Comments on: Which words count?

Comment on Which words count? by: For The Trees

Sat, 29 Apr 2006 13:45:00 +0000

I’m a verbiage vendor. I crank out the words like a fire hose with a large hole in it. Then when I go back and read it I gotta slash and burn to get down to the meaty part.

I’m always reminded that people don’t have time to read any more, that there are all these demands on people’s time, that there are too many diversions, etc. etc. Still, I find myself echoing my father’s insurance salesman’s speech pattern of repeating the idea at least three times. It’s annoying, and it takes a lot out of the finished story.

Howsomever I know there’s always a market for every book, you just have to keep searching for it. That’s the only reason I’m still hopeful of being published for money. Oh, well, cie la vie.

I think HOW one writes is not as important as WHAT one writes. And I chip away at the block of blather to uncover the unique story hiding underneath.

Comment on Which words count? by: Bruce Black

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 15:09:53 +0000

Barbara,
Your question goes to the heart of writing’s mystery. Each of us comes to the page with a different approach, and there is no one way to get the words onto paper.

Some writers let everything flow onto the page, then cut back; others build from one word to the next. The key is to find what works for you… and to find a way to accept your own process.

There’s a distinction that needs to be made between writing to fit an editor’s requirements and writing to satisfy one’s own creative vision. In each case, the common ground that both kinds of writing share is this: the “right” words. Have you found the “right” word to describe what you want to say?

So, whether you’re the kind of writer who has to march through a jungle of words with a machete, or the kind who hunts through a desert for that one drop of water… is more a question about finding a process that works… and less, really, about word count.

Some writers do need to write 20 - 30 drafts (I’m one of them) to figure out what it is we’re trying to say. Others are able to construct an entire novel (plot, structure, scenes, sentences) in their heads before putting down a single word. Neither way is “better,” just a different way of working… depending on who you are.

Thanks for sharing your own process. It’s always helpful to learn about another writer’s method for getting words onto paper.

Comment on Which words count? by: Georganna Hancock

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 17:18:18 +0000

Coming from a background in news writing, I’m pretty well trained to write to fit. I can still hear the city editor calling across the newsroom, “Georganna, I’ve got a five inch hole. Fill it!” and seeing we were ten minutes from deadline. Writing fiction, now that’s a whole ‘nother world. When I try novels, I end up throwing out whole chapters (usually the first). I could edit them to death. They never get longer as a result of my revisions. I can only hope they get better.

Comment on Which words count? by: violetismycolor

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 03:40:16 +0000

I have heard of authors who have done 15 to 20 drafts of their books. I cannot even imagine doing that. Hope it gets pulled together the way you want it.

Comment on Which words count? by: Eric Mayer

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 20:24:31 +0000

Writing too much and then chipping away to get to the story is an interesting approach (or perhaps I should say an interesting way to describe such an approach) and I’m sure it works as well as any. As for me, I write short. I tend to write scenes that are around 1,500 words long. Why, I can’t say. Maybe that’s the measure of my energy. And it probably isn’t a good thing for one’s scenes to tend to be the same length either, but there it is. Mary’s scenes tend to be a little longer I think. So the way Mary and I work is that we spin out a plot outline until it has 55 or 60 scenes, realizing from experience that although scenes will be added, more will be cut or shoved together. Inevitably, we then end up around 75,000 words, which is what we aim for since we both prefer short books. No, let me rephrase that. We prefer concise books. Sometimes I have to force myself to write at greater length, for effect. I tend to rush through events too quickly sometimes. I remind myself you need to leave a little “time” for the reader to feel involved in the action.