when good words go bad...

[lagilman]

Grrr. Staring at what I wrote this morning, damn full aware that, while all the individual words and sentences are solid, and the overall scene is quite enjoyable, it just. doesn't. work. It's the scene itself; it starts in the wrong place, ends in the wrong place, gives the information in the wrong order. I know damn-well I have to rework it, come at it from Another Angle. I even -- almost -- know what that angle is.

But I don't want to give up the 2,000 words already written.

I could leave it alone. I could wave a hand over it and wait until I'm done, hope that my beta readers and my editor don't catch that it doesn't work (hah. fat chance). But I'll know. And nothing will flow right with it hanging there, not-quite-right.

Grrr. Hate this part of the job.

(for the knitters out there, yes, this is exactly like knowing you have to unravel an entire row...or three.)

EtA: went into the Word War room after posting this and, taking a hundred or so words from this morning's work, started again from a different beginning. Two hours later I had 2,200 new words, replacing about 400 words in the original, and a much better flow.

When your gut says "wrong direction, dumbass," listen. Total wordage for the day: 3,900 new words, a few hundred revised.

Comments

[ex-fashioni.livejournal.com]

I see that we are once again sharing the brain...

[lagilman]

I'm done with it for the evening. You can have it again until the morning....

[difrancis.livejournal.com]

I hate it when that happens. Sending scotch and chocolate.

[lagilman]

Red wine seemed to do the trick. Or maybe it was your stopping by the war room to sprinkle fairy dust...? (you sounded like you'd gotten into the fairy dust, anyway. *grin*)

[katatomic.livejournal.com]

And you know you'll dig in there and redo it, whether you want to or not.

I feel the pain: I just ripped out 900 words from the WIP, which has been a tooth-pulling, heel-dragging b*tch every step of the way.

I second Ms Francis's prescription.

[lagilman]

managed to (I hope) put things back on the right track, as per my EtA. Tomorrow's writing session will tell...

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

You will triumph!

[lagilman]

well, the stuff that was giving me fits, once restarted, flowed like buttah... so not so much a triumph as a gracious defeat and a comfortable captivity... *rue ful grin*

[(Anonymous)]

"Word War room"

*snerk*
*chortle*

I know the feeling. :D

Is this why so many writers have a rep for drinking too much?

-The Resurrectionist

[lagilman]

?

The word war room is an actual (virtual) place where we gather to write on our own, together.

[(Anonymous)]

Ah. Didn't realize that was referring to an actual place...sorry. It's a wonderfully expressive phrase for the total writing experience, though.

-The Resurrectionist

[egret17.livejournal.com]

Ah, and like knitting, it sounds like your brain goes into denial for a while about the ripping that must happen.