Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of really murky emails that I just can’t make heads or tails of (none of them from writers).
The emails ramble. Then, when I finally reach the point of the email, it’s still not very clear. I’ll read it a few more times, then I’ll have to reply, asking for clarification. Then they’ll email back and sometimes I still don’t have the full picture of the school event, the volunteering needed for the band, the snack needs at the church function, etc. So I’ll email back again.
It’s frustrating, for sure. And it’s time-consuming. And it reminded me how important it is to keep focused during our own
There’s really no room for rambling in books. Keeping a narrative focus tight is just so important to keep our readers interested. Each scene should have a point—to further the plot or develop or introduce a character, etc.
During first drafts, I definitely go off on tangents. And sometimes I’ve got scenes that I just love but that don’t serve a purpose in the story. During later drafts, I take those scenes out and stick them in a Word file. Sometimes they’ll work (or parts of them will work) in different books in the series. Sometimes they just sit in their Word file graveyard. They can be hard to cut, but in the end, the flow is just so much better.
Janice Hardy had a great post this week: Tightening Your Narrative Focus with some helpful examples.
Do you ramble during drafts but tighten it up later? Ever keep your cut scenes in case you’ll need them another time?
This is why I love the editing process. Hopefully, you find those rambles and tighten things up.
Hi Elizabeth, it’s been awhile, but I’m slowly easing back into blogging. Hope you are well.
Karen
Elizabeth – I know what you mean about the frustrations of trying to understand something that’s not focused. You should see some student papers I’ve read ;-). For me, the problem is exactly the opposite, though, probably because I have a background in academic writing, where there’s a real emphasis on focus. That said, though, when I revise, I sometimes change parts of the plot, etc., and then I have to refocus my writing.
The only way I can comfortably delete blocks of writing is if I preserve them somewhere in a computer or physical folder. I may never look at them again, but it’s a comfort knowing the words are still there.
Staying focused is a rewrite issue for me. First drafts come from the whirlwind I call my imagination and I don’t try to rein it in.
Yes. Yes. And Yes. I received edits back on my manuscript with two major suggestions to incorporate. Even though I thought it was tight before, it’s tighter now. And making the changes required me to cut some primo material. It’s in a file waiting for another time, another place. I couldn’t bear to send it into the ether.
My first draft is always a rambling rant however it is not always a bad thing when, from time to time, I find some gems that serve as wrenches for tightening the plot. But alas, mostly not. The first draft is mostly a ramble.
I so enjoy the shared experiences and pitfalls. Thanks.
I can sense when I’ve lingered too long somewhere, in life and in writing, then abruptly change directions, or the subject.
I also wander off in tangents. It takes me an hour to write and revise and make right a 1 page letter, the kind you put in envelopes (remember those?).
In my WIP, I cut the first chapter a few weeks ago. And the second, third … all the way to about chapter 10. I wound up putting the latest cut chapter back in because it was needed to set up several conflicts surrounding the victim. Most important, all the changes got me to the murder much quicker. (In my debut novel, Unthinkable, the crime doesn’t happen until chapter 9. That was still the right choice for that one; it fit the pacing perfectly.)
I usually write pretty tight. But especially when I reach a part where I’m not sure what should be going on or how to realize it with my words, I let myself write whatever comes to mind and pray I’ll be able to make it make sense on a subsequent pass…
I usually spend most of my time adding to my manuscript. I guess I’m not a rambler…
It’s funny how you can forget your lessons. I’m pretty good about ‘requests’ having ‘actionables’. I think between my advertising background and my time in public health (and actually as a researcher)–I’ve just internalized the ‘what is measurable’– and that forces you to frame the request in terms of the behavior you want to see. In books though, i can tangent with the best of them. I do a lot less of this when I write fast, which is why i love WriMos so much, but they still happen.
Last night, as I shut down for bed, yWriter displayed my “added today” word count as -170. Minus 170 words. I had added several pages, but I had cut more. In my wake I left a tighter scene.
I think it’s really satisfying to take some flabby prose and cut it down to size and see how much better it reads. Thanks for coming by, y’all, and sharing your thoughts on it, too.
I love it when someone gets to the point early – first paragraph. Otherwise, I’m moving on. And let me know what want. Don’t give me stats and big names and fluff. Just get to the point.
I have been known to be just the opposite, Elizabeth. My first drafts are sparse and I always need to add more flesh to the skeleton in rewrites.
Regarding communications with folks in community organizations, etc, I am the one who writes short and sweet and sometimes so terse that people wonder if I have any social graces LOL But, I do think it is important to get to the point when communicating to avoid all those back and forth messages. Geesh, I’d get so tired of that.
I was just thinking this last night! I cut almost all of a scene and incorporated what was needed elsewhere. Very rambly stuff! :)