Sunday, March 4, 2012

Confessions of an Overwriter

Is it a phone book? Is it a doorstop? No, it's my first draft!
When I finished the draft of my novel in December, it clocked it at about 140,000 words. Yipes! But it is a fantasy, there is necessary worldbuilding, and it is the first book in a trilogy. Still...140,000 words! I've been told all along my novel needs to be under 100k for YA, and as I typed those last few chapters I was cringing. "No, no, no...end NOW, novel!" But it wouldn't mind me. I finally gave in, realizing I had to get all the words out of me, then I'd come back, revise and chop, chop, chop.

But in my two months' distance from my novel, I started to worry. I mean, what could I possibly cut from my plot? I already kept my cast of characters fairly small. Cut I cut any more? I was confident, at least, that deleting 10k wouldn't be a big deal, but 40k? Ouch.

So as strange as it sounds, when I read my lengthy novel over four days--and really got a sense of the pacing as a whole--it made me CRAZY HAPPY to see I had plenty...PLENTY of raw material to work with for cutting!

Yes, folks, I am an overwriter. I've known this from the beginning, but now I see more clearly where I overwrite. These are the areas where I'm especially guilty:

  • Warming up:  There's always a big scene or a big moment I'm working up to. I always have a fear that I'll reach that moment too soon and it will feel contrived to the reader. I am almost always wrong and can cut at least half my words in the warm up/set up.
  • Interiority:  I LOVE interiority in novels. Stories without it don't compel me. But this is where I have the biggest problem with overwriting. I stuff so much inner thought into my prose that it bogs down my pacing. I can cut probably a third of all the interiority I write.
  • Beats:  The actress in me likes to act out my characters. I like to write them making facial expressions, twiddling things in their fingers, sighing, etc. That's all fine and good, but when I revise, I have to check my dialogue carefully and see if those words alone convey the emotion and thought of the character. When they do, I have to trust them and cut the beat. Too many beats also make the pace lag.

There are two kinds of writers: put-er-in-ers and taker-out-ers. You know what kind you are when it comes to revision. I am obviously a take-er-out-er. But, hey, half the battle is recognizing the problem, right? (The other half is doing something about it.) I'd certainly be in trouble if I submitted a bloated manuscript to an agent. That's why we writers get the beautiful opportunity of a second chance...and third, fourth...gazillionth. We can revise, thank goodness. (And don't worry, future readers, you won't have to read 140,000 words! By the time I'm done, this will be a tight and shiny story; I've already cut half of what I've written in the first three chapters, and the pacing rocks!)

The beauty of overwriting is that in getting nearly every single idea out of me and onto paper, it's easy to find the gems in the writing--the gems that wouldn't be there had I not overthought the subject to such an extent. So in revising, I go back, keep the gems and nix most of the rest.

For me, overwriting is just a part of the process. Maybe it's not a weakness; maybe it's a strength. Or maybe it's just the way I work. Things I do feel confident about with this first draft are my characters and my plot. Sure, they still need some tweaking, but at least those things aren't going to need a major rehaul. I'll be busy enough condensing my novel!

Here's how I've decided to tackle revisions:

I made note cards for every chapter in my book. On the front of the card, I wrote a very brief description of the action in the chapter (in a nutshell, what happens). I also listed the characters involved and the location.

On the back of the note card, I made two columns. The first column listed my three Os: Objective, Obstacle, and Outcome. My character has to want something, something has to get in her way, and there needs to be an outcome--usually NOT what she wants to keep the overall conflict going in the novel. (And, really, every character in the chapter needs three O's as well, so I have to keep those in the back of my mind--because there's no more room on my note card!).

In the second column on the back of the note card are key points of the chapter. These are usually bits of information the reader needs to learn during this time, like pieces of exposition, back story, important plot points, meeting new characters, etc. Once I have this completed note card, I have a focused picture of what this chapter needs to be. Anything beyond it is fluff and in serious danger of my revision battle ax!

When it comes to revisions, are you a put-er-in-er or a take-er-out-er? What kinds of things do you put in or take out? How do you tackle revisions?

Edit: I just read on Kristin Cashore's blog (author of Graceling) that her first draft of Bitterblue (soon-to-be released) was 216,000 words, 800 pages! The will-be published version (seven drafts later) is 550 pages. I feel so much better!

11 comments:

  1. I'm definitely a putter-inner. But then you already know that. I'm also a pantser, so maybe those two go together? I'm not sure. Curious what others will say about that.

    I like your notecard details. I will be trying that this week and double checking the 3 O's.

    Love the picture of you with your MS:)

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    1. Robin, since I'm not a put-er-in-er, I couldn't really say, but I bet you could still be a pantser and a taker-out-er...though maybe it's more common with your combination.

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  2. I'm a put-er-in-er too. I don't have enough internal, usually, though I'm trying to get better at that. Look at you all organized and such. You are an overwriter and overachiever me thinks.

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    1. Haha...Maybe I'm just obsessive-compulsive! I think in Remake, you're doing awesome right from the get-go with interiority.

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  3. On my lastest revisions, so far, I've added twelve thousand words or so. I don't know if I'm always a put-er-in-er, but this time I am. You are super duper organized. I wish I could approach writing the way you do, just tackle it with notes and tabs. Instead I just get frustrated and sentimental. Gah. I HATE revising.

    You're awesome. Also, love the picture of you with your MS. How many ink cartridges did that take?

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    1. I have a friend like you...it depends on the novel she's writing whether she has to add a lot or subtract a lot. It makes sense that with your NaNo book you'd have to add a lot.

      I am liking revising so far. Call me a weirdo. With the note cards and all my geeky organizational tools, it makes it more of a game. (Though by the middle section of each chapter I'm revising, I'm pulling at my face and groaning.)

      And I actually provided the paper and got this printed at my mother-in-laws office! I think it would've taken two ink cartridges at home. Ouch.

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  4. I'm a put-er-in-er and almost always have to add in things (usually description so it doesn't feel like voices floating around an empty white room).

    I usually revise by letting the novel sit first. Sometimes I don't even go back to that document, I just start fresh from page 1 with a better idea of where I want to go. It ends up being different with each book I've written because they've all had different problems. Good luck with your revision!

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    1. Jenilyn, you were the one who finally made me realize I needed to gain some distance from my novel before I got serious about revising it. I'm so glad I did! And you are so gutsy to just start over on a blank page one and truly rewrite your novels, when you feel they require it. Dang, girl!

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  5. I'm a take-er-out-er for sure. I, too, have the tendency to overwrite; several of my first drafts have ended up at 120,000 words. (And then there was one at 175,000 words, but to be fair I was twelve at the time). My big problem is, like you, character interiority. I put waayyyy too many thoughts in my manuscript.

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    1. Yay! I'm so happy I'm not alone in overwriting, and that you also overwrite in the interiority department. Now I have hope to become agented and super cool like you (even if I wasn't awesome enough to write super amazing long books at age twelve)! :-)

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    2. Hahahaha I'm not really amazing, but thank you anyway! And the 175,000-word book was laughably awful....halfway through I decided I didn't like one of the main characters, so I just cut him out. Like, one moment he was there, having a conversation with everyone else, and the next moment he was mysteriously gone and never heard from again.

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