On Non-Editing and the Chore of Writing

[gehayi.livejournal.com]

In which LKH continues to talk about her writing (which doesn't need editing) and how little fun she has writing these days.

LKH is in bold font. I'm in regular.

***

We start with La Laurelle writing about how she's anxious and not knowing why. She thinks it can be traced to her puppy, Pippin, who doesn't like thunderstorms.

I'm actually beginning to think that I'm picking up on his anxiety. I know, I know, weird, but I'm still beginning to think it's true.

If you keep reading, you'll see that she has plenty of things to feel anxious about, and they have nothing to do with Pippin or thunderstorms.

I was fine until the puppy decided to be a canine limpet and attache himself to me.

I spent a few moments imagining Pippin as a cultural attaché on a diplomatic mission from Dogdom.

But I can't in good conscience make him move, because I know that the close proximity makes him feel better.

As opposed to what? The FAR proximity? Sheesh. Paging the Department of Redundancy Department...

Earlier today I finely got SWALLOWING DARKNESS back out.

I know that she means "finally," but I rather like the idea of her getting Swallowing Darkness out in tiny, granular pieces.

It was time. I was all prepared to decide how much to cut. I'd estimated loosing at least forty pages. But strangely, when I reread things, I didn't need to loose anything.

Leaving aside the whole "loose/lose" issue (which I learned in second grade), every work can be improved by rewriting. In On Writing, Stephen King mentions a piece of handwritten advice that he got on a rejection slip:

"Not bad, but PUFFY. You need to revise for length. Formula: 2nd Draft = 1st Draft – 10%. Good luck."

King says that this advice changed his writing forever. Would that it would change the Speshul Snowflake's.

This is where it gets interesting. Not only has she decided not to edit, but she gets defensive about it. For no reason.

I'm not wrong on where the book needs to go and what needs to happen here. I was wrong about what the outcome will be of the events for the next few books, but I'm not wrong about this fight. We need it, and we need it here.

"I was wrong about what the outcome will be of the events...?" Oh, God! March of the elephants! Is the woman completely deaf to the rhythm of a sentence?

Unless I'm wrong, this is the same scene that she's been blathering about for weeks, the scene that she couldn't see because she couldn't feel Merry's hand on the hilt of her sword, the one that she decided wasn't going to be a fight scene because Merry had figured out how to leave safely. Now we're back to the big fight scene again. Sheesh.

It's time for Merry and her guys to show everyone that,

Delete comma.

they might, just might, be picking more of a fight than they bargained for.

This was originally supposed to be a fight where one of Merry's merry men dies. Then it was going to be a scene where one of the villains died. Now, apparently, the Fairy Sue and her minions are going to kick collective villain ass.

My first reaction was, "Ho-hum. Merry Gentry IS Anita Blake. Well, we all knew that, didn't we?"

I'm supposed to be working on Anita right now, but my head really isn't into it.

I think that her heart isn't really in it. She sounds sick of writing, and yet she can't stop, because if she does, she won't be special anymore.

I think I may have a second short piece moving liquid in my head.

I read this as, "A second short story is giving me water on the brain."

The idea was that the second writing session of the day was about fun, and working on whatever I wanted to work on, not about deadlines. But I keep falling back into the habit of making it all about work, and not about play.

And again—-the writing isn't fun. It's not something she wants to do; it's not something she feels driven to do. It's just an unpleasant chore. Boo-hoo. Poor her.

What do I want to play today?

Solitaire?

Is it time to actually just open up a blank file and see what my muse is trying to tell me? If I do, then it will be the first time in over ten years, maybe longer, that I've given myself that kind of freedom.

BZUH? I'm always opening new files and starting new stories! Every writer I know, amateur and professional, does this. And she hasn't wanted to open a file and begin a new story in TEN YEARS?

Laurell, honey, it's time that you looked into a new profession. Because writing is clearly not working for you anymore.

Hmm, wonder what it will feel like? Best to find out. Maybe it will be another short story, or another novel-lite,

I think that she means "novelette." And that she thinks she's being cute.

or some idea that's been bubbling around in my imagination,

Delete comma.

that's finally ready to talk to me.

Great. It's not just muses and characters that talk to her. Now ideas talk to her too.

I'll leave Anita, Edward, Olaf, and Bernardo,

Delete comma.

on the sidewalk in the summer heat. We can question people tomorrow,

I have a terrible feeling that "we" means Anita and herself.

after I start the big fight at the end of DARKNESS.

She's been talking about the fight scene since March and drawing close to the end of Swallowing Darkness since February. Do you get the feeling she's having just a little trouble with this book?

Fun day tomorrow, but right now, I'm going to go play.

Just no sexual play in this story, Laurell. Seriously, I think you're suffering from Excess of Porn.

Comments

[atypia.livejournal.com]

Good flog :D

[ionaonie.livejournal.com]

Is the woman completely deaf to the rhythm of a sentence?
YES

It's one of the very many reasons I stopped reading. It made my head hurt.

And, I'm sorry, but if there is one author in desperate need of a red pen, it's LKH (esp now that JKR has hung up her HP boots)

And if she isn't finding the writing fun anymore, why is she doing it?

[ever-obsessed.livejournal.com]

And if she isn't finding the writing fun anymore, why is she doing it?
Martyr complex?

She wants us to know that she's suffering daily but doing it valiantly because she knows her writing is so special that our hearts will burst in our chests if she doesn't get the stuff to us.

[door.livejournal.com]

For the money?

[cicipsychobunny.livejournal.com]

Weirdest thing? Having watched a few of the video interviews with her, that sentence DOESN'T sound as totally awful when you imagine it in her slow, airy-fairy drawl.

[morriganscrow.livejournal.com]

My heart bleeds for her. Her life is so hard!

Excellent flog.

[ever-obsessed.livejournal.com]

Is it time to actually just open up a blank file and see what my muse is trying to tell me? If I do, then it will be the first time in over ten years, maybe longer, that I've given myself that kind of freedom.
WTF?

No wonder she's writing crap!

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

Didn't LKH write a short story just last month because her muse wanted to play? Isn't that the same bloody thing?

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

What really scares me is that Amazon has SD has number 418 in overall sales of all books in the country. People are lining up to buy a book the author doesn't want to write and can't seem to finish.

[slayra.livejournal.com]

I thought the Merry series sucked since book 1. I like sexy threesomes, occasional orgies and kinky as much as the next person, but I don't like to read about abusive relationships and loads of men falling at the feet of one woman. I got book 1 from Bookmooch, tried to read it, saw it was like late AB books and sent it on it's way again.

[slayra.livejournal.com]

I can't summon the energy to roll my eyes anymore... her books are so crappy every country in the world is dropping their publishing. Finally my country decided to embrace urban fantasy/ paranormal romance (the only translations we had so far were Anne Rice's) and did they choose (is this one of the situations where I have to use "choose"? I'm not sure, but then again, english is not my first language, lol) Laurell? Nop. They chose Alyssa Day. Alyssa Day!!!!!! Laurell K Hamilton is so finished. Old news. Totally.

And she is the only author who thinks highly enough of herself to even consider the idea that her first draft is perfect. I sometimes read that LJ comm where all the urban fantasy authors go (can't remember the name right now) and once one of them asked the others if they would ever consider sending an unedited book to the stores... general answer: "Hell, NO!".

[kerame.livejournal.com]

"Finally my country decided to embrace urban fantasy/ paranormal romance and did they choose.... Laurell? Nop.... Laurell K Hamilton is so finished. Old news. Totally."

If you don't mind saying, which country is this?

[entropyastaroth.livejournal.com]

My country chose Kelly Armstrong. And Charlene Harris's first book is coming soon. No LKH in sight.

[easol.livejournal.com]

I'm not surprised. I did a runaround of ALL the amazon branches in the world, and only the three English-speaking ones were stocking LKH books regularly. And those three were crammed with very, very critical people...

And your use of "choose" is correct. :)

[phyrra.livejournal.com]

It really bugs me that she can't keep Loose/Lose straight.
In fact, I've always been bewildered by people in general who can't keep those two straight.

[slayra.livejournal.com]

Lol, I have to confess I can't. I sometimes have to think which one to use... but then again, I'm not english and I don't use those words that much in my everyday life.

[notadoor.livejournal.com]

I think that it has to do with what spelling we expect to go with what sounds? The only other "oose" word I can think of is "choose", which has the same kind of z sound as "lose" does -- but with an extra o.

Then again, there's "noose", which has the "s" sound of "loose", and thus kind of throws my theory out of the window.

[moonsinger.livejournal.com]

I'm sure she can tell the difference, but her fingers can't, and she doesn't feel that she should edit her blog. You would think she would since she makes money at writing and it isn't just for her and a few friends, but she doesn't.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that most people who mistype a word do it because it is spelled very similar or they type the wrong homonym. I know I do it way too often, but it isn't because I don't know the proper usage, it is because I don't care to waste gobs of time checking over everything I write. The only one I ever have problems with is lie and lay, and frankly, when I edit my book, I'll just pull out a book on grammar and look it up for the billionth time when I come to the word.

Seriously, she should read up on usage of a comma though. Eeek!

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

Paging the Department of Redundancy Department

I am so using this line the next time I need to point out someone obliviously stating The Obvious. Laurell must be on the DRD's radar so often that her file probably fills three storage lockers.

[notadoor.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I feel kind of bad for her at this point. I don't want to offer any speculation as to why she might be burning out, but I think it's pretty obvious that she IS burning out.

And she's under contract, so even if she wakes up one morning and realizes "I need to take some time off" and can handle that on a personal level, she's going to be stuck. That's pretty awful.

[brightlyiburn.livejournal.com]

She might be under contract, but I don't think that would keep her from taking a break. If her publisher hasn't dropped her for the tripe she's writing then they're hardly going to do it if she takes a small sabbatical.

Besides, I don't think burn out is her main problem here. Sure, it IS a problem...anyone would be burnt out, putting out so many books so quickly.

On the other hand, imagined how much more burned out she'd be if she actually bothered to do some editing, rewriting, or researching (that is, research BEFORE she finishes the damn book, not after).

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Every time any writer talks about their "muse", I want to whack them with a brick. Or force them to read Harlan Ellison's story about the writer who runs out of ideas, and subcontracts out his short stories to gremlins.

[slayra.livejournal.com]

LKH's muse is definitely on crack, too.

[terratheelf.livejournal.com]

You know, until you actually pointed out the commas I didn't really notice how bad her use of them was. But I think I just don't pay attention to the sheer amount of them because I know they don't belong and just pass over them when reading.

And how can she justify not editing? I hate editing anything I write, never see the need but I still do it! Doesn't matter what it is, it gets edited even if it's just me at 3am the night before an essay is due rereading whatever garbage I vomited up in an attempt to meet my due dates. Her lack of willingness to spend any real time rewriting bothers me.

[kerame.livejournal.com]

She's not really writing anymore. She's daydreaming, and typing out her masturbatory and vengeful fantasies.

Rewriting or editing would just be a buzzkill. It would make the fantasy less real to her.

[easol.livejournal.com]

This is not technically snark, but when she talks about "Pippin," does anyone immediately think of a Scottish hobbit sitting on her foot instead of a dog?

"I think that her heart isn't really in it. She sounds sick of writing, and yet she can't stop, because if she does, she won't be special anymore."

And she won't have a ring of adoring men professing their eternal love'n'lust to her speshulness alone.

And I am freaking SICK of this fight scene that may or may not happen.

[gehayi.livejournal.com]

And she won't have a ring of adoring men professing their eternal love'n'lust to her speshulness alone.

Yup. No imaginary boyfriends, no fantasy alter egos, no entourage, no troos praising her to the skies, no one caring who she is or what she thinks...

Honestly, I think she's more scared of losing all that than she is of losing the books she's having so much trouble with.

And I am freaking SICK of this fight scene that may or may not happen.

You and me both.

[leoin.livejournal.com]

Paging the Department of Redundancy Department...

You just brought the lulz, and brought it hard.

On dyslexia

[graesea.livejournal.com]

Does anyone know if LKH was diagnosed by a learning professional and found to have this disability? I've always had the sense that she came to this conclusion on her own. There are treatments available that make it easier to deal with on a daily basis.

Of course there is spell check.

Re: On dyslexia

[gehayi.livejournal.com]

I think that she first mentioned dyslexia (http://blog.laurellkhamilton.org/2007/02/quickie-for-night.html) on February 21, 2007 in her blog. Someone on Amazon said that the "dyslexia" comments started cropping up early in 2007, so that sounds about right. Here's the quote:

I'll have Jon help me do the Edward gun research blog later. I find when I'm tired the dyslexia hits harder. I can't seem to remember the numbers and letters for the guns in the right order.

But it wasn't until May 5, 2007 that we got the whole story (http://blog.laurellkhamilton.org/2007/05/taking-my-own-advice.html):

I am dyslexic. It went recognized for years. Only when my daughter was diagnosed did it come out. It made so much sense. I can't spell because the blasted letters in the middle don't stay still. They will actually switch on me. Not every day, not every hour, just periodically. It means that Gaelic is a very difficult language for me to make certain I've got my middle vowels correct. In fact, there are one or two of the names that are not spelled correctly because the day my editor asked me to check I switched letters. I didn't know I was dyslexic, so I didn't know I did it. You can't fix something you don't know you do.

So, now I've taken to making notes; and saying name of person, give their title or job, or whatever. I'll look up the names later, and have someone who is not dyslexic make certain I haven't switched the middle of the word around. I have two college degrees and I've been a professional writer for over a decade, and no one figured this out. But hey, I know now.