writing pyramid

I'm doing a course and I've learned there are 4 stages of the creative process, and each stage is a bigger process and takes more time.

Thinking & Dreaming is 1, and is quick (10% of the time).
Researching is stage 2 and it takes more time (about 20%).
Drafting (which is my planning) is 3 and it takes longer again (30%).
Editing is 4 and it takes 40% of the whole process.

It all makes sense now. It takes 90% of the time to go from my dream to something I can submit. No wonder it seems to take so long! Sometimes my dreaming takes weeks to nail down - that factors into a long process from dream to finished. So I'm not "doing this all wrong" :)

The Learning Continues

Just when I think I've got it nailed... I find out I don't. Why is it you can never see the failings in what you write? I always think "This time, I'm on a winner", send it out, and the feedback is "Well, if you only fixed this, it'd be much better." LOL. Darn, I thought I had fixed it.

This time it's showing not telling. It's been my bugbear since I started along this writing path. I thought I'd beat it, honestly I did, but it seems not.

So back to my story, with a highlighter, and find all those places I took the easy way out and "told" what was happening.

The learning continues... the highlighters wear out... but surely I'm improving!!

Why does editing take sooooo long?

First drafts are easy for me. I fling them out in no time. Then I edit and edit and edit and edit. It takes an age. I have to work on paper because my brain thinks differently when there's a pen in my hand, not a keyboard underneath. I'm like a school teacher - correcting spelling, grammar, sentence structure, order, deepening motivation, tweaking words. Then when the paper writing's done, time to transfer it to the computer file. Strangely enough more editing happens at this stage too!

At the moment the majority of editing is making sure I don't flick from past tense to present tense and back again - sometimes within one sentence! And taking out extra words (eg that) that I love to put in. :)

When I change the tense, I often have to re-write sentences. It makes me laugh that I can't just change the wrong words, but I have to change other words because they sound silly there when it's changed to present tense. Strange how my brain works.

Anyway... shouldn't be long now before I send my novella to my critique group for their last comments. Then I can hold my breath while I find a publisher to submit it to... or two or three or four. Maybe I shouldn't hold my breath!!

story

Wow, it takes a while to write a story, get feedback, rewrite and polish it up. I'm still working on my virginity story and it's at the rewrite and edit stage. I've also been playing with a short story of an affair. A strange combination of thought, I know.

I've noticed that often erotica with affairs don't stick to the affair. They make it seem like an affair, then wimp out at the end and it's the husband/wife. I nearly did that myself. But it's not right. People have affairs, why shouldn't we talk about it? And erotica is the place to do that, surely. So my affair story is going to be real.

Now, I have to find the time to finish both stories. Short stories are much more fun to write - the time from start writing to finish first draft is quick, then feedback turnaround is quick (so little to read), but the rewriting and editing often take a time - but not as long as a book. That's probably why I like to write erotic short stories - quick turn arounds, quick gratification.

Back to writing now...