When we moved four years ago to our current location, my husband swore off renovating forever. You see, we've moved a lot in our years together and we've also renovated several house along the way; some with minor fixes and others from top to bottom. Well, you know what they say ... 'forever' is a long time. The renovation bug hit again and we bought the house across the street. It's a definite 'fixer-upper' and we got it for a good price. With the market rising in our area, it seemed like a good investment. Here's the catch. Renovating, if you do the work yourself, takes a lot of hard work. At this point we're still in the demolition phase. After that, there will be a ton of cleaning up and then the rebuilding will begin.
Writing is a lot like renovating a house. Do you have any fixer-uppers lurking on your computer? I know I do. In some cases, a little demolition is in order. Don't hang onto poorly written passages, long expository bits, or a plot line that is going nowhere. Just because you spent time on it doesn't mean its worth saving. Get rid of the stuff that is holding your story back. Take the mallet and the crow bar to it, without mercy. Of course, there will be some cleaning up to do afterwards. That's okay. Just imagine how open and fresh it will be once you delete all the junk. You'll be inspired afresh and able to to rebuild a story that is structurally sound, has good 'traffic flow', and is aesthetically pleasing.
I agree, sometimes we do have to take the crowbar and mallet to our writing.
ReplyDeleteI did that recently. The junk is gone and I found a fresh book underneath.
As 'they' say, no pain, no gain. :)
ReplyDeleteA few days ago in the process of polishing the book, I nearly started a renovation that I realized would lead to far too much work that really didn't need to be done.
ReplyDeleteWilliam - we have to learn to recognize that point when 'enough is enough'. We could keep on editing and changing our WIPS forever. of course we want quality, but sometimes those renovations serve no real function and are best left alone.
ReplyDeleteI like your analogy. Sometimes we need to pick up those things in order to stay on track with our writing.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Wilson Grant
Writing is like renovating. Yes, I agree! It takes a lot of hard work but in the end it's quite fulfilling.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting story and it's very inspiring at the same time. Great post.
ReplyDeleteFrenks
I love how you compare things in a way where people can actually stop and think twice. It is a very refreshing to the ear especially to the writers out there.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I came across to your blog especially to your beautiful website. I like your analogy. Your details are very smart.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Laura