...Well at least to a degree. Last Friday marked two weeks since my surgery and my foot is now completely unpacked and I can wear my shoe again. Even better, I can take a bath in the shower, not the sink. ; ) That said, I still have to take it slow to manage the swelling.
While I was laid up, I have been rereading FRIENDLY FIRE as it stands now. Unfortunately I've fallen into two holes caused by an earlier version of the story. I'm happy to report that I've been brainstorming "earth-moving" ideas to fill these holes. And, even better, I've finally crossed over into areas of the manuscript that I've read and worked on earlier this year. That means the road has smoothed out to just bumpy.
FRIENDLY FIRE started out as MOTHER'S DAY and centered tightly on Laura Grace's journey from childlessness to motherhood, but the story was much bigger than that narrow focus. As it branched out and widened in emphasis, it became a story about how widespread abuse is. As this theme was revealed, the front of the story no longer fits. That's what I've got to address. Some really good scenes will have to be ditched, but that's the story of most books as they make their journey from idea to finished (or at least final) draft.
How do you handle old scenes that no longer fit?
Do you struggle with cutting them or do you try to "renovate" them to fit?
And there's something really great to look forward to!
Rachael Harrie and Cally Jackson are planning the Fifth Writers Platform Champaign for September!!!
Check out these posts and get ready to rumble. ; )
Rach Writes and Cally Jackson Writes
Glad you're back! I was actually planning on posting something similar to this later today. It depends on the scene. If I can I'll renovate it, or pull out 'good' parts and rewrite the scenes around them. Sometimes there's nothing left to do but cut it out. It may be too far different to renovate, or maybe you just don't need a scene there anymore. Either way, sometimes they just have to go.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sara! I'm glad to be back, at least on a part-time basis. I think the "Oh, no! That just doesn't work anymore" problem is endemic to writing.
DeleteGlad to hear you're recovering well! I usually try to save a scene if I can, but if not, I'll pluck it out and drop it into another file--I don't like to delete anything, because you just never know...
ReplyDeleteYou're right, you never know. That's why there's about 10 or so scenes languishing in the "pulled scenes" file at the bottom of FF. ; )
DeleteEarth moving ideas, love it!
ReplyDeleteI keep little piles of soil that have been removed from the story because I'm afraid to delete anything!
Sometimes phrases can be re-used in different ways...
Glad to hear the recovery's going well!
Thanks, Deniz. I have little piles of soil, too. Though I'm finding them less and less useful as I go along
DeleteI have learned from quilting that you cannot force a pattern and color fabric that somehow just isn't right. Writing os the same way.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good analogy, Susan!
Delete