remember this post? remember these two ladies? jessica corra and bria quinlan? good, because it’s time for another round.
today’s topic: growing your story.
in keeping with the theme from last month, i happen to be at the beginning of this stage as well. i finished my disaster draft on november 10 and then i didn’t look at it again until december 1, three weeks later. i was attempting to get some space from the story and the characters before i dove in to do the revisions.
oh, but first, a little tidbit about me. i am an under writer. no, not this kind but rather, someone who (on the first draft) writes less rather than more. my first draft clocked in at 44K and a typical YA novel runs anywhere from 60K-80K words, so you can see i have a lot of growing to do.
the things i’ve done to grow (other than drink lots of milk and eat vegetables) are character interviews, chapter mapping and world building. also, taking notes and making suggestions and fixing dialogue and printing out my story and handwriting revisions and moving scenes around and deleting portions and adding phrases and puffing up passages and phew!
growing is hard.
but audiences are perceptive and precocious and practically perfect and so i don’t want to disappoint any of them even if, at this juncture, they’re only imaginary.
so, onward and forward and backward and sideways and every which way the story demands because i want smooth transitions and moments that make you weep and uncontainable giggles and characters so real, you have to pat the couch to make sure they’re not sitting next to you.
make sure to check out bria’s and jessica’s posts to see what types of growing they’re doing.
Abigail Mumford 
You forgot inside out ;) Sometimes it feels like that’s the only direction I’m going!!!
ooh, yes. inside out. a VERY VALID direction in writing and in living life as a writer.
I’m a chronic underwriter, too. AY is only 50k.
another underwriter!! it’s so rare to meet one of you.
Well, there – we have one thing in common already! I underwrite also on the contemps!
aren’t we all so lovely? :)
Over-writer here. I always have to make some painful cuts.
BTW, cutest picture ever!
that whole “kill your darlings” thing must be very difficult for you. but then again, that whole “grow your darlings” thing isn’t much easier for me. ;)
re: picture. thanks!
Ha! I like the kill your darlings vs. grow your darlings opposition… It’s all very fascinating. I’m a chronic overwriter myself — poems, emails, everything — so I can’t help. But I’m sure you’ll be able to grow it just fine. At least you finished the story! You have the foundations, now you can build!
you’re a chronic AWESOME writer is what you are.
now i strive to be like you. #rolemodels (wait, i’m not on twitter, am i? #oldhabitsdiehard. ack, i can’t stop!)
#iminyourhead #hashtagoverusage #win
just don’t tell greg.