Story help please

[Datadr]

Have you ever gotten to close to your story?

Not sure where to go from here. The story I have written is quite long, over 16,000 words. I have had an editor take a look at it, and I agree with her suggestion that a rewrite is necessary. The sentence structure is quite choppy. And her comment was that it made it difficult to read.

After rereading it again and again, I am at a loss on how to make the corrections without just trashing the whole thing. I think I am too close to the story, and cannot figure out how to make the changes. My original concept was to use the structure to add impact.

I know its difficult to offer suggestions without seeing it, so if anybody is interested, and would like to assist I would appreciate hearing from you. I can send just the first chapter to give you some idea of the problem. Maybe from that someone can help me figure out how to fix it. Sure hate to just dump it.

Thanks

 

[Debbie]

Please do not dump it! Email me and I will see if I can help.

 

[flawed_ethics]

I foresee myself facing the same problem you are. My story is already long for me, and I'm only halfway through it. I agree, you become attached to it in such a way that while re-writing it is a given, you don;t know where to begin, and while trashing it may be the best route for your work, you dread doing it.

Hmm.

I'd take a look but I've got too many projects of my own to square away right now.

Sorry! Another pointless post by yours truly.

 

[Weird Harold]

Have you ever gotten to close to your story?

Not sure where to go from here. The story I have written is quite long, over 16,000 words. I have had an editor take a look at it, and I agree with her suggestion that a rewrite is necessary. The sentence structure is quite choppy. And her comment was that it made it difficult to read.

After rereading it again and again, I am at a loss on how to make the corrections without just trashing the whole thing. I think I am too close to the story, and cannot figure out how to make the changes. My original concept was to use the structure to add impact.

Both MS Word (97 and later) and WordPerfect suite 8 have very good grammar checkers that can help you pinpoint problem areas.

In MS Word, I select a paragraph at a time, and run the spelling and grammar check on just that paragraph with the readability staistics turned on. (remember to reset the spelling and grammar check to clear all of the ignores you clicked on the first pass.)

If the readability statistics show a low reading ease, or a high grade level, I work to bring the numbers closer to grade 7 and a reading ease of 75. (it's not always possible to say what you want and meet those numbers for a single paragraph, BTW)

One thing that WordPerfect does that MS Word doesn't, is check for repeat sentences that begin with the same word. (He did this. He was pleased. He did it again. etc)

Checking your story paragraph by paragraph focuses you on the details of that paragraph and removes you from the "big picture" just enough that you can be more objective.

Another way to step back a bit is to change the font and font size before you edit. It makes your sotry look different than what you typed and the errors stand out better.

 

[Mistress Jorja]

Although rewriting can be a pain, its absolutely necessary. Breaking your story down and taking it piece by piece instead of facing the entire task at once can be extremely helpful. Just don’t lose sight of the focus of your work and how you want it to resonate with the intended audience.

Taking a break from the story for even a day or two will help give you a fresh outlook on it. Read it over, but put yourself in someone else’s position as a reader...not the author. Experiment with using creatively different metaphors instead of describing what you feel and hear, etc.

Having fun with the story is the main objective. It may seem overwhelming, as long pieces often tend to do, but getting just one email from someone saying they appreciated your work makes it all worthwhile!

 

[Guest]

Many thanks to all. I have decided not to trash it.

Took some of the advice here, and some from private e-mails, and got to working on it again. WH, your suggestion to work with MS Word was fantastic. It gave me the focus to take this big monster paragraph by paragraph instead of trying to eat the whole thing at once.

Again, thanks to all. This is going to take awhile, but atleast now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Oh, and yes, this is fun!

 

[Weird Harold]

WH, your suggestion to work with MS Word was fantastic. It gave me the focus to take this big monster paragraph by paragraph instead of trying to eat the whole thing at once.

Speaking of monster stories -- Don't forget to insert a bookmark wherever you leave off or need a break. (I use "Breaktime" for the label and just "add" it in a new location each time I need a break. That way I don't clutter up the story with tons of bookmarks.)

I also make extensive use of the "reviewing tools" to comment on the paragraphs I can't figure out how to correct easily, where there's something I need to look up, etc.