tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post9019816017896647211..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: Surfing, Fishing and Foggy Days – by Pauline ChandlerKatherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-10137905005754413482014-05-21T19:03:38.983+01:002014-05-21T19:03:38.983+01:00If it's not too much of a cliche to say so, Le...If it's not too much of a cliche to say so, Lee,I think some novels are 'journeys', which take as long as they take while you learn what you need to learn. That's my experience, anyway. With each rewrite of this one, I feel I get closer to the characters and the world they live in, unpeeling the layers. It is an exciting process, but it takes time. may the fog clear a little for you! Pauline Chandlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14813814657779404453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-51029790236386844792014-05-21T15:30:17.089+01:002014-05-21T15:30:17.089+01:00What a relief to read that others have the same pr...What a relief to read that others have the same problem - that is, if it's actually a problem at all. There are days when I feel incredibly discouraged to be writing so slowly - ever more slowly, in fact - and that it's taken me five years to complete only seven chapters of my new novel. Of course, there are ca. 27 chapters that I've discarded along the way, possibly more. And the thing is, the novel I began five years ago is not the novel I'm writing now, so not only don't things fit together, but my writing itself has changed, my style, my concerns. Maybe I'll just end up publishing it as 'unfinished' ...Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-79939559168071627792014-05-21T11:01:30.697+01:002014-05-21T11:01:30.697+01:00I'm so boosted by your comments, everyone! Tha...I'm so boosted by your comments, everyone! Thanks! Pauline Chandlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14813814657779404453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-48032868570477953532014-05-21T10:54:19.115+01:002014-05-21T10:54:19.115+01:00So, so familiar, Pauline. With all my previous boo...So, so familiar, Pauline. With all my previous books, I've made up my mind to do it and, once caught up in the writing, I've been eager to get to the computer every day and find out what happened next. This time it's a sequel. I know what the various themes are, how they (in theory at least) fit together, and I'm familiar with at least half the characters, but I'm having to drag the words out line by painful line. Then I discard huge chunks and start again. I've got around 27000 words so far and usually that's enough for me to be immersed in it but, for some reason I don't understand, this one's resisting. Thanks for reminding me I'm not the only one.Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-65453678301042788902014-05-21T10:20:54.445+01:002014-05-21T10:20:54.445+01:00Deadlines work well for me, but only one-off ones ...Deadlines work well for me, but only one-off ones - I'd find it horribly claustrophobic to have to write a book a year, of the same type, because someone told me to. Many of the very prolific writers of the past had servants, wives, no day jobs, so they could just write without having to fit in child rearing or sainsburys. if it takes some years to write a book, well that's what it takes!Lydia Bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09328239009863878547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-32808072030890133642014-05-21T09:24:45.186+01:002014-05-21T09:24:45.186+01:00I recognise everything here, Pauline. The most I&#...I recognise everything here, Pauline. The most I've taken so far to finish a novel is four years. Luckily, I had some other small commissions to do to keep my publisher thinking that I was a prolific writer. But now I'm writing the last book in the Ellen trilogy. It MUST be done this year to meet the Berlin Wall 25th anniversary. But I've been writing it off and on now for five years. And it's HARD. I'm stuck in a particularly difficult plot line which is essential. I'm doing something I haven't done since I started writing - writing other easier bits while I think about this dead, vast and middle of the book. So now the ending is quite good. It's how I get there which is the bugbear.Dennis Hamleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781139870037634374noreply@blogger.com