What’s this story about again?

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I don’t know if anyone else deals with this problem, but I always find that about three-quarters of the way through writing a book, I’ve forgotten how the whole thing started. I more or less remember what has happened, it’s the how that alludes me. At this point I start panicking that the tone and characters of the story might have wildly changed and that what I have now doesn’t even resemble what I started with.

The fact that the book I’m writing is a rewrite where the character and tone differs greatly from the original version doesn’t help. I can’t remember which details come from which version and the character’s differences have become all muddled in my head.

What is my solution? To read my own book, of course. The best part is, at this stage, I’m not worried about doing much editing. In fact, I’m not going to do any other than perhaps write down some notes for later. That means there’s a chance I can actually enjoy reading my own story. Since my memory’s so bad, I’ll probably even be surprised by some of the things I wrote. I always know I’m on the right track when I laugh out loud at my own jokes.

Do you ever forget what you’ve written? And if so, have you ever been able to read and enjoy your own book without the pressure of making it better?

How Embarrassing

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There is no denying it, I’m a klutz. I drop things, I walk into things, and I regularly hurt myself in ways most people don’t know is possible. As a teenager, doing things such as falling up the stairs while walking in front of one of my crushes and dropping a glass bottle of red soda all over official yearbook files four minutes after having the principal sign them were weekly events in my life.

Did I cry a lot? Heck yes. All the time. But I also laughed at myself too. One thing that made me feel much better was the knowledge that other people had the same problem of standing upright on flat surface as me.

I suppose that’s one of the reasons why I write about embarrassing teen moments. Not only are they funny to read, but maybe someone out there will feel a little bit better about their own embarrassing moment by reading about some of the over the top things that happen to the characters in my books. 

My embarrassment usually occurs from me falling down or saying something without thinking. What makes you or your character embarrassed?

Cut it out

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Cry. Whimper. Whine.

But I don’t wanna delete that paragraph/chapter/section of the book. It took me so long to write. There are some great moments in there. The character development is amazing.

There are so many excuses as to why that piece of writing should stay in the book. I know since I’ve used them all. But there’s a reason that it has to go and that’s because you know it does. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be having the argument with yourself in the first place. 

So instead of thinking about all of the reasons why it should stay, remember why it needs to go. It doesn’t advance the plot. The writing is not your best. Your characters actions are forced. Whatever the reason, stop arguing with yourself and cut it out.

Can’t bring yourself to hit the delete button? I feel your pain. Instead of hitting delete, why not try cutting instead. I keep a separate file for all of my scenes that no longer work or that I wrote for another section of the story. That way at least all of my work doesn’t disappear in the blink of an eye, and there’s always the chance that in the future I’ll be able to fit in those bits.

Do you have a file for those deleted gems?