So, the beauty of Mercury retrograde is that it’s supposed to be a good time to finish old projects, and I’m taking advantage of the timing. I did re-watch The Thomas Crowne Affair and took many notes, and by comparing elements I found the centerpoint of Miss Lonely Hearts. I also found the counterpoint. I realized I have one whopping huge setpiece of a scene and I didn’t even know it was a setpiece when I wrote it, but it is the gravitic center of the book that pulls the hero and heroine inexorably together and then changes them as the farce becomes reality. It’s also the thing all the subplots and minor characters orbit around.
Good stuff. And I see why the opening always bugged me. The first scene with Jason in the bar with the Lawrence twins and Sam is directly orbiting around the gravity well of the story’s center, but the opening with Cass? Not. Either I rewrite that in a big way or cut it and replace it with something that pulls directly into the story. Or maybe just open with Jason. There’s a lot in the beginning that’s too slow, too indirect, not spiraling into that setpiece. Now that I know I’m writing to a setpiece, I can go back and lay the groundwork for that throughout the first half of the book and build towards it.
This writing stuff, it is not for whimps. But the book that does not kill you makes you a stronger writer. Or drives you to eat a lot of chocolate cupcakes. Not that I do that. *brushes off chocolate crumbs*
*handing Charli more chocolate*
I know you’ll work it out in the end. Writing is defintely not for the faint of heart.
It’s coming together! Lots of work ahead, but now I see how everything connects. It’s not just a bunch of random pieces.
I’ll take you up on the chocolate, though. Gonna need lots of it.
I hear ya on the “the book that does not kill you will only make you stronger”, Charli! 🙂
Patrice *who had her share of chocolate covered pretzels today*
I’m running low on chocolate cupcakes, Patrice, but I’m making headway. Where would we be without chocolate?
Bald!
I’d laugh but it’s probably true!
*reaches for a chocolate cupcake*
I just trashed 30,000 words of a full-length novel due in 3 1/2 weeks because it simply wasn’t working. So I went back to the drawing board entirely, re-mapped my plot, revamped my characters’ motivations and presto! The book is coming together well now, but damn it, why can’t this writing stuff be easy for a change?!
I feel for you, Charli. I hope you find the perfect opening for your novel! 🙂
Hugs,
Lacey
Lacey, I was ready to scrap it all and start over if I had to. Glad it’s not going to come to that, but you gotta do what you gotta do. *passes the cupcakes*
Mmmm, chocolate. And cupcakes. Yep, chocolate cupcakes are a necessary tool for any revisions.
Lauren, I made chocolate chip cookies today in case the cupcake supply ran low. *g* I’m not risking a chocolate crisis!