galadrielwatson

March 4, 2015

First-draft Crossroads

The novel I’m currently writing entwines three storylines told from three points of view. Seven weeks after I typed the first word of the first scene, I’ve completed a draft of the first POV. And now I’m in a conundrum as to where to go from here.

My first option is to return to POV 1 and fill in the blanks. For believe me, this is a rough draft. I’ve got the bones of the story, but for the most part left out the meat. If a scene wasn’t moving me at the time, rather than getting bogged down I typed a highlighted “XX” and moved on.

So would now be the time to work on those Xs?

Pros:

The characters are well engraved in my head. I know where they’re coming from and what they want and who they are.
I have a good idea of what’s missing, so know where to start picking up loose threads.

Cons:

I very much want to have the entire first draft—all three POVs—completed before I start the bulk of my master’s degree in September. Taking time now to work on second drafts will slow the process down.
The other two POVs are dancing in my head; will the ideas dissipate if I don’t let them out?

OR I can leave the Xs and dive into the other two POVs.

Pros:

I can get all the swarming ideas onto paper, which will free up brain cells to attack the missing parts later.
I have a solid chance of getting an entire first draft completed—and more—by the time school starts.
When I start draft two, I’ll have the benefit of space and will be able to see draft one with fresh eyes.
Unplanned changes in the next two POVs may affect POV 1, so it may be better not to be too far along.

Cons:

When it comes time for draft two, I’ll have to re-immerse myself in the already-completed POVs and remind myself where they stand.

I guess the pros speak for themselves and the answer is (drumroll): I should keep trucking ahead to complete an entire first draft. Thanks for helping me figure this out!

Have you hit a similar crossroads? How did you handle it?

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About the Author

Posted by Galadriel

Hi, I’m Galadriel: blogger, author, reader and resident of a quaint small town in the breathtaking West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook.

February 28, 2015

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#dressgate and the Powers of Perception

This #dressgate situation has turned my world upside down.

If you haven’t heard of it, last Thursday, February 26, 2015, a photo of a dress rocked the Twitter world. The question clogging people’s feeds was: is the dress black and blue, or is the dress gold and white? (See the dress at right.)

Obviously, it’s black and blue. So say I. So say my children. My husband, on the other hand, sees gold and white. I thought he was joking. He wasn’t.

Not only does this throw my getting-dressed-in-the-morning efforts into a turmoil—who the hell knows what other people think I’m wearing? I could be god-awful clashing and think I look swell—but it throws new light onto why some books make it and some books don’t and how what I think was amazing doesn’t turn you on at all.

Right now I’m halfway through reading a book that is currently all the rage. And while it’s enjoyable, it’s not wow. So why the hype? Others, I’m presuming, are seeing it as gold and white. To me it’s black and blue.

It’s a good thing to keep in mind with my own writing, too. Once I’m down the road of my MFA, or once I get published and my book does or does not get noticed, I have to remember any comments are shades of perception. And, as the dress illustrates, perceptions can vary wildly—with neither end of the spectrum necessarily wrong. (Although come on, people—the dress is black and blue.)

What colour’s the dress to you?

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About the Author

Posted by Galadriel

February 25, 2015

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Playing on Fears

I’m writing this smack-dab in the middle of a beautiful day that feels like spring. Under such sun and blue sky, it’s hard to feel fear.

Yet in the middle of the night, when my home is surrounded by dark—not a streetlight to be had—it’s easy to let the imagination wander. And ever since I started reading The Devil You Know by Elisabeth de Mariaffi, that’s what my imagination’s been doing. And the places it’s been going aren’t pretty.

The strength of this book is that it plays on universal fears and relives real-life horrors. While the main character’s predicament gives it a who-done-it feel that propelled me forward, it wasn’t her situation alone that gave me the creeps. It was the setting, the late 80s/early 90s backdrop of Paul Bernardo, of the things he did. Of the girls who have gone missing and been murdered, then, before and since.

The book claws its way in because of this backdrop. This isn’t simply fiction. So much has been—and could still be—true. That’s where the horror factor lies.

It’s doubly horrific as a mother. The scenarios my mind reels out are rarely about me: they’re about my children. I have knocked wood so many times, asking the fates to keep them safe. The fears I have are almost invariably about them.

I can only imagine what de Mariaffi—a mother herself—felt when writing this book, having to immerse herself in its depths. I only spent a few days with it and yet my world has been painted with a slightly darker brush.

What books have latched onto you in the wee hours?

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