Not *again*.

[swan_tower]

Dear Book:

I hate you.

No, really. We've gotten to that stage of the writing, the stage where I really just want to light you on fire. It happens almost every book (except for the rare ones that just sail straight out of my head -- of which you are SO not one), but this time, I really, really mean it. Why? Because I just figured out that I could solve about 90% of my pacing problems . . . by moving your start date back three months.

This falls into the category of "annoying change" rather than "major seismic upheaval," since most of what I have to do is change the dates on scenes. But that's about 100K worth of scenes I have to re-date

FUCK I just realized that doesn't work.

Because there's a scene that has to happen on a specific date, and that specific date is before what I thought would be the new start date. But there are other events that have to happen on other specific dates, and SON OF A BITCH I HATE YOU.

<beats head into desk>

Never again, people. Never again. I am so very done with this historical fiction thing, where I can't just decide when stuff happens because history says otherwise. I've been doing this for four books, and I will never subject myself to it again*.

I'm sure I'll find a way through this. But it is going to cost a lot of pain and suffering along the way. (It already has.) And right now, I kinda want to light the book on fire.


No love at all,
Your Writer.



*Of course I'm lying. It's like childbirth. In a few years, when I've forgotten the pain, I'll probably decide this is a good idea again. But right now, I mean it.

Comments

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

I am currently yearning after doing the Kay and Carey thing, where I get to grab the general look of a period and place and then run off to secondary-world territory with it.

[aulus-poliutos.livejournal.com]

It makes things a lot easier. The only problem I had when I decided to run off to secondary-world territory was that I needed something special to justify the move, some magic, something 'different' from the real thing. It took me some time to come up with a solution by merging KINGS AND REBELS with another idea about the Lost Realms (the legends that surround places like Ker Ys, Vineta, Avalon). I made those real and the centres of powerful magic before they got swallowed by some big nasty flood. So there's some magic in my world now, some legends and all that fun.

Maybe you can play that trick with your next trilogy. :)