really felt unexciting and realised that the reason it wasn't working was that the stakes hadn't been ratcheted up lately.
Also, in the scene I wrote today - there was a lot of exposition/backstory (that I just invented) and I ended up just summarising it in the script after realising the scene was getting wordier and wordier. I've decided that's okay to do in a first draft, as I'm looking at this draft as a glorified outline, checking first and foremost that the story's working. So why waste energy writing a polished scene that will just be that much more painful to cut if I decide it's not functioning storywise? Wish I'd decided that BEFORE wrestling with the scene though.
In other news... just read a Dean Koontz novel, 'Your heart belongs to me'. I can't believe what this guy gets away with! Compelling intriguing weird events in the first half... that he just doesn't bother to explain in the second. Throws in a ghost even! Deja vu that is never explained! Three sets of identical twins, and only one set is relevant! A villain that appears towards the end who is unconnected with most of the weird events! And the ones she is connected with, she couldn't possibly have done by herself... There is just so much lazy writing here... It reads like a first draft he didn't even bother to outline. And people buy his books and come back for more!
(Okay. That includes me. I read one of his novels once before. So I've been caught out twice. Maybe I'll learn my lesson this time?)
And did I mention completely unconvincing relationships? Maybe if you just say repeatedly how gorgeous the girlfriend is and how passionate the relationship is, the readers will buy it, right?
Anyway.
'House' was great last night. Particularly good writing.
See? I can be positive.
3 days ago
2 comments:
I'm sure the increased quality of the "House" episode they showed in NZ last night was due to it being written by original staff writers (i.e. people who worked on the first series). Something went wrong with their new writers around the third series. I mean I still really like the show, but I only find it amazing television when they use their original writers.
Yes, there were a couple of episodes in particular (second or third series, can't remember exactly) where House's character seemed to be misunderstood entirely by the writers and he came across as just plain nasty.
I've never warmed to the new team particularly. Not sure exactly why. I think there are too many of them, for one thing. So we haven't had the same opportunities to get to know them. Also, the new actors lack the gravitas of the original three.
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