It's time I started clearing out some of these draft posts I've been holding onto. This one I started on April 22, 2010...poor thing is feeling quite neglected sitting in drafts for almost two years.
So, without further ado, here is my house building - story writing analogy.
First, you've got to have the idea (the blueprints). And you need to make sure that your idea is marketable (don't go building a 16 bedroom house if your average consumer is only gonna pay for three).
Then you do a high level outline (pour your foundation, put up the studs). Your first draft is the plumbing, electrical, heating & cooling. Character development is the same as adding drywall. The revisions and polishing are the painting and decorating.
My problem is that I have a tendency to want to move walls around when I should be decorating. Just like a real house, it's much more difficult to move a wall after it's built than it is when you're looking at the blueprint.
I blame it on my characters:
MC: Think how much more interesting I'd be if you had THIS over THERE.
ME: Hmmm. You know, you're right. That would work better, but then I'll have to change this and this and probably a lot of that, too.
MC: Well, what are you waiting for? Get to work. I'll just have a seat over here and watch.
Does it ever get easier?
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4 comments:
Using the house analogy, you could always hire subcontractors--other writers--to help with the house building. :-) Kidding aside, I don't write literature so don't know how easy/difficult it is to co-write works of fiction. It might be quite difficult. By contrast, it is sometimes necessary to "team up" in the academic world in order to get anything done.
Would a ghost writer make it haunted? Just kidding. I am totally with you on the backtrack building.
Yeah if only our writing followed the same pattern as building a house we'd be all right.
No, I don't think it ever gets easier. Thank goodness it's (mostly) fun :-)
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