Thursday, June 5, 2008

including the kitchen sink

I had today off work, so I've been doing a lot of writing in between doing stuff that is essentially wasting time (like giving the dog a shower; I don't have a bathtub, but it turns out that showering isn't a very effective way of cleaning dogs). I'm out of the transition doldrums, finally, although I haven't quite reached the midnight tryst scene as planned, because I'd forgotten all the other stuff that needed to come before it.

I'm having to fight a strange problem that I don't think I've ever had before in writing: I keep wanting to put in too much detail. This book could easily end up 250,000 words with a meandering plot but lots and lots of fascinating stuff going on, if I didn't guard against it. Then again, not only this is the third book in the series, it's one I started a year and a half ago and then set aside to work on other projects. It's had lots of time to percolate, and the worldbuilding and story construction are so rich now I have to keep myself from throwing it all onto the page.

I've also decided to keep a bit part character, the market thief. He wasn't supposed to be anything more than a plot device, essentially, but he's turned into something more. Just like every other freaking detail in the book! Oh well, I'm having fun writing this monstrosity; I can pare it down later.

2 comments:

Cate Gardner said...

250,000 words - I'm drooling at the mere thought. Just think of all the fabulous editing you could do and not have to worry it was going to end up too short. Bliss.

K.C. Shaw said...

And if I did it right, I could use the edited-out stuff to make an entirely new book!

Usually I write too short, so this is a new experience.