Writing report

I spent the day working on my Bangalore novel. By my count this is something like the fourth draft. As most writers know, writing is like playing the accordian: sometimes you're expanding what you have, sometimes you're contracting, or cutting. The idea is to write as much as you need to in order to fully express your theme and let your characters develop, then cut it down to essentials, and then give it more space in case something else new and beautiful pops up, then cut again. Do this until it's as good as you can possibly make it. I failed to make it as good as I possibly could, and gave it to my agent last year and she gave it right back, telling me to try again. This is trying again. It's difficult, though, because another thing that happens in the course of a long project like this is that you gain and lose enthusiasm as time goes on, and that too is a pendulum that swings back and forth. And now is a time when enthusiasm for the story and the characters is somewhat lacking. But you keep on, because writing is not just pure inspiration but also craft. And you learn that lesson over and over again.

technorati: writing, novel writing