Tuesday 24 July 2012

Second draft

Since I have the least efficient method of writing a novel ever, I am working at pushing the second draft into being the final structural draft. I don't want to have to add scenes, refine characters or change the order of things after this draft. It's coming on well, but I realised the scenes that I imagined in the middle of the book are actually towards the end, and some explaining needs to be done. One of my characters falls down a well, for example, and I seemed to have skipped over this rather lightly over the last few chapters. I'm hoping it's together enough to give to my lovely agent, for comments and ideas, before I start really refining the language and managing the pacing and the (absent) descriptions. I don't know why I don't write enough, because I'm quite good at them. 


The ending I'm so nervous about writing is now better signposted, has a scary chapter already written an an outline to finish the novel. My 'only seven scenes to write' was a bit optimistic, but I've managed four new scenes with more foreshadowing of the horrors to come. What's more scary than a nine year old girl? OK, wolves, sharks, banshees maybe...but my nine year old isn't supposed to be scary so the contrast (hopefully) is suitably threatening. The prose is flowing easily, and that's the good thing.


Meanwhile, the sun shines, the birds keep coming in the conservatory and I have to chase or carry them out (all the windows and doors are open, for goodness sake!). The beach is beckoning, especially as the Hockings' ice cream van in there...time for lunch.

2 comments:

  1. Good luck on finishing your draft. It's miserably hot and humid where I am. I went outside for a minute this morning, and the outside world smells like mold. Awesome. We're staying locked inside today.

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    1. We have had weeks and weeks of cold, windy, rainy weather, until the house started to get damp. But at least we could light a fire, I can't imagine how miserable hot and humid would be. I hope it improves for you!

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