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HELP! My current WIP is a monstrosity. (First draft completed at over 300,000 words--UGH!) I need to subdivide but am having difficulty deciding where that should be done, as well as brain cramps as I consider all the changes I would have to make to the story to create a new winding up place.
Any hints? Any advice? Any good books or articles I should read on the subject?
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Stupid me. Shoulda checked Uncle Orson's Writing Class first. Still, it's hard to know which tension point to pick, and I may want to pick a few brains. Would anyone be interested in looking over a chapter by chapter synopsis to help me out?
Posts: 1672 | Registered: Apr 2004
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me, too... I'll even take a chapter or two and ruthlessly cut and edit if you'd like... I do aim to please. Posts: 1520 | Registered: Jun 2004
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The synopsis is a good idea. It might even help you to bring the word into perspective yourself, sort of like a map. If you decide to go that route, I'll be happy to take a look.
Posts: 3567 | Registered: May 2003
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Sorry, no chapters just yet. My decision on how and where to subdivide will necessarily change things quite a lot, but I'll beg for some chapter readers when that's taken care of.
I'm afraid, rick, this beast really does have to be 300,000 words. My first-read editors say they like my writing style because it doesn’t go into overly great detail. They get a good feel for the atmosphere, etc. from a fairly stark descriptive style. In fact, IMO the piece could be longer. Much longer. Which is why I seek to subdivide into multiple volumes. It’s not overly full of detail, it’s not crammed with useless actions, it’s not overloaded with info-dumps. It’s an epic story-—a lifelong struggle between two brothers with the action taking place over a 30 year span. Something like that needs a great deal of background material—much too much IMO to rely on flashbacks, etc.
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