Yzabel / January 5, 2006

“Useless”scenes that don’t fit the plan of the novel

I’m very talented at that–writing scenes that I can’t use, or that turn out to be “too much”. I suspect it’s because I very often start by creating the characters instead of the plot, and as a result, I end up writing bits of scenes and chapters in the spur of the moment, only to realize later on that they don’t fit the general plan.

Truth be told, I’m calling them “useless” just because of this, because I spent time on something that doesn’t further the novel’s story itself. In a way, they are useful, since they allow me to develop the characters, to explore heir personalities, to set up events to react to, and this always turns to be a positive point when it comes to writing the “real” chapters. Thanks to the insight they help me get regarding my heroes, antagonists and even secondary characters, I can’t say that I’ve ever wasted time on working on such scenes. They also remain unedited, by the way; I don’t go around reading and rewriting half-chapters that aren’t placed within the flow of the plot yet. On this, at least, I don’t waste time.Read More

Yzabel / January 4, 2006

Schadenfreude, Perhaps, Yet Still A”Good”Read

Being a French person trying to write in English as well as in her mother tongue isn’t easy; to the usual doubts of the author regarding her ability to write well, are added the doubts about the other language, the one she doesn’t speak from the start. I don’t always have a clear appreciation of what good and bad writing in English is, and being given examples is an interesting way for me to learn and see what is being done (and what I shouldn’t do).

Along these lines, comes Miss Snark, who kindly provided her readers with a list of excerpts from stories submitted to Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. Submitted, not published–yet this is already enlightening enough as it is.

Truth be told, those of you who’ve had a peek at the excerpts I’ve posted on my NaNo blog (yes, the unedited ones, these parts of a first draft that I wrote as if there was no tomorrow, drugged on coffee and gobbling down handfuls of frozen raspberries): am I right in thinking that I can’t do worse than that?

In all honesty, my self-confidence has been given a serious boost today–as well as a renewed desire to go on writing until I fall dead.

Yzabel / January 1, 2006

Happy New Year 2006 (Very Original Title)

Into 2006 we now are. It’s odd. Poof, in a snap of fingers, it was 00:01, and another year. Where has 2005 gone?

Time is a weird, weird concept.

I’m not taking any resolutions for the year. Resolutions begin to sound like saying “I’ll go to the gym every day”, only to give up comes February because I want to make it too much, too fast, too perfect. I don’t see why I should bother with resolutions–I’ll do what I have to do, but on my terms, not because January 1st is some kind of magical number that will make everything easier. I don’t need a new year to start exercising more, or write more (already doing it, anyway). Let’s see, if I hadn’t taken my “resolution” in summer, I’d have started working on my writing now, instead of six months earlier!

Alright, this is said in joke. However, I still haven’t listed any. They just don’t feel right. They sound like some compulsory task, like an automatism everybody has to go through because it’s a new year. Resolutions can be taken and started any day, and I’ll decide on mine when the right time comes.

In the meantime, I hope that 2006 wil be a good year for everyone!