Workshops 3 & 4 – Year of the Edit
I can’t believe how long it’s been since I posted and my last post was essentially an apology for not posting! Life is still a little crazy around here so I’m not getting to blog – or write, for that matter – as much as I would like. I know it’s long overdue, but I thought I’d share what I’ve learned in my two Year of the Edit workshops over the past two months, both of which have been simply amazing.
The workshop in May dealt with the importance of secondary characters to the success of a novel. I’m fortunate in that I only have a small cast of people so identifying my secondary characters wasn’t difficult. My homework was to spend some time thinking about the motivation of each of the supporting cast and how I might bring that out in my manuscript. It was quite powerful and I had a number of epiphanies along the way, like discovering I could pit a husband and wife against each other quite naturally and raise the tension for everyone. I busily rewrote some sections and tweaked bits and pieces in my manuscript to ensure my secondary characters were just as rounded and ‘real’ as my main characters and my novel is so much better because of it.
The second part of my homework was to go on a cliche hunt. Cliches are about as exciting as watching paint dry. (See? Your eyes glazed over just then, I saw it.) I knew my manuscript would be littered with them but I must say that when I was faced with reading my whole book through again, I felt a little despondent. So, I tried something new. Instead of reading from Chapter 1 to Chapter 43, I started reading at Chapter 43. It was actually a fantastic exercise as I got to see how my logic worked in reverse. Although I know what’s coming when I read sequentially, reading backwards by chapter made me take a fresh look at my work. I managed not only to weed out a lot of those pesky cliches, but I also did a major copy-edit on the way through. I figured I may as well make the best use of all that effort!
Of all the activities I have completed so far, this cliche hunt was by far the one that made the biggest difference to my novel. All of a sudden I can see the bright light of ‘The End’ looming ahead. My novel in its current state simply can’t be compared to what it was back in February. The difference is astounding and mind-blowing and so very exciting. I finally feel like my novel is metamorphising from a manuscript into a book before my very eyes. And the best thing is, I still love it!
Workshop 4 focussed on something I know I’m bad at: setting. I think I’m vague on the details in my own mind so I tend to not be very specific when I’m describing setting in my work. I’m aware that it’s a weakness so this month I’ve got some major work to do, but I have every confidence that I can do the hard work and improve my novel yet again. I’ve got until mid-July to get this done so I need to get a wriggle on…
The other aspect of my homework is to look at my dialogue. Once again, I’m not sure this is a strength of mine. In fact, I’m a little concerned that my two main characters sound too much alike. I’m going to have to look long and hard at their dialogue and see how I can I can separate them a little more.
So there you have it. I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth, I am still writing but I have been woefully bad at keeping up with my blog. I’m hoping to do better in the next little while, although I’m now 15 weeks pregnant and this baby will be here before I know it! In the meantime, I’ve got plenty to keep me busy.
Happy writing! xx
You make all that hard work sound exciting. Glad to hear you still love it.
Hi Karen,
Terrific info on writing novels. Yes, getting to know the characters inside and out can be challenging. I worked as a scriptwriter at the local studios here and they made us study characters from popular dramas and sitcoms and then they made us write scenes from those shows. Sometimes I feel that writers have to become their characters. It’s a bit like method acting, isn’t it?
David, because I only had a small cast to work with I had a fairly good understanding of who they were, but I hadn’t totally pulled everything together. This exercise just crystallised their motivation which in turn made them much more believable. And I think we do have to inhabit our characters a little especially when I’m trying to hear them speak.
It IS exciting – that’s the incredible thing! And I was really worried I’d be so over my story by the end of the process that I’d want to throw the whole thing away, but the opposite has happened. It’s like the old analogy of a rough diamond…and I’m beginning to see sparkly, pretty bits! Yippee :)
She posts! Sounds like a couple of very productive exercises there. The cliche hunt I find especially cathartic ;)
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Karen. It was interesting reading about your Year of the Edit. You do make all that hard work sound exciting. I’ve edited my novel and submitted it. After reading your blog post, I felt like editing. You made me want to do it. Your enthusiasm is contagious! All the best with your novel and pregnancy.
Thanks Robyn & Merrilee. I never thought I’d be excited about editing, but I am!
Well, I think I learnt so much by just reading your blog entry! Thanks for your take on the Year of the Edit workshops. And it’s good to see you blogging again. xx
Thanks, Kym! You know you’ve got a book just waiting to come out. You’re a writer in disguise, my dear :)
Sounds like you made a good choice with the Year of the Edit course (if I remember correctly you had a shortlist of exciting-looking courses!). You’ve inspired me to set aside some writing time this weekend. It’s the start of the school holidays here in WA. :-)
Workshops energize our writing like nothing else can. That’s the best part of them, I think! Glad you’re getting back to writing.
Stephanie, I totally agree! I come home from each workshop absolutely buzzing with excitement and ideas. I’m so sad that this next workshop is my last in the series.
Bec, hope you managed to get some writing done during the holidays :)
Hi Karen, great to hear about the workshops – I am not going to be able to do the next course as we are moving back to WA. I have been neglecting my ms editing a bit as I am also 15 weeks pregnant! Morning sickness and writing are not a good combination…
Great to hear that you are excited about your novel. I am still very frustrated and despondant about how much work I still have to do, but I’ll get there!
Maybe see you in writing races soon
Dawn :)
Congratulations, Dawn! That’s wonderful news. Your precious bundle will arrive just a few weeks after mine. I hear you on the morning sickness + writing thing. I haven’t dropped in to the writing races for ages, mainly because I’ve been writing in the mornings instead. And I tend to do writing races more when I’m working on a first draft than editing… Keep plugging away at your novel. It’s a huge amount of work, but believe me, if I can do it, anyone can! It just takes a wheelbarrow load of stubbornness and the refusal to let go of your dream. Good luck with the move and please keep in touch!