Write, Delete, and Write Again! An IWSG post.
Posted on December 4, 2019
Yesterday, I wrote (more like rewrote) a full scene in The Dragon Medallion.

I'm still far from finishing, but the point is that scene prompted new ideas. It created new tangents which, at least from my outline, was not planned. It gave my draft a kick in the butt, the jump-start it needed so I can continue. And now, it's all flowing...

I might have started and deleted that one particular scene about 5 times before I finally came up with the version that works. Different angles, different perspectives, and all of these unfit version were eventually deleted. In total, probably 7k words written and deleted -- sounds about right. I believe I've written and deleted more words than anyone else on the entire planet!  Of course not, but you get what I mean. It just feels that way.

Like Hemingway said, "The only kind of writing is rewriting." What is the most you've written/deleted that kind of hurt at the moment but felt oh-so-good once you finished the rewrite? He was so right about this one...




On another note, in February I'm heading out to England with my son for a soccer tour. It just so happens we land in Manchester, and, in The Onyx Ring, there are a couple of scenes in Manchester, in a fictitious dungeon-like basement (or lower level) in a centuries-old building. I don't mention a particular building, but lets just say the Manchester Cathedral inspired those scenes, as did the Ryland Library and a few sites I found from some intense research online. So, I'm pretty excited to go visit these places.


There's something about old buildings that inspires me to write. Or, maybe it's the history of those buildings. I can't quite explain why, but there's something magical walking into a building that's more than a 100 years old. Some more than 500 years old, like the cathedral. How many people have passed through there? How many wars has it survived? Famine? Disease? And how many times has it been refaced or restored? And why? Why do we feel the need to conserve these structures, and why is it when they crumble we all weep? Hm...

It's all awe-inspiring.

~ * ~


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12 comments:

  1. Wow! Your research and that soccer tour sound amazing and definitely awe-inspiring!
    And I know how that rewriting thing goes. I think I've deleted nearly whole novels - by the time I've been through five revisions and cut five chapters here, rewritten four there, changed characters, and oh, maybe ten more chapters need to be rewritten, etc. Argh. But yet, it is good, and it's good when we find the right path in the middle of the mess.
    I'm glad your revision writing is going so well now! Hope you have a wonderful December and beginning of 2020!

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    1. Thanks Tyrean! And oh the words lost and added during revisions with editors... totally forgot those. I'm sure they amount to a novel or two.

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  2. It can be so hard to cut scenes! I've had many moments when I've cut the scene to paste in a document, even if it's saving it for the moment. :) But revising is one of the hardest but best parts of writing I think! Love that quote.

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    1. Oh definitely, sometimes those bits of story telling could be their own pieces of flash fiction. And that quote by Hemingway is pretty darn good!

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  3. I hope you have a great trip and get some good research in - Manchester is just a beautiful city all round. I hear you on how some scenes can be so difficult to get right, even if other massive sections flow smoothly. I hope you keep all those deleted words somewhere - you never know when they may come in useful, even resurrected Frankenstein-like for another story!

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    1. I keep some of the deletes, but often I just throw them out. I've got a bit of organizational OCD when it comes to the files on my laptop. It's a quirk..

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  4. Glad you have a version that works.
    You're going to have a grand time in England!

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    1. I really can't wait to go. I'll make another post with photos and all...

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  5. History inspires me to write too, and not about history. Just about things that history "touches" if that makes sense. And if makes you feel better, I once deleted about twenty thousand words when I realized the story I wanted to tell had changed.

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  6. Those old stones speak, don't they? Authors always have ears tuned to those voices, so I understand why you're drawn to the ancient places.

    I love the idea of travel to England for soccer, but add the opportunity for a most desirable detour to visit dungeons, and I'm envious. Enjoy. Tell us all about it, and be sure to share your description of those dark history-laden places.

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    1. My only issue is I didn't plan a longer trip to visit Ireland and Scotland. This just means I'll have to come back!

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