So I’m barreling along through my rewriting just now. One of my characters is cross examining another, trying to make sense of what is happening to their town. Suddenly another character screams. The first two rush into another room to investigate… and its all getting quite exciting. Especially for me because I had completely forgotten what I’d written next. Yes folks, I actually got to experience a bit of my own book as a first time reader!
ever ask yourself this question: am I actually too dumb to be writing novels?
18 Comments
I think it’s great to be surprised (pleasantly) by your own story sometimes, whether writing or reading. No way can you hold a whole novel text in your head, so it’s gotta happen sometimes.
Yes.
Every damn day. But I’ve never asked myself if YOU’RE too dumb to be writing novels, believe me. 🙂
I never asked myself before… but today really took the cake!
Not at all! It’s par for the course! I forget huge chunks while I’m writing!
darl, you write 6 books at once — its a wonder you can remember your own name!!!
What? Huh? Who am I again? *g*
There are days …
hey, your email just bounced so I’m continuing our conversation here:
Yeah, I agree. Short fiction can teach you to write, but not necessarily teach you how to write novels. Or poems. Or songs, etc.
Yep, rewriting went well. The book is being sent off to my 4 volunteer readers today. Gulp. Now comes the scary bit…
any dumber and you’d be successful.
thats gonna be my new approach
dumb it down, sister!
how will I know when its dumb enough?
When what’s dumb enough?
(See how easy it is!)
It happens not infrequently that upon re-reading I can’t work out what I was trying to say. But actually forgetting what I wrote, no. No, that’s a new one.
I’m constantly astonished when writer friends can recite parts of their own work by heart. I’m lucky if I can recall stories at all, what I titled them, etc.
yeah. I’m wondering how I could possibly have forgotten all about the zombie starfish though!
Yes, I can see where zombie starfish would be hard to forget. Perhaps they beamed into your novel from another dimension.
Meanwhile, I reread a story I started last night, only to find, to my surprise, that the woman has dosed her brother with dog tranquilisers. That was a surprise.
ha ha! sibling rivalry can be a bit like that sometimes…