If I’d had more time I would have written less

I took the first chapter of the Hani strand to the Manchester SCBWI critique group yesterday. I have actually twiddled with that chapter quite a lot recently. A couple of people made the comment that the first part of the chapter didn’t seem necessary. I am tending to agree. I can skip straight to halfway through the chapter quite probably.

I hesitate a little, though, for I know that the beginning to this chapter echoes the beginning of the Renate strand and may therefore be appropriate. Between the two of them, these chapters really show us how much each girl was looking forward to spending time with the other. It probably won’t be entirely apparent until I do put the whole book together and I haven’t had time to do that yet.

Today, though, I have created a table showing how the three strands weave together in one timeline. I did this because I was struggling a little with the Renate strand. I think I have created something that is balanced now.  

The Hani strand is about right in length. However, I am going to have to cut back on the Renate one. Otherwise we’ll have a novel that is over 120,000 words long – a little too long for a teen novel, I think.   

Much of the extra writing is helping me as a writer to get into the story. I haven’t finished doing that yet nor have I had time to finish the novel.

QED: If I’d had more time I would have written less.  

Brave Cuts: sometimes the writing is just for the writer

I’ve taken another 2500 words out of my novel – ten whole pages! I’ve had to do this for logistical reasons –the chapter concerned what happened in the Renate strand on the day war broke out. I’ve found out since I wrote it that the school had already moved to Minehead a few days before the war started.  Many children were evacuated before war was confirmed.

I also realise there was perhaps too much detail in it anyway. However, I needed to write that detail. It helped me get to know the characters and in particular it helped me to examine Renate’s ambivalent feelings.

Sometimes what we write is just for us. Yet that writing still contributes. What we write and discard makes what is left stronger – not just because less is more though that is certainly true. The writing that we ultimately throw away is often part of our research.

I shall publish this as a “deleted  scene” again. I also want to flag up that I think I had too much of Chamberlain in this extract. Naturally, I needed to revisit that speech.

I’m also going to post it on this blog shortly. Comments welcome.