Distance
I have been furiously working on my next Red Dress Ink title, called Freudian Slip. I had proposed it over lunch about two years ago--maybe longer--but I had other books in the pipeline and under contract, so it's only been the last few months that I have revisited the book.
I had written and turned in the formal proposal . . . and then, time passed. It was approved, and I had a long lead time. So . . . I would play here and there and work on the plot in my head (yes, sitting here daydreaming IS working). But then I started working on it more feverishly. And I discovered something.
I adore the book.
I cannot tell you what a thrill that is. My main character, Julian, lives inside the head of Katie. Julian is a caseworker of sorts, a heavenly social worker, for lack of a better word. And his boss's boss is Albert Einstein. And everyone's Boss is "the Boss," as in a God. Who happens to be female. And Katie, poor Katie . . . is a mess, but by the end of the book she will be less so. The Devil makes an appearance, so do angels that work in Greenwich Village. And if it sounds whimsical, it is.
But the best part was that distance. Sometimes distance is needed so I can go back and determine that yes, the writing is CRAP. In which case I need to pull it apart. But other times, I revisit with distance, and it's a huge relief to discover that what I thought was funny really is. I adore Julian, my ex-heroin addict, tattooed semi-angel. He has a filthy mouth, and he isn't looking for redemption, but he goes and finds it anyway. And isn't that sometimes how life works.
Distance . . . every writer needs it sometimes. To affirm--good or bad--what is actually going on in our work in progress.
How about you? Does distance aid you? And what about as readers? Do you ever re-visit a book you loved years later and find to your amazement, the book is still powerful? Or that you are in a different place and now . . . not so much?
I had written and turned in the formal proposal . . . and then, time passed. It was approved, and I had a long lead time. So . . . I would play here and there and work on the plot in my head (yes, sitting here daydreaming IS working). But then I started working on it more feverishly. And I discovered something.
I adore the book.
I cannot tell you what a thrill that is. My main character, Julian, lives inside the head of Katie. Julian is a caseworker of sorts, a heavenly social worker, for lack of a better word. And his boss's boss is Albert Einstein. And everyone's Boss is "the Boss," as in a God. Who happens to be female. And Katie, poor Katie . . . is a mess, but by the end of the book she will be less so. The Devil makes an appearance, so do angels that work in Greenwich Village. And if it sounds whimsical, it is.
But the best part was that distance. Sometimes distance is needed so I can go back and determine that yes, the writing is CRAP. In which case I need to pull it apart. But other times, I revisit with distance, and it's a huge relief to discover that what I thought was funny really is. I adore Julian, my ex-heroin addict, tattooed semi-angel. He has a filthy mouth, and he isn't looking for redemption, but he goes and finds it anyway. And isn't that sometimes how life works.
Distance . . . every writer needs it sometimes. To affirm--good or bad--what is actually going on in our work in progress.
How about you? Does distance aid you? And what about as readers? Do you ever re-visit a book you loved years later and find to your amazement, the book is still powerful? Or that you are in a different place and now . . . not so much?
posted by Erica Orloff at 10:48 AM
20 Comments:
Distance certainly gives me perspective. But I do suffer from having a terrible memory, which can cause problems. Like, for example, between submitting a book and hearing back about it I totally forget the names of all the characters and their situations - so if someone wants to discuss it with me (especially on the phone).... omg!
For some reason, and I have no idea why, I rarely read a book more than once. Unless by accident - I've often bought a book I've already read before, especially if they change the cover. Then half way through... I begin to think it seems familiar.
Movies, however. It's not unknown for me to watch one at least six times and then buy it when it comes out on dvd and keep watching it. Totally weird!! And I always claim to not be a visual person.
Sara:
I have a pretty good memory for details, but I do usually have to immerse myself all over again when I revisit.
I also don't re-read books. I guess my pleasure reading time is so scarce, and there are so many books I want to read . . .
Movies . . . I am the same. Over and over and over again. And the sappier the better. :-) I love old movies, so just today I trotted out my Bells of St. Mary, Bishop's Wife and White Christmas!
:-)
Yes, Erica, distance is good. I had started my third Christian Marbach book--based loosely on Christa Worthington's murder up on Cape Cod, and then I got into this novel about an English teacher who falls in love with his student whose father has been accused of a murder. After they consumate their affair--the narrator and the eighteen-year-old Olivia Buford (he's twenty-seven and his wife is pregnant but cold as dry ice) she confesses she's the murderer. Anyway, I was on fire about writing that novel and only now am I back to the Cape Cod novel. I'm glad I went away from it because it confirmed for me how much I like the premise and the writing. Gerry
Hi Gerry;
That's a great feeling. And I love the premise for the English teacher one. Very Body Heat . . .
E
I know, Erica, it sounds great, but no agent wants to represent it. I've had agents tell me they love the writing, love the story, love the voice, but it's a debut novel. An agent out in California said that if you aren't famous or your short stories haven't been in the New Yorker or Harpers, you ain't going to get published in todays market. Who knows. I just keep plugging away.
Your novel sounds marvelous, by the way.
That novel sounds awesome, Erica.
I recently re-read a few pieces I'd written for my degree and was both pleased and disturbed by how much they moved me. Pleased, because it's always good to find you like your own writing, lol.
Disturbed because I spent a lot of my degree time on anti-depressants and man... I wrote some dark stuff. Looking back now, from a totally different place, I'm a bit overwhelmed by some of the things I wrote.
Gerry:
I think that's why genre fiction is a little easier to break into. But so much is timing, market, and so on. It IS very hard, and I have such an "easy" first-sale story, that all I can do is lament that talented writers out there have to struggle so hard for those few spots. Don't give up!
E
naomi:
My old poetry is so dark it's scary. I guess I was in that place, but now it's so far from who I am. I can read the poetry and know it's good . . . but I'm just not there anymore.
I'm glad you like the sound of the book. It's so whimsical and different and biting . . . and I just love it, but sometimes I sort of think, "My God, this is such a quirky book." :-) I have to hope it tugs on people's hearts.
E
I find that I read more like a writer now than I did when I was younger. When I revisit certain classics that I read years ago (A Farewell To Arms, The Catcher in the Rye, The Grapes of Wrath, etc), I'm more likely now to study a given author's technique, their brand of magic, than to actually read for sheer enjoyment. I don't think that takes any of the magic away; it just makes me the (apprentice) magician.
I'm so immersed in my wip right now, I can't imagine putting any distance between it and myself. I know I'll need to do that eventually, though.
Jude:
I do the same with classics. And "new" classics, too. I love Patrick McGrath, Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood. Just genius, and I study their words.
E
Good point about studying "new" classics too, Erica.
I'm all into Andrew Vacchs now. Rather in awe of him, actually.
Hi Erica, distance has not only given me perspective but in one case, it gave me an entire change of character. I'd originally had an idea for another mystery series set as a contemporary, not a historical (which is what I currently have going) and I'd come up with what I thought was a great idea for the main character. But life intervened and the proposal went on the back burner. When I finally got back to it, I realized the character was completely wrong..she ended up changing her occupation, age and nationality.
The project also changed - it morphed from a would be thriller to a modern puzzle mystery.
I hope you don't mind my contributing to your blog, but it's so very interesting that I couldn't help myself.
Cheryl
Yeah, it does.
There's one WIP that I worked on for 3 months without going anywhere. The voice is there. The beginning is there. I just hated it because I had been working on it, rewriting it, for so long.
I'm not terribly eager to get back to it--it's in first person and I find it harder to write in first--but I know when I get back to it, I've a solid place to start.
Emily:
I LOVE having you visit. And your story about the character going through such a profound change is something that has happened to me, too. It's always so amazing--like you will struggle with a character for a while, but then have that "a-ha" moment and all of a sudden, it all falls into place.
E
May:
God, have definitely been there. Sometimes a break is really needed just to get that fresh eye--or even just some fresh enthusiasm. I am almost at the "I want to chuck it" stage with another book--but I've put SO much time into it, and I know it's good. I'm just weary of some of the plotting dilemmas.
E
Oh, yes. Definitely. I'm working on one of those books right now!
Louise
Erica, exactly!
It was plotting issues that bugged me. The writing wasn't perfect, to be sure, but it was good enough for a first draft.
Louise and May:
Glad to know I'm not the only one!
E
Distance is a beautiful thing. It helps me to see potholes in my writing. Even with my latest WIP, I was able to flesh out the story, up the stakes, and turn it from a novella into a kick-ass novel. Of course...I'll leave that up to an agent or editor to decide. :)
-Marcia
Marcia:
Sometimes distance let's me see a new twist that's been lurking in the shadows, too!
E
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