I read the first two chapters of the unnamed romance this afternoon.
Oh. My. Gawd. It's awful. It needs so much work I'm tempted to just say hell with it, except that I'm halfway through and I know the writing gets better as soon as I hit my stride. I just have to rewrite the first few chapters. I think I'd better wait to do that until I've finished the first draft; otherwise, I might not finish at all. Next week I have Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday off work (spring break!) so hopefully I'll buckle down and get some writing done.
I've been trying to decide why I'm having so much trouble with this romance book. Of course, I'm just not all that interested in the genre, but that shouldn't keep me from writing reasonably well. The first two chapters of this romance are stilted and awkward, without enough description, without a clear idea of what the characters are thinking and feeling at important moments. And no wonder I'm already running out of plot: I crashed through big chunks of it in about 5,000 words rather than developing the characters. Hey, me: the characters are the whole reason for this book! Maybe I should spend a little more time developing them.
I guess this is a good thing, really. When I do the rewrite, I'll have to add many, many thousands of words. Hmm. Maybe I should do the rewrite first after all.
10 comments:
It's hard to sparkle when you aren't heed over heals for the genre. Don't worry, it'll all come together : )
I really like these characters, which is a plus. I just need to keep plugging away at it until they can jump in bed together. That'll be a fun scene to write. :)
I have started my WIP 17 times, and I've let it rest. The MIDDLE is good, but the ending is like...flat and bad.
But at least you know what's wrong with it specifically. I'm like, eh, it's flat. Why? Not sure, but it needs major renovation. Some day I'll figure out why it's so difficult to revise.
I had the flat ending problem with Bell-Men. I'm still not sure it's completely fixed. I had to rewrite a lot of that one. Good luck on yours, and I agree, at least I know what I need to fix with this romance.
My problems are flat beginnings. The ends are like "attack-attack-attack". But the beginnings (well, after the first chapter), snooze.
Maybe you wrote this beginning instead of me, then. Will you write the ending for me too? It could use some punch. :)
I'm happy with the first chapter of mine, it's the second and third chapters I'm worried about. It starts with a bang then kind of falls flat for a bit. I'm sure it'll be fine after a good tweaking.
The great thing about drafts is that everything can be fixed. It's when I finish what is supposed to be the final polish that I start to panic.
good luck hitting your stride and Yay! for Spring break.
Thanks! Another 20 minutes and I'm off until Friday!
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