tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post5729386338458212773..comments2024-03-28T18:40:05.789-04:00Comments on Writers Who Kill: Dangerous Times in a Book’s CreationJim Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-32559198634350050882016-05-16T08:22:35.660-04:002016-05-16T08:22:35.660-04:00I think we all experience a dangerous time in each...I think we all experience a dangerous time in each book where we long to be done with it--even if it truly isn't ready. I agree with your assessment. Drafts are just that--a blueprint for revision. But, like you, I have been at a point where it is difficult to recognize what else needs to be done. It is that moment when you think you have caught and addressed everything when someone points out the obvious error--that is my most dangerous time as well. That's when I go for a dive or a run and let the comment resonate. Only then, after the initial aaarrrgggh!, can I step back in and address it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-32194572451756280542016-05-15T21:34:48.793-04:002016-05-15T21:34:48.793-04:00Deb -- You do a much better job of picking books t...Deb -- You do a much better job of picking books than I do, although you described a very unsatisfying ending. When it comes to endings, I find more books where they peter out, taking way too long, or where they are abrupt (although not as abrupt as you described)-- sort of like the author saying, it's Mr. Zed, I'm done.Jim Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-34047830423078728832016-05-15T21:07:26.189-04:002016-05-15T21:07:26.189-04:00About a week ago I finished reading a murder myste...About a week ago I finished reading a murder mystery that seemed to end prematurely. It felt like there should have been about three more chapters. The identity of the murderer made no sense, and it also seemed to me that that person had no real motive to commit the murder. Did the author pull a character's name out of a hat and decide "THIS is the murderer!"?<br /><br />I must say, though, that that's the only time I can ever recall reading something that seemed unfinished.<br /><br />Deb RomanoDeb Romanohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01650858888197217258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-5969208970654929432016-05-15T19:03:05.475-04:002016-05-15T19:03:05.475-04:00I've just finished reformatting my first draft...I've just finished reformatting my first draft into book form after having three critiques of the book. Now I'll be going through the reformatted book looking for things I may want to change or little glitches that have been missed. I have a feeling I have left out some descriptions or something for any new reader who picks up the book without reading the previous books. It's so easy to do that when I and my critique partners have become so familiar with my returning characters. Fortunately, like you, I enjoy revising. It's kind of nice to read a book I've been working on for months from the beginning. <br /><br />Still, I have to admit I'm eager to start the new book, too, and already have it partially plotted. It's probably better that I'm not starting it now because this is my gardening and yard work season so I have less time to work on it.Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-51305625395259477512016-05-15T13:47:10.585-04:002016-05-15T13:47:10.585-04:00I'm still wallowing in the morass of endless r...I'm still wallowing in the morass of endless revisions, though my critiques are getting more positive. I always have a short story cooking on the back burner. When I'm ready to shred my WIP, I put a rubber band around it and toss in a drawer for a few weeks.<br /><br />Margaret S. Hamiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07979191318652199350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-83615963604553159192016-05-15T13:17:21.000-04:002016-05-15T13:17:21.000-04:00I have so many things I want to work on, sometimes...I have so many things I want to work on, sometimes it becomes a problem. And I find I'm so impatient to be done with a manuscript, I have to sit back and review it carefully before I decide it's good enough to be a final version.<br /><br />I do sent nearly-final drafts to trusted readers, which somewhat helps with the urge to submit a not-quite-ready version.<br /><br />Perhaps the most frustrating is when I wake up in the middle of the night and think to myself, "You idiot, you should have included this in that last one..." Usually this occurs after publication, much to my frustration.<br /><br />Right now I'm working on a historic short story for the call from Malice Domestic (and discovering why writing historic fiction is a whole new ballgame. The research!) Then I have two other short stories I'd like to finish up and submit to anthologies. And a young adult ghost story. Wildside Press just released "Abductions and Lies," the 6th in my Jesse Damon Crime Novel series, and I was intending to put that on the back burner for a while, but the enthusiastic response of my (relatively small) fan base has me thinking again.<br /><br />We each have our own way of dealing with the conflicting "I want to be done as soon as possible" and the "I want it to be the best it can be" goals.KM Rockwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03973749764907859829noreply@blogger.com