The Most Important Lesson From Last Year
What's the most important thing you learned about writing last year? Whether it's about writing in general, your own personal method, or even some small piece of advice that wound up being tremendously helpful.
I learned heaps last year, and I think that's true for every year. Let's face it, there's a lot to learn about writing, and it doesn't stop!
I think I know what I'm going to pick. I certainly became more familiar with the industry, elements of good queries, how to format a MS, and how to research agents. Technique-wise, I started coming to terms with the fact that I'm not much of an outliner. Content-wise, I discovered that tons of agents and publishers are actually really interested in more diversity, and my tendency for LGBT leads isn't a hindrance but, in fact, a positive.
But honestly, the thing that made the biggest difference, the most memorable eureka moment, was what I expressed in my post about the difference in critques between professionals and amateurs. The idea of "kill your darlings" finally, finally hit home in a very deep, resonating sort of way. I've always been open to the idea of scrapping things that don't work and starting from scratch, but somehow it didn't sink in so strongly until I saw how drastically it changed my novel.
I was mostly open to the concept of rewriting chapters or scenes. What really made a difference was when I re-imagined entire character arcs, rearranged chapter order, changed whole subplots, and basically opened myself up to "if I can make it better, I will, no matter how much I have to throw out to get there."
I'm not sure I can do the realization justice just by describing it. It was kind of an I-had-to-see-it-to-believe-it situation. So often, when critiquing others, I notice a general reluctance to make such large-scale changes. Usually the aim is to take what they already have and tweak it on a line and paragraph level, or at most a chapter level, and anything beyond that sparks hesitation and unease. But when you can make the ending 10x more powerful by changing the way information is doled out, or reworking the villain, or all these other larger conceptual things... Timidity is not your friend. GUT IT.
Understanding this on an intellectual level was different to understanding it on an emotional level. It hurts to tear apart chapter after chapter. It takes forever to rewrite huge sections from scratch. My first reaction is usually to try and salvage what I already have. But man, when I finally closed my eyes and let it go, and allowed myself to re-envision a scene from scratch, the new version was so. much. better.
I learned heaps last year, and I think that's true for every year. Let's face it, there's a lot to learn about writing, and it doesn't stop!
I think I know what I'm going to pick. I certainly became more familiar with the industry, elements of good queries, how to format a MS, and how to research agents. Technique-wise, I started coming to terms with the fact that I'm not much of an outliner. Content-wise, I discovered that tons of agents and publishers are actually really interested in more diversity, and my tendency for LGBT leads isn't a hindrance but, in fact, a positive.
But honestly, the thing that made the biggest difference, the most memorable eureka moment, was what I expressed in my post about the difference in critques between professionals and amateurs. The idea of "kill your darlings" finally, finally hit home in a very deep, resonating sort of way. I've always been open to the idea of scrapping things that don't work and starting from scratch, but somehow it didn't sink in so strongly until I saw how drastically it changed my novel.
I was mostly open to the concept of rewriting chapters or scenes. What really made a difference was when I re-imagined entire character arcs, rearranged chapter order, changed whole subplots, and basically opened myself up to "if I can make it better, I will, no matter how much I have to throw out to get there."
I'm not sure I can do the realization justice just by describing it. It was kind of an I-had-to-see-it-to-believe-it situation. So often, when critiquing others, I notice a general reluctance to make such large-scale changes. Usually the aim is to take what they already have and tweak it on a line and paragraph level, or at most a chapter level, and anything beyond that sparks hesitation and unease. But when you can make the ending 10x more powerful by changing the way information is doled out, or reworking the villain, or all these other larger conceptual things... Timidity is not your friend. GUT IT.
Understanding this on an intellectual level was different to understanding it on an emotional level. It hurts to tear apart chapter after chapter. It takes forever to rewrite huge sections from scratch. My first reaction is usually to try and salvage what I already have. But man, when I finally closed my eyes and let it go, and allowed myself to re-envision a scene from scratch, the new version was so. much. better.
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