I dream about the day when I can go back and read one of my previously edited chapters and be reasonably happy with what I see. In reality, nothing depresses me more than returning to a chapter I thought was in good shape and finding a mess. And it happens all too often.
What are the biggest problems? The usual suspects—too much telling, not enough internal thoughts, clumsy sentences… You know the drill. These are issues I can fix for the most part. All I need is some time and practice. But there’s still one problem I have yet to crack. I over-explain waaaay too much. Unfortunately, I think that trait is permanently hardwired into my brain.
My problem, I suspect, has a lot to do with having developed most of my writing skills while writing scientific research reports, where over-explaining is to be admired and where keeping the reader entertained is a secondary consideration. Writing fiction is a completely different animal. When I write fiction, my process is to envision the scene in my mind as if I’m watching a movie, and then try to reproduce it on the page. I suspect many other writers work the same way, but in my case, I end up choreographing every move, every thought, every nuance, everything. Instead of a flowing narrative, my scenes are often bullet lists of events. If a character would turn his head in the movie, I make sure the readers know about it. If I want a scene to be humorous or scary or surprising, I beat the readers over the head with it, as if the only way they will get it is if I spell the emotion out for them. Not because I think the reader is an idiot, but because I don’t trust myself to be subtle.
I know subtlety works. I’ve gone back and re-read scenes from my favorite authors, scenes I remember as vivid and complicated, only to be shocked by how few sentences the authors needed to convey the scene. They didn’t explain every nuance. They left a few subtle hints and my imagination had filled in all the rest.
Man, do I have a long way to go. I pity the lucky copy editor who gets to edit my stories.
Website of Ken Rahmoeller -- fantasy author, chemist, and lover of all things Hogwarts (Photo Courtesy of Scarluuk)
I've done a lot of technical writing, which leaves little room for feeling. My struggle is stiffness in my words because the sentence is technically correct. Real writing - and talking - is so different.
ReplyDeleteAt least you know your challenge and can work on it. Be worse not to know and just blindly continue writing thinking it was perfect.
Ah, yes. Technically correct, but stiff sentences. That's exactly the problem I need to overcome. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteI have the opposite problem - I don't always tell enough. Luckily, my editor points this out and I fix it. Over time, I think I've gotten better, but I still rely on my editor to tell me what I missed. And character, getting more in their heads, remains one of my last passes. I'm sure you get what I mean by a pass. I hope it will eventually come more natural to me.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it doesn't come naturally, but based on what I've seen in your books, you sure seem to have it figured out. Thanks for the comment.
DeleteI'm a scientist too, so I sympathize with your issues. You definitely use a different part of your brain when writing fiction. Have you tried some writing prompts to help you 'warm up' your fiction muscles before you dive back into your story?
ReplyDeleteNo writing prompts, although I do try to read passages from other books to get me in the proper frame of mind. Thanks for stopping by.
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