“I am writing every day but, frankly, the copy stinks. This novel may involve several rewrites, followed by a decent burial.”
–Robert Heinlein, in a letter to his agent, re Stranger in a Strange Land
Another 5100 words on Petra this week, bringing the total count to 32K.
I should be pleased with this. I’m on schedule, at least with the word count. And passing the 30K mark makes this my longest work of fiction since my first two novels. But I’m not as far along in the plot as I would like to be. I fear I’ve bogged the narrative down a bit. I may be stalling because I have some doubts about the next scene–a big action sequence that closes out the first section of the novel.
I know I’m supposed to be outrunning my editor brain here, but thoughts like the preceding indicate that it’s catching up to me. These doubts smell suspiciously like my editor brain’s noxious breath.
I know, I know: I’m the absolute worst person to judge my work. I get it, really I do. I mean, take a look at what Heinlein said up there. I get it. But . . .
Let’s not kid ourselves: this novel ain’t no Stranger.
I fear this is going to be one ugly rewrite. Part of me wants to scream, “What’s the point in writing the first draft quickly if you’re just going to spend three years revising the damned thing?!“No, no, no. Get thee behind me, editor brain! Back, I say! Back! <whip crack>
Write Club update:
Personalized rejection from TOTU for “Ashes, Ashes.” It was one of the final 30 or so stories, and had been recommended by a couple of staff readers, but Eric Heideman had a few problems that prevented the story from making the final cut. He gave some nicely detailed feedback (handwritten, two pages) and said he’s willing to consider a rewrite for a future reading period. Response time, almost five months.
And that’s all. Gotta run. Almost literally. (Get back! Back, I say!)
