When it comes to writing, bigger is not always better. In fact, sometimes it’s downright harmful! I learned this just last week when I realized that saying “no” to some stuff is just as important as saying “yes”.
This is a post where you’re going to learn a bit more of my WIP Poison Dragon. (Surprise! The name has changed. I asked those on my mailing list recently to help me decide a new name, and they really liked Rising Fire. However, I decided to go with this new name instead. I really liked Rising Fire, but it didn’t really fit. Sadly. If I’d called it Rising Star to make it fit more, then it would’ve sounded like a pop star was being discovered or something 😂) I’ve been working on plotting it and felt that the climax needed to be… bigger. Better. I didn’t want it to fall flat, after all.
I worked on ideas, expanding it and making the book longer. And with a bigger climax.
But after 2 or 3 hours of work on that, I just kept having this nagging feeling that it was too much. Too long to be interesting, too clunky, and too unnecessary to the whole book.
I made a decision to trim it. Even after those hours of work to make it more, more was more like too much. As I described it to my sister, it was like a bloated goat.
By saying “no” to all my ideas, I feel confident that my story is going to be for the better. (And I’ll be in for less work!)
We writers have lots of ideas and want to do so much in such little time and always expect so much of ourselves. Remember that it’s okay to say “no” to some things so that you can say “yes” to others in the fullest way you can.
Poison Dragon Snippets
I’ve finally finished plotting, and have begun the first draft of the new-and-improved-version of this book! 😃 I’ve done 7,036 words so far.
I like to put in random things of description or dialogue when I plot because that helps me keep with the idea of the scene when I actually write it.
“I kind of deserved it,” he replies with a croaking laugh.
“I fell at the speed of a galloping horse, on what was essentially just a twig, and landed on the hard-packed ground. I broke my leg.”
Man, I am so nice to my characters. 😂
As we glide along above the clouds, I let out a wild whoop of exhilaration.
Here’s something fun for you to think about: these are from 3 different characters points of view. 😉
Did you like the tip in this post?
Did you like the snippets?
How is your Camp NaNoWriMo going? (I’m at 21 hours – almost 22! Just over halfway!)
-Julia
Photo by Simson Petrol on Unsplash
Yayyy for snippets!! (Aren’t you a kind author there. 😂Breaking bones and being nice to your characters.) Also soooo agree that sometimes huge books and word counts aren’t the best?! Often concise books actually are more powerful! Gotta kill those darlings, even when it hurts to trim back. 😭😭
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Yes, I’m so nice. 😉 It definitely means now that my character will only be seeing half of the kingdoms during this book instead of all 6, but I think it’s way better without the rest of it. Maybe someday I’ll have a good idea for a second book, and then they can see them then? 😛
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Ouch to the broken leg!
I won Camp NaNoWriMo a couple of days ago. I did a fanfiction challenge for that that I’m putting up on AO3 right now.
I’m revising the chapters before I post them, and I did have to cut out a couple of paragraphs in the chapter I’m posting today because I wanted more development with the family dynamic and what I cut out wasn’t going in the right direction.
Good luck getting your WIP done!
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Mwahaha, I’m so mean to my characters!
Congratulations on winning! 😃 What is A03?
That sounds cool! My own project is going to need a LOT of editing when I’m done… 😂
Thank you!
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WHY HAVEN’T I VISITED YOUR BLOG BEFORE?? SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH ME.
Anyways, I finally visited your amazing blog (shame on my for not doing it sooner) and I LOVE IT! Everything is so delightful, and I had no idea you’ve self-pubbed. That’s amazing, girlie!
I definitely agree! I read a book that was 600 pages but it was sooo boring and dragged all over the place. I’d rather read a book that’s shorter but more impactful. Personally, my books (usually) end up being wayyy longer than I intended so I don’t really have a problem, haha. XD Right now I’m trying to write a short story and having to force myself not to make it massive bc I have other projects I need to work on instead.
Love this post and your blog, Julia! I subbed and I can’t wait to see more. ❤
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*starts grinning like an idiot at the first two lines because I love you and your blog too*
I’m so glad that you do! Thanks for taking the time to. 😃 I’m actually rewriting The Storm Inside; I guess I haven’t worked on it for a while, though… Oops 😳
I agree; shorter and not boring is better. 😉 I have the same problem! I end up writing random scenes that I never plotted that I really like but make the book longer. 😂 I have a LOT of trouble in school when they tell me to just write a short story. I always want to write the full story like a novel.
Yay! I’m glad you do! 😄 Thank you!
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Haha, that picture you made is funny! 😛
This post is very true, thanks so much for sharing! 😀
Also, love those snippets! 😉
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I’m glad you like it! 😄
You’re welcome!
Thanks. 😉 They’re totally unedited, but I picked the ones that sounded okay 😛
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😀 Your welcome! Haha, that’s what I do too, they were still great though! 🙂
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That’s something I definitely need to remember, I’ve been worrying too much about finding things to make my story longer.
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Since I’m working on my first draft of this new version (maybe I should call it draft 3.1 or something? 😜) I’m kind of just throwing all the words on the page while following my plot. After I’m done, I’ll go back and edit it, but for now, I have the nagging feeling I’m going way too in depth at some parts and not enough at others. 😂 But I totally agree; I sometimes struggle, feeling like my story isn’t long enough. That always sucks, especially since we see all those other super thick books in bookstores and want our book to be super thick once day when they’re in bookstores. 😂
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