The Process: Onward to Draft 2

People often ask me how I write, what my process is, and I've tried throughout the many years of this blog to tell you straight. So here is the next instalment on the development of Novel 3.

To bring recent viewers up to date, and to remind my longtime supporters, I discussed:

     * what it felt like this time to finish writing the first draft here
     * preparing to read it through here
     * what it felt like while reading it through here

Now to discuss what happened next.

The original plan was to read it and not make any changes, just make margin notes about what changes  should be made and where. Not surprisingly, that proved impossible. Inevitably, when I was reading the text the additional necessary sentence(s) was there in my head so of course, I wrote it down. But I did also have my notebook beside me and I made a note after reading each chapter about how I thought it went -- Was it paced correctly? Were there any discrepancies in character? Were facts wrong? Did some events or  ideas need "unpacking"? So although I did make some changes as I read, I did manage to read it through as quickly as I could, trying to read it as I would read someone else's novel. I had said that when I finished  writing the last word, I felt more numb than happy. This time, I felt much better. I'll admit that I had my moments of despair as I read thinking "Oh my God, what drivel. This is so boring" etc. But then there were other times when I dropped the manuscript into my lap and shouted (to myself) "Yippee! I'm a genius!" I,  of course, then realised that neither extreme was the case and by the end of the read-through I felt satisfied. I felt like these long months of work may, indeed, have produced something of potential value.

Next step was to go through it again, chapter by chapter, making all the changes I had discovered needed to be made. The plan was just to go to each page and do the rewrite, but instead, I started at the beginning a second time and read through word by word again, while writing new bits or cutting old bits out. So much for that plan....It worked well, though, because I had an even better sense of the book this time and could tell that the changes I was making were, in fact, working. Out of this effort came a new title, too. You may remember my discussion of a while back about the difficulty of finding a title. Well, it's not getting any easier and although I divulged the secret title of this new novel a few posts ago as being Perfection and Ruin, I have now decided that a better title would be
                                           Between Perfection and Ruin
 Oh, the difference one word can make.

So am I done? Not really. You see, I write everything out longhand, so now I have to go through the manuscript again, typing in all the changes I have just made. Inevitably, that will lead to another full read through. But then, and only then, will I  have something to show my editor, something whose file on my computer will be called Draft 2.

Voila!

Math and Me

Okay, so I lie. Let's face it...math and I have never been friends. It's probably because of my basic mathematical ineptitude that I didn't pursue science professionally in the first place. But that doesn't stop me from being fascinated by math, by the way it is as much a language to those who understand it as English or Chinese. And it's physically beautiful, and I can prove it. While I was in New York City, I actually had a reunion with classmates from elementary school. These are people I was in class with between the ages of 8 and 15. Some of these people I hadn't seen in nearly 40 years....a petrifying thought. But we had a great time telling each other about our lives, and all my friends have gone on to do fascinating things. One, George Hart, became a mathematician, but not only a mathematician. He is a sculptor as well and considers himself an applied mathematician. He has pieces on display all over the world. Do take a look at his work here.

And if that isn't enough, his daughter, Vi Hart, has become a sort of mathematical rock star. Her work is all about finding ways to make math accessible and fun. It definitely works for me. Check this out. It's mesmerising.

Science and Me

I love science, and my foray into merging the line between literature and science has brought me into contact with all sorts of fascinating people and interesting concepts. My first novel, Tangled Roots, had much to do with physics and cosmology, and that required a year's worth of research. I loved doing that although, of course, I've already forgotten most of it. A Clash of Innocents has nothing to do with science at all, and although writing it allowed me to think about all sorts of other important issues, I did miss my scientific musings. So it's not at all coincidental that the novel I'm working on now has a scientific aspect to it.  This time, I'm concerned with medical care, women's health issues in particular, and that has allowed me to do a bit of research on disease and anatomy. I haven't needed to spend as much time researching as I have in the past, but at least I've been able to give a little scratch to this particular itch.

When I don't have the professional need to keep scratching, I depend on a few blogs to give me my science fix. One that I am especially faithful to is "Now Appearing" written by popular science writer, Brian Clegg. His recent posting was so cool I thought I'd share it with you. It's all about the right vs left brain dichotomy and it even has a beautifully frustrating little video test you can take to show you what it's all about. I thought I'd share it with you now, so hop on over here for a quick explanation and a bit of a brain massage.

Thanks, Brian.