Sunday 19 April 2009

Fiddling - but no violins

I'm currently working on chapter 16 of BTL and have just had to stop myself from fiddling for the sake of it. I was just going over a short paragraph when I decided to add a sentence. Then I deleted it. Then I wrote a different sentence and deleted that. After I'd written another half a sentence I deleted that too. None of them added anything to what was already there and I felt that I was changing things just for the sake of it. I have had to step away from it for a couple of minutes.
Okay, I'm going back in.

6 comments:

Annie Wicking said...

Iknow just what you mean, GBW. Thank God for computers and the delete button, it's probably saved a rainforest. Imagine, if we had written it out in long-hand.

Colette McCormick said...

All hail the delete button - it's the best thing since sliced bread.

Anonymous said...

How bizarre - you just described my afternoon.




jonas

Colette McCormick said...

Halleluhah! I am not alone with this affliction. You are a kindred spirit Jonas

Sheila Norton said...

It's a pity there isn't a cure for fiddling. We'd all get a lot more writing done if there was! I think I'm now, finally, learning that it's best to just KEEP WRITING THE THING and resist doing any fiddling until it's finished. When an editor asks you to fiddle with it - that's the time for fiddling, and then it's really worth it!

Colette McCormick said...

That's good advice Olivia. I'll give it a try. I hope I'm not too far gone though.
ps Welcome to the blog