...just been reading Mike Clarke's MacNovel blog and note all the redrafting he's done subsequent to class workshopping feedback. I must admit this subject has been uppermost on my mind also. There is of course the advice which says - dont stop, you have to just carry on and get - it - all - out and THEN go back and rewrite...which is very valid for me as I have already written alot and more or less know where the story is headed and how it panns out. HOWEVER I am also aware that - as the remote possibility of hooking in the interest of an agent on 30th June or subsequently looms - I really do need to have atleast three polished first chapters completed...so maybe a compromise here is required. I do need to re write the first 4 chapters...even the first one isnt quite there yet, it could be more polished and I need to look at it again with fresh eyes. I am going to set aside a week to do it...maybe after I get back from Sitges . I have decided Julie will be cut as Chapter Two - its too distracting and a jump so early on in the plot set up....this is afterall a story primarily about Almir, about Roland and Almir... about them and Walthamstow Village.
BG
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It IS very difficult to balance the ‘get to the end of your first draft asap’ advice with fully taking into account the detailed feedback offered by other students.
ReplyDeleteI tend to think it’s worth re-working while the feedback is fresh. We won’t get such varied and informed feedback after the course. Even if we get publishing deals then we might get feedback from an agent, editor and maybe a couple of others -- not a dozen people. I guess this might make progress more speedy as revision does hold up progress on writing -- and it can sometimes seed doubt