tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post3251925247979235806..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: Reliving a virtual past - Dennis HamleyKatherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-74907449805080728842013-10-14T21:37:43.874+01:002013-10-14T21:37:43.874+01:00Fascinating post and one that resonated with me es...Fascinating post and one that resonated with me especially. Thanks for such a perceptive piece, Dennis. I'm just finishing the first in a series of novels - of which the first two will be based on an old backlist title - one that my publisher made a hash of (me too, but they were after something I didn't really want to do and I wasn't experienced enough to see what was happening.) It has nipped away at me for years that I didn't write the book I wanted to write. (Years later, my editor apologised to me over it, so it wasn't just my perception!) It has been a pleasure to work on and continues to be a pleasure. BUT, I've considered publishing another old backlist title as an eBook - except that when I reread it, I could see so much wrong with it that I don't think I'll bother. What interests me is why I found one worthwhile and the other ... not. I'm not sure. One felt like unfinished business, but the other felt like something over and done with - part of a process that should be left well alone. Catherine Czerkawskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554969254207924049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-10326562170387978832013-10-14T16:20:06.357+01:002013-10-14T16:20:06.357+01:00Think you're right about self-imposed deadline...Think you're right about self-imposed deadlines - we need them but we also need to be able to disregard them. It should be easy - but it isn't. Be sure to post somewhere when the book is up again, whenever that turns out to be<br />julia joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773900100240758504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-82547897566501286872013-10-14T15:43:11.590+01:002013-10-14T15:43:11.590+01:00This is fascinating - and I love the madcap escapa...This is fascinating - and I love the madcap escapade telling of the whole incident. <br />I think there's a lot of wisdon in what Sue says - the danger of not letting things be is that we spend our whole lives rewriting the same novel and never move on to the nextDan Hollowayhttp://danholloway.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-7610163276848745912013-10-14T12:20:23.435+01:002013-10-14T12:20:23.435+01:00What a fascinating, thoughtful piece, Dennis. I do...What a fascinating, thoughtful piece, Dennis. I don't reread very often but, when I do, I always find word-choices or expressions which could definitely be improved. In the earliest books there are sometimes more serious issues - not exactly mistakes, but characterisations or structural juxtapositions that could be improved, clarified, achieve the intended impact more powerfully. On the other hand, they must have satisfied who I was then and part of the pleasure that comes from reading this posting lies in the more general questions it poses. Today I'm older, maybe wiser (maybe not), but wouldn't rewriting them simply replace the 'truth' of that younger me with one which is preferred by the current curmudgeon and which may well change again as I encounter new enlightenments? On the other other hand, your determination to serve your characters so diligently is a great example of your integrity and a clear sign that, even if the truths which emerge are simply thus 'because you say so', they arise from a critical approach which, above all, values authenticity.<br /><br />And yes, please, I'd love to know the alternative fates of G, G and J.Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07675643113010061969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-60987225539287431112013-10-14T12:04:21.182+01:002013-10-14T12:04:21.182+01:00fascinating post Dennis, I have the book but have ...fascinating post Dennis, I have the book but have been reading your lovely ghost stories first, I shall wait until you've changed it now! As we change we write differently, and then our perspective changes on what we did before - the great thing about ebooks is your books can change with you!Lydia Bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09328239009863878547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-80229695710384411642013-10-14T11:08:47.453+01:002013-10-14T11:08:47.453+01:00I know. Every now and then I stop what I'm doi...I know. Every now and then I stop what I'm doing and think... 'SIXTEEN?' :-)<br /><br />And Dennis - it's strange, isn't it? How we can write something and think, 'That'll do', and then be horrified by it later. But that's the sign of a true writer I think - the kind of person who is never horrified by their past work will never, I think, be truly much good. Everyone inevitably has peaks and trough, and we have to keep writing through the troughs. And then deal with them later, during peaks.Nick Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08191176209084540085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-33074210797064523132013-10-14T11:01:18.038+01:002013-10-14T11:01:18.038+01:00Gah ... sixteen?! Now I'm even more envious of...Gah ... <i>sixteen</i>?! Now I'm even more envious of your gifts!Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-61681373943036482562013-10-14T10:31:42.132+01:002013-10-14T10:31:42.132+01:00Some very pertinent thoughts here. I especially li...Some very pertinent thoughts here. I especially liked your comment, Lee. My first published novel was written when I was 16. I've been wondering whether to self-publish it. But do I dare to re-read it at all? And if I do, should I rewrite it? Would I even want to rewrite it?<br /><br />As Lee says, I'm a very different writer now, and a different person. Would there be any justification for my rewriting that 16 year old's book, any more than I'd be justified in rewriting any stranger's book? Maybe the best idea would be to let the book be.Susan Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738737493756183909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-68609934229697374152013-10-14T08:28:19.760+01:002013-10-14T08:28:19.760+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-53447179520629073442013-10-14T07:24:39.842+01:002013-10-14T07:24:39.842+01:00Dennis, you've introduced a concern of real in...Dennis, you've introduced a concern of real interest to so many of us: when do we rewrite our earlier work (since we can!), when not? In my own case, as much as my early stuff rankles, I've decided to leave it be. Sometimes revisiting the all too public flaws makes me want to do better - and maybe, just maybe, shows me a certain if modest progress. It's not really self-flagellation, but self-criticism. As Anna Hughes said recently in the <i>Guardian</i> piece about her self-published book <i>Crockett's Fall</i>, 'You really need to continually question if you're being self-critical enough while creating, but at the same time remain confident enough to press on at all times and not let your own fear or self-doubt slow you down.' Hard to find the right balance, of course, and I guess I just recognise that I've changed enough since beginning to write seriously about ten years ago (i.e. not just running away at the first sign of difficulty) that revision alone won't do it: I'd write almost entirely different novels! And it would be hard to bring the energy I had then to bear on old stuff, when my interests have more or less shifted.<br /><br />All that said, some of my early characters still tease me, and from time to time I think about about sequels or at least work set in the same world(s). But this would also mean rewrting the first novels. Or would it? How much does inconsistency of this sort worry others? How much does it really matter?Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-70556040225018146812013-10-14T07:21:36.111+01:002013-10-14T07:21:36.111+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-79877691758042636822013-10-14T04:04:45.033+01:002013-10-14T04:04:45.033+01:00Enjoyed reading the psychology of re-evaluation, a...Enjoyed reading the psychology of re-evaluation, and the diary entries there, Dennis. <br />It all implies that some books may take far longer to really bring to their true completion, than we at first realise. John A. A. Loganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03613779477853664598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-7722830843808870182013-10-14T01:48:26.716+01:002013-10-14T01:48:26.716+01:00Fine post, Dennis. For me, pure deja voodoo. I'...Fine post, Dennis. For me, pure deja voodoo. I'm looking forward to checking this out.glitter noirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.com